What are the most difficult-to-bear traditions and customs for females in Taiwan? A special survey has answers regarding this. 

Taiwan Gender Educational Equality Association published a weekend survey conducted during the "folk culture and gender" forum held at the "women's bookstore" at Taipei.

The survey shows ten folk cultures that violated gender equality in Taiwan and allows females to rank these cultures in the order of what is most unbearable. Survey results show that on the top of the list of folk cultures most unbearable to women is "whether a woman is married or single, her name will not be entered into the book of genealogy."

The second to fifth least happy situations for females are as follows: "Females who died unmarried must be buried in a special place other than with their families;" "when women marry, her parents home must splash water out the door because a married daughter is like water splashed outside the door;" "married daughters cannot go back to her own home on the first day of Chinese New Year;" "When close relatives die, only males can conduct proper ceremony."

Organizers of this survey, Taiwan Gender Educational Equality Association and the "Women's bookstore" hope the survey will raise the society's consciousness of gender discrimination in its folk culture, and encourage society to reform these backward customs and create a new culture based on gender equality.

For this, the organizers are publishing a book that can be used as educational material for schools or society for the cause of gender equality. The name of this book is "Married girls go home on Day one of New Year."

(Chinanews.cn November 28, 2005)