Fund. The goal of this paper is to bring about increased awareness of the circumstances
that still impact women in China today despite modifications to China’s one child policy
and to provide an explanation of the results that have occurred since the policy’s
implementation a little over twenty years ago. In addition, this paper will mention the
issues of concept and measurement as they relate to human rights data collection and
analysis.
The overpopulation of China and the use of all its resources is not the debate.
China does have an overpopulation problem and the government does need to address the
erosion of China’s resources. The Chinese government established the one child policy
in 1979.
1
China’s one child policy was developed in an effort to control the population
growth by minimizing the birth rate.
2
The cost for minimizing the birth rate is high and
the enforcement of these policies has a harsh impact upon women. Many women in
China were (and still are today) forced to have abortions, punished with unreasonable
fines, sterilized against their will or without their knowledge and treated as second class
citizens without the rights to protect their bodies or their unborn children.
3 The
government
continues to move forward with their one child policy enforcing the policy by violent and
extreme measures.
What is known about these practices and violations of human rights? Human
rights are an issue addressed by many organizations and governments throughout the
world. There are many documented cases of human rights violations and China is not
exempt from being cited as abusing the rights of its citizens. The United Nations is one
such organization that holds meetings and creates treaties in order to address human
rights violations.
2
Convention