It was a hot morning in early July. And the temperature in a primary school in Shalingzi Village in Qianxi County, in North China's Hebei Province, was even higher.

Hundreds of local women flocked into the schoolyard and waited for the beginning of an election for the members for the village women's representative group.

Local women count ballots in the election for menmber of the women's representatives group in Shalingzi Village, Qianxi County, in Hebei Province.[China Daily]

For the past few decades, members of representative groups, which oversaw women's affairs at the grassroots level, had mostly been appointed by the village's Communist Party branch.

With over 400 villages, Qianxi County became the first area in the country to adopt direct elections for women to choose their own representatives.

The election in Shalingzi Village started at 8 am.

Seven candidates delivered their election speeches one after another. Then the election result was announced on the spot on the basis of a secret ballot by voters.

Some of the candidates were so nervous that they had to read out their speeches.

Li Yuxia, 61, who had been the director of the village women's representative group since 1973, was the most eye-catching candidate.

Though the microphone was not working as it should, Li succeeded in catching the listeners' attention with her confident and impressive style.

"It will make a great difference if I win the election today. I held the job through appointment before. But now I would have much stronger public support," Li said as she was waiting for the result.

The idea of electing the village women's leader was sparked about four years ago.

In December 1999, the Qianxi Women's Federation selected 20 villages as pilot sites for direct elections.

"Women have played a significant role in the development of the rural areas while they have had little say in administration," said Yu Guixin, chairwoman of the county women federation.

Li Yuxia, 61, who had been the appointed diretor of the women's representative group in Shalingzi Village since 1973, is finally voted into office in the new election.

Of the 320 million rural farmers engaged in agricultural production, 210 million - or 65.6 per cent - are women.

As the largest non-governmental organization for women in China, women's federations and their representative groups at the grassroots levels work to enable women to participate in social and economic development.

Before direct elections were implemented, women in rural areas showed little enthusiasm for participating in government and political affairs due to traditional ideas that men and women play different roles outside and inside of the house.

According to Yu, the elections and secret ballots were introduced to encourage women's participation in government and political affairs and the development of democracy at rural grassroots levels.

As it was their first experience, the Qianxi Women's Federation made careful preparations.

It made full use of the media. Via local TV broadcasts and newspapers, it launched a campaign publicizing the related laws and regulations and the significance of participation.

In addition to running training courses for more than 1,500 women to enhance their sense of participation, the federation also conducted field surveys and simulated the direct election process.

The pilot programme produced outstanding results.

A group of younger women stood out, winning the elections and proving they were capable and competitive.

Since directly elected leaders of women's representative groups have strong public support, most of them go on to become members of village committees. Some have even been elected to head their village committees.

Since none of the previous heads of village committees were women in Qianxi, experts regarded this as a breakthrough for getting women involved in politics and governance.

Based on the experience and lessons of the pilot sites, the Qianxi Women's Federation decided to introduce the direct election system throughout the county this summer.

And the response has been fairly encouraging.

Each village on average had three to five candidates delivering campaign speeches.

In one village, nine candidates ran for the position while in another, the number of candidates reached 20.

Sun Fengrui, 39, was one of the five candidates in Baibaodian Village.

Though she did not have high expectations about winning, Sun said she enjoyed the experience.

"For the first time I had a chance to show my ability in front of my peers and to try something I'd never done before," she said.

Though Sun's husband is a businessman and the family has a good income, Sun said she is not willing to be a housewife satisfied with cooking and caring for her family.

Over the past few years, she has been engaged in businesses like selling vegetables and coal.

Sun said she believes the most important work of the women's federation is to help local women gain independence and to fight against violence in the family.

To 32-year-old Liu Jingqin, all she wanted to do was to prove that "women can be independent of men."

Because her husband and father-in-law both suffer from mental disease, Liu has shouldered the responsibility of the family by herself.

The high number of votes she got indicated her proficiency is widely recognized by others in her village.

Many of the candidates said they joined the election mainly to exercise their political right rather than to get a stable stipend, which comes with being a representative.

Like the candidates, the women voters also recognize the importance of the elections.

Except for those who worked and studied outside the villages, almost all of the women cast their votes, according to officials.

Take Baibaodian Village as an example. Of the 499 able to vote, 435 did so.

In Shalingzi Village, the election also drew great attention. For example, Fu Cuiying, 76, who is not able to walk, went to present her speech with the aid of her niece.

In the end, Li Yuxia successfully retained her post.

A retired teacher in the village said she would vote even though the federation was not the policy-making institution in the village.

"If everyone is aware of her rights and does not give up her vote, we will have a hopeful outlook that all the problems we are facing now will be resolved," she said.  

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