Significance of the Case
Legal experts in China note that this case seems to be the first of its kind applying China’s new marriage law that allows for housework compensation in divorce cases. Before the enactment of the new law on January 1, 2021, housework compensation was only available during divorce if the couple had signed a prenuptial agreement to keep their property separate – an uncommon practice in China.
After this case was reported by the press in China, it went viral on social media. Within days, hundreds of millions of Chinese internet users were discussing the case’s outcome and its implications for women in China. Chinese media outlet Phoenix Weekly polled over 427,000 people, asking them to evaluate the level of compensation. Nearly 94 percent of poll respondents said the compensation was right, but not enough. Some online commenters noted that compensation for a nanny or a house cleaner for a year is more than 50,000 yuan. Other commenters argued that men should take on more housework from the beginning and that women should not be full-time housewives.
Despite the fact that the low level of compensation awarded in this case is not an appropriate recognition of the labor performed by the wife, as divorce rates increase across China, activists see this case as a good start to compensating housework and are hopeful that the application of this law will improve conditions for women.
For their contributions, special thanks to ESCR-Net member: the Program on Human Rights and the Global Economy (PHRGE) at Northeastern University.
