'Women go away': Dragon Boat Festival custom that bans women sparks sexism debate in China
A Chinese Dragon Boat Festival custom that excluded women stirred a heated public debate about how to handle cultural traditions that promote gender discrimination.
In a viral video of a dragon boat race from last Friday in Foshan, in Guangdong province in southern China, male paddlers were seen repeatedly shouting "women go away" at the crowd gathered along the river bank.
According to an interview for Fedian Video, a mainland news platform, a female local government employee said the incident was not discriminatory because of "a nearby sacred temple".
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"There is a custom that they need women to stay away when the boat passes under a bridge so they do not offend the gods," she said.
The explanation backfired, with more people questioning why women "offend the gods".
One Weibo user commented: "Isn't it discrimination to say women will offend the gods, but the men they birthed and raised would not? What kind of gods cannot distinguish right from wrong?"
Another asked: "Why should a custom be observed if it is rubbish?"
The incident followed a similar case in another part of Foshan last week when a woman was bullied online for boarding a dragon boat to launch a social media campaign promoting the racing event.
"Women should not board the dragon boat. Please respect local customs," one Douyin user commented after the unnamed woman uploaded a short video sharing her experience on Thursday.
Another said: "This boat cannot be used now. You ruined Guangdong's traditional culture ... You should pay for your actions."
A local resident said that there are two types of dragon boats, traditional wooden ones that are often handmade and do not allow female participation and "standard" ones usually made of fibreglass and can be used by both genders.
Traditionally during the Dragon Boat Festival, Chinese people eat rice dumplings and hold dragon boat races to commemorate the ancient poet and politician Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in a river.
According to legend, ancient Chinese people rowed their boats into the river and threw rice dumplings into the water to stop the fish from eating Qu's body.
This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
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