“Mrs.
Li” is 70 years old and lives in rural China. Her husband died 30 years
ago of leukemia. They could not afford treatment, so her husband died
without it.
She had three children. Her daughter was killed in a car accident. Her
two sons are living in different villages and do not take care of her.
Because she does not have enough money for food, she eats only
vegetables – no meat. Sometimes she eats only salt. She bought a rope
ten years ago, so she can hang herself one day if she cannot take care
of herself any more or if she gets sick.
This week marks the 38th anniversary of China’s One-Child (now
Two-Child) Policy, the most massive social experiment in human history,
responsible for hundreds of millions of forced abortions and
sterilizations, as well as the sex-selective abortion of tens of
millions of baby girls. These casualties are as well known as they are
tragic.
Relatively unknown, however, is another enormous demographic group
virtually ignored thus far: the elderly, especially widows. To address
this, Women’s Rights Without Frontiers announces a major, new
initiative: our Save a Widow Campaign. Read More.
