Zhang Yin

In 1949 female illiteracy in rural China was 99 per cent. In 1976 when Mao died it was 45 per cent and today it is 13 per cent. One of Mao's first acts was to give women the same rights in divorce as men, and for all his other barbarism he consistently championed the equality of women.
China is still a sexist society, but compared with the rest of Asia it is light years ahead. Female illiteracy in rural India, for example, is still 55 per cent. The change has gone deep into the marrow of Chinese society. One survey recently revealed that Chinese girls between 16 and 19 name becoming president, chief executive or senior manager of a company as their top career choices; Japanese girls between 16 and 19 say they want to become housewives, flight attendants or child-care workers. One of China's most formidable economic and social resources has become its women
Extracted from, Thanks to Mao, Zhang Yin's a billionaire The revolutionary leader transformed women's lives, but China still has a long way to go,

by Will Hutton ,Sunday October 15, 2006The Observer http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1922797,00.html accessed 07/09/2007