A good example of how I was oppressed is the activity of feet binding for women in the upper class, which aimed at ensuring that women were not as free as men and could not walk easily due to the deformed feet. As much as the men saw feet binding being a form of beauty for their women, I found the practice quite inhumane. I remember my legs were broken which was quite painful for keeping myself in the name of beauty in men's eyes. I went through a lot of struggles being a woman living in this era. (Mann and Cheng 2001, p.8).
Traditionally, in my country, families are very orderly structured in such a way that every family member has a duty to perform, and so is mine. In my family, my grandfather, who is the oldest family member has got everybody's respect in the family due to his family status and age. The gender issue is also highly considered and due to the fact the he is a male, he is given a lot of honor and respect not only by the family members but also the other village members. I see my husband as being more superior to me (Dorothy 1994, p. 189). The other reason for this respect is the fact that he is the link of the family with the ancestors. It is believed that the ancestors use him to communicate to the family and give instruction. No member of the family can dare go against the will of the ancestors due to the long time tradition of respecting the elder and the fear of the unpleasant consequences. As a result, I and other family members carefully follow the grandfathers' instructions as we understand that these are ancestors' instructions sent to us since they are the head of the family, which is commonly referred to as 'Jia' in Chinese. When my grandfather died, his brother who was the next oldest male in the family took over the family leadership. The major reason for the family leader is to sustain the family and also increase the family's wealth and reputation. .
However, being a woman, I cannot be entitled to be the family leader due to gender inequalities.