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Tibetan Women Under Chinese Occupation
Prior to the Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959, Tibetan women were treated with the utmost respect. They served as equals to men, nothing less and in some instances even more. However, since the Chinese have occupied Tibet the status of Tibetan women in the country has changed. Women’s basic human rights are violated every day under the Chinese, rights such as reproduction and education. They face violence and coercion and must live their lives in an entirely new way.
Women in Tibet prior to the Chinese takeover had a very high social status. They played very active roles in the family as well as in society as a whole. Women were warriors, princesses, leaders, mothers, traders, and business women. There was no sense of a woman being inferior to men in society nor was there a need for women to be limited in what they were supposed to do. Tibetans practiced an egalitarian way of living.
Polyandry was an acceptable practice as was divorce and remarriage (especially by widows). It is made clear, however, that the practice of polyandry was restricted. The woman would marry her husband and all of his younger brothers were included as shared husbands. Women were not subjected to pay a dowry; in fact it was quite the opposite.
“Apart from rich widows or women whom the generosity of their lovers has provided with enviable possessions, no Tibetan woman need fear that she is being asked in marriage for the sake of her money; for, instead of receiving a dowry, the fiancé has to pay a sum, termed nu rin, as suitable compensation for the trouble and money her parents have expended in bringing up their child, who is now going to be taken from them to profit of another family.” (David-Neel, 178)
Marriage seemed to be a place where women gained some ground. They and their families played a large role in the marriage process and had the dominating hand. In most cases the parents have the final say in who their daughter marries, but a woman has the option of divorce though it is not easy.