All-China Women's Federation

All-China Women's Federation

Logo of the All-China Women's Federation
Abbreviation	ACWF
Formation	24 March 1949
Type	Non-governmental organization
Purpose	Women's rights
Headquarters	Beijing, People's Republic of China
President	Shen Yueyue
Vice President	Song Xiuyan
Main organ	National Congress and Executive Committee
Website	www.womenofchina.cn

The All-China Women's Federation (Chinese:中华全国妇女联合会, pinyin: Zhōnghuá Quánguó Fuǹǚ Liánhéhuì), also known as the ACWF, is a women's rights organization established in China on 24 March 1949. It was originally called the All-China Democratic Women's Foundation, and was renamed the All-China Women's Federation in 1957. It has acted as the official leader of the women’s movement in China since its founding. It is responsible for promoting government policies on women, and protecting women’s rights within the government.

The early women’s movement in China focused on eradicating the assumption that women were inferior to men. The early reformers believed that women needed help to improve their own attitudes about themselves, since even the women generally considered themselves to be inferior to men. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had shown an early interest in protecting the rights of women. During the 2nd National Congress in 1922, the CCP issued a statement arguing for the end of Chinese traditions that repress women. The CCP also released a formal letter ensuring equality under the law for both men and women, and guaranteed equal pay for both genders during the 3rd National Congress.

When the CCP entered the First United Front to fight warlords and unite China from 1924–27 with the Guomindang (GMD), the each party established their own women’s department during this time. However, the United Front ended with the White Terror (1927), where the GMD launched an attack to purge the communists and laborers. The ideas about liberating Chinese women from Confucian values were only permitted within the territory under CCP rule. These territories were called soviets, and were the places the CCP fled to following the White Terror because they were not under the control of the GMD. The GMD championed traditional Confucian ideals about women, and they established the New Life Movement, which sought to counter the gender role espoused by the CCP with traditional Confucian gender roles supported by the GMD. The CCP's time in the soviets from 1927–1945 also gave them the opportunity to develop the skills for organizing federations and governing, which greatly facilitated the founding of the ACWF later.