Relocated mountain women empowered by new roles and jobs

After sending her sons to school, Ma Xiaohong begins her busy workday with her husband at their grocery store in Wuzhong, Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

Although it's only a modest business in Dehong village, Hongsipu district, it embodies the 36-year-old's pursuit of a better life.

A decade ago, Ma and her family relocated to Hongsipu, around 80 kilometers south of her previous residence in mountainous Tongxin county.

Factories and workshops sprung up in Hongsipu due to the incentive policies implemented by the local government, drawing an increasing number of villagers to the district. An industrial park was set up, enabling more farmers and workers to work near their homes.

Ma and her husband, Luo Haigao, viewed it as an opportunity and opened a store near the industrial park. Today, the store has a secure and stable monthly revenue of around 15,000 yuan ($2,063). The couple also learned to ride the wave of online shopping and began to receive online orders.

Hongsipu was once part of the Gobi Desert. It became one of China's largest settlement areas after a section of the Yellow River was raised and became a primary water source for locals.

Ma Guilan used to live in a mountainous hamlet and now resides next to Ma Xiaohong's house. Before the relocation, she worked as a cook at the mine where her husband worked.

Benefiting from the influx of villagers back into the town for work, 36-year-old Ma Guilan now makes a living by running a shop, selling women's clothes, cosmetics and local agricultural products such as wolfberries, floral tea, and dried vegetables.

The business also supports her three children's education.

"The quality of life has improved significantly," Ma Guilan said.

Women also make up most of the workforce in schools and educational institutions in Hongsipu.

Each day, Jin Xia gives online reading lessons to over 1,000 students and more than 10,000 other people from around the country. Over the past 18 months, the 41-year-old teacher has designed a series of 600 lessons teaching Chinese and mathematics on the video-sharing and livestreaming app Kuaishou.

"The women who moved from the mountainous areas to Hongsipu experienced a significant change in their social roles within one generation," said writer Ma Huijuan, a Ningxia native who is also a deputy to the National People's Congress, the nation's top legislature. "They went from being confined to domestic roles to actively participating in society, which is a remarkable transformation.

"The new homes, with government support, have given them great confidence and hope to empower themselves in various fields. They also all hope that their children will receive higher education to ensure a brighter future."

Xinhua