With the inauguration of the Ministry of Gender Equality, the possibility of women groups realizing their long-standing goals are higher than ever before. Here is this year's to-do list for women groups.

▲ Form public consensus and file a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court against the Family Headship(Hoju) system for abolishiment of Hoju system.

▲ Campaign for legislation of laws to prevent prostitution

▲ Call for revision of laws regarding irregular employment

▲ Work to gain more authority for new Ministry of Gender Equality. Strengthen system of appointing officers in charge of women's affairs in every ministry.

▲ Call for revision of discriminatory provisions in laws governing property rights of spouses. Spread practice of co-ownership of property between spouses.

▲ Increase women's participation in peace and reunification movements

▲ Facilitate online women's movement

▲ Launch campaigns to root out genetically modified food and change childbirth practices.

▲ Call for legislation of laws protecting women such as Anti-stalker Act and Anti-prostitution Act.

▲ Ask colleges to introduce regulations prohibiting sexual violence, in order to cultivate gender equality on campus.

▲ Monitor restructuring process more closely to prevent discrimination against women in lay-offs.

▲ Push for introduction of recall system, as demanded by Koyang city residents who protested against their mayor for permitting construction of 'love hotels'.

 

What is Hoju system?

Hoju means 'head of the family,' and in Korea, the Hoju system is the system used to file the personal records of all Korean citizens. One person is named the hoju, and the rest of the family are registered under the hoju. So all the citizens' records are kept in family units, not individual files.

However, the Hoju system goes far beyond the function of certifying a citizen's identity. It is a gender discriminatory practice that acknowledges only paternal lineage by giving the man of the family first priority when naming the hoju.

For example, if the hoju dies, the family must report the transfer of the hoju title within one month, and there is a hierarchy involved. The first in line is a male descendent of the former hoju (his son, grandson, great grandson... all of whom are considered family regardless of marriage), followed by an unmarried female descendent (daughters are not considered family once they marry), the wife, the mother, and then the daughter-in-law.

This order of inheritance of the hoju title undermines equality among family members, and runs counter to the principle of the Constitution proclaiming that every individual has the right to dignity and gender equality in family life (Article 10). The Hoju system has been the grounds for countless unreasonable and gender discriminatory practices - subordinating the woman to her husband's family, making the children take their father's surname, prohibiting the woman from re-registering her children under her name if she divorces or remarries.

Korean women groups have long been critical of the Hoju system. In the past few years, they have fought to abolish this system by organizing various seminars, signature-collecting drives, and a campaign to use both parents' family names. They are also collecting plaintiffs in preparation to file a class suit against the Hoju system, in order to prove that it is a violation of the Constitution. Women groups are determined to put an end to the Hoju system within this year.

저작권자 © 여성신문 무단전재 및 재배포 금지