Women working to promote Chinese International Women’s Day activity against sexual harassment

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The following was written by the PBS Newshour’s Rebecca Lee:

Five women’s rights activists have been detained in China for organizing demonstrations for International Women’s Day, celebrated on Mar. 8. The women, who live in Beijing, Guangzhou and Hangzhou, were taken into custody by police on Friday, human rights lawyers told Reuters. The activists had been planning a national campaign against sexual harassment on public transportation.

One of the women, Li Tingting, who goes by the pseudonym Li Maizi, is a well known activist from Beijing who led a campaign for gender-neutral toilets, Reuters reported. “They have not given information on why she was detained, but my guess is that it has something to do with maintaining social stability on International Women’s Day,” Yan Xin, Li’s lawyer told the South China Morning Post.

Lawyers for the detained activists told Reuters charges against the women could be brought on Monday.

Human rights groups say China is taking an increasingly hard line approach against freedom of expression. Since taking office in 2012, President Xi Jingping has cracked down on grass-roots activism and civic discourse in the country, according to the New York Times.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the 1995 United Nations’ Fourth World Women Conference, which was held in Beijing, where 189 countries adopted measures for the advancement of women’s human rights.