#RutoMustGoNow ☭

"Stand up, sisters!" was a film made in China in 1951, just two years after the PRC was established. It depicted the horrifying sexual exploitation of women in the brothels and how money could buy and destroy dignity. Some of the actresses were former prostitutes who were rescued by the Chinese government and assisted in finding work. The movie was based on true events. At the time of its founding, the PRC had the abolition of prostitution and the emancipation of all women as its overarching objective. Even though China was a weak and impoverished nation back then, its government nevertheless spent a pretty penny on treating the STD of the formerly prostitutes, giving them literacy classes, and preparing them for the workforce. Chen Yi, the then-mayor of Shanghai, once stated, "No matter how much money it costs, we must cure their [prostitutes'] diseases. We can save money on other things, but money needs to be spent on saving and helping them. And once we treat their sicknesses, we need to provide them with jobs, and their employers are responsible for assisting them in finding a nice marriage." For the first time in their lives, prostitutes felt dignified; many of them went on to become workers, and others even became cadres. This is why the Chinese women are now "holding half of the sky".