Four women blaze trail in Hong Kong politics
Family duties and the roles traditional culture assigns women doesn't make it easy for them to take on the challenge of helping run Hong Kong
They've taken abuse on the campaign trail, had their children picked on at school and been tagged with unflattering nicknames - but women are slowly climbing to the top in Hong Kong politics.
It reflects growing participation by women in politics at all levels - from district councils to senior government posts. But women politicians say the challenges remain as family responsibilities and traditional views about the role of women make life tough.
In 1985, just one woman ran for the Legislative Council. In last year's election, 11 women were chosen as lawmakers - all directly elected - a figure that has remained the same since 2004, although Legco grew from 60 to 70 members last year.
In 1982, just 5 per cent of the 403 candidates running for district councils were women. Ten per cent of district council seats were held by women at the time, with appointed councillors lifting the percentage. By the 2011 poll, women made up 18 per cent of candidates and just under 19 per cent of the councillors.
But the city still lags behind the mainland, Taiwan, the Philippines and Singapore, where more than 20 per cent of lawmakers are women. While South Korea and Thailand have elected a woman to lead their government in recent years, Hong Kong has yet to see a woman candidate nominated for chief executive - although two women, Anson Chan Fang On-sang and incumbent Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, have been chief secretary.
