China girl, 16, forced by parents to quit school and work helped to resume studies by officials, gets free, safe-haven flat from online influencer
- Harsh treatment of youngster highlights gender disparity in China
- Girls often dragooned into work to support brothers still in school
A 16-year-old girl in China, who was forced by her parents to drop out of secondary school because they considered studying “useless”, has highlighted the gender issues still prevalent in the country.
Liu Qiping, from the central province of Hunan, confided her desire to return to school with an online influencer @Modisijixushifu, on the mainland video-sharing platform Bilibili.
In the video, that attracted 1.3 million views, Liu said that, despite ranking among the top five in her class at the best secondary school in her city, her parents forced her to quit a year ago, just before her second year.
They asked her aunt to take her to southeastern China’s Guangdong province to work and make money for the family.
Liu said she dreamed of going to the Hunan Normal University, a top academic institution in China, and had not given up on her dream even while working at a breakfast shop.
