\nIn many rural Chinese homes, a jar of pesticide\u2014often a variety banned in Western countries\u2014sits in the family outhouse. Even after harvest, farmers are loathe to throw out the remainder. Despite Chinese President Hu Jintao\u2019s promise to create a \u201charmonious society\u201d by improving people\u2019s livelihood and reducing the gap between wealthy cities and the impoverished countryside, surviving in China\u2019s rural areas still requires thrift.<\/p>\n
But the pesticide that ensures an abundant crop all too often reaps sorrow.<\/p>\n
Chinese women pride themselves on their ability to \u201ceat bitterness,\u201d or put up with sadness and stress. But every woman has her breaking point.<\/p>\n
Pesticide ingestion is involved in 60 percent of Chinese suicides, according to the World Health Organization, which published a 2009 report suggesting a link between exposure to organophosphate pesticides, the type commonly used in China, and suicidal thoughts.<\/p>\n
Rural Chinese women\u2014with their easy access to toxic pesticides, social isolation, and unique burden of feudal obligations and modern stresses\u2014have been particularly susceptible.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From the Daily Beast: In many rural Chinese homes, a jar of pesticide\u2014often a variety banned in Western countries\u2014sits in the family outhouse. Even after harvest, farmers are loathe to throw out the remainder. Despite Chinese President Hu Jintao\u2019s promise to create a \u201charmonious society\u201d by improving people\u2019s livelihood and reducing the gap between wealthy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[4916,514,73],"class_list":["post-78826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-society","tag-rural-women","tag-suicide","tag-women","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n
China's Female Suicide Mystery<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n