<p>I know most Asian countries (except Japan, the Philippines and somewhat China I believe) have military drafts and all of these drafts (except Malaysia and North Korea) are male only. Since women are taking a larger role in affairs outside the home in asia (i.e. female presidential candidates in SK and Taiwan and a female PM in Thailand) should women also be expected to serve in some fashion? Please note that conscription often entails non-military service (i.e. police work). Would drafting women hurt or help gender equality?</p>
<p>Also, on a related note, do many asian parents treat girls and boys different when it comes to discipline? (i.e. grades are stricter with boys but dating is stricter with girls)</p>
<p>Technically, all men who are 18 and over are liable for military service in the PRC. However, because they have such a large pool of men and military service is still considered desirable for many*, they get more than enough volunteers. </p>
<p>In the ROC(Taiwan), the mandate is mainly for men to serve 2 years…though in my parents’ youth in the '50’s, women were not liable for service…but still had to undergo military/weapons training in high school or university. Yes, my mother and aunts had weapons training just in case the Communist Chinese launched an all-out invasion. </p>
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<li>Benefits include receiving some extra points on the cutthroat competitive national college exams and preference for highly desirable civil service posts…especially for poorer rural kids or intellectually lagging sons/daughters of party officials who aren’t willing for some reason to send their sons/daughters to US colleges/universities.<br></li>
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<p>I think this depends on individual families and generation in question. My older boomer/early GenX cousins tended to have parents who were much more strict with girls regarding academics than boys and equally restrictive dating policies with both(NO dating until college and interracial dating was reluctantly approved so long as he/she wasn’t Japanese*). A factor in why all the female cousins tended to be academic superstars and attending elite universities while two had a male sibling who came close to flunking multiple times from some 3rd tier state university despite having attended a private school similar in stature to one President Obama attended. </p>
<p>With most Asian-American kids I knew in my generation and younger…it seems parents are equally strict about grades with both genders and yet…it is the girls who have less parental restrictions about dating than the boys (Allowed to date earlier, more open to interracial relationships, etc). Granted, that may just be the microcosm of my then slight Asian/Asian-American majority high school in NYC. </p>
<p>Funny part was that my situation was more like most Asian-American girls as parents were strict about grades…but didn’t care when or who I dated so long as the SO was a reasonable person (I.e. Not a spendthrift, sociopathic, or a diva/drama queen). </p>
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<li>Our parents grew up during WWII so there were still strong anti-Japanese sentiment among some older relatives which was only assuaged after other family members convinced the parents concerned that it has been over 50 years since the war and that the cousin’s SO was a third/fourth generation American.</li>
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<p>@GlobalNomad: No. I am just interested in the topic of militarism in Asia (i.e. the civil war in China, North vs. South Korea, South China sea dispute, etc.) and how these relate to the social lives of people living in these countries particularly when it comes to gender roles.</p>
<p>Also, why do men in Asian (Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand) countries still usually earn more then women even though they are two years behind due to military service and must complete years more of reserve training?</p>