HONG KONG, May 31 (Reuters) - An absence of women among China's top leadership is concerning, the United Nations said in a report, as it recommended China adopt statutory quotas and a gender parity system to quicken equal representation of women in government.
The committee said that while China's representation of women in political and public life has increased, it was concerned that women only represent 26.54% of deputies to the 14th National People's Congress.
It urged China to increase the number of women in all government bureaus including the judiciary and foreign service, particularly at decision making levels.
The committee said it was concerned about the excessive restrictions on the registration of non-governmental organisations as well as reports of intimidation and harassment against women human rights defenders.
Feminist voices have also been muzzled and in recent years, the government has increasingly emphasized the value of traditional roles for women as mothers and carers.
Persons:
Xi, Martin Pollard, Raju Gopalakrishnan
Organizations:
United Nations, quicken, UN, Leste, National People's, Communist, Thomson
Locations:
HONG KONG, China, Germany, Iceland, Sao Tome, Principe, Slovakia, Spain, Timor, Venezuela, Beijing