The Status of Women in Law: A Comparison of Four Asian Countries

In this paper, an attempt is made to examine and compare the legal status of women in the Republic of China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, with special focus on laws which discriminate against women. In view of differences in the cultural background of these four countries - Confucianism in China, Islam in Malaysia, Catholicism and the Spanish influence in the in the Philippines and Buddhism in Thailand - it is likely that laws in these countries also differ. This paper also tries to relate the legal status of women in these countries to other apsect of their status, in particular, the social, economic and political aspects.