Woman's Education Before the War

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Women's Education Before the War
Before the war, even though the females in Hong Kong generally were less likely to receive an education than males, the chance was not limited to girls who came from affluent families. Women’s education had in fact existed for a long time. Orphanages were established before the war by nuns to look after parentless young girls and offer them formal schooling. The YWCA and some traditional elite schools also set up literacy classes for poorer girls. Chinese private schools and other private secondary schools recruited girls from middle to lower classes. Apart from teaching classic literature and Chinese culture, Chinese national awareness was also promoted. Girls’ schools set up by the missionaries not only imparted Western culture and knowledge, but also had the agenda of recruiting girls for missionary works. Other missionary schools provided education bilingually and taught both Eastern and Western cultures. Early women’s education focused more towards teaching morals and culture. As society progressed, more and more educated women began to seek employment upon leaving school. Teacher and nurse were then the two major professions that the women usually entered. At the same time, a good number of women who received teacher training set up their own schools to nurture Hong Kong’s young talents. However, some schools were finally closed or merged with other schools because their founders had their own family issues. These unidentified schools were not necessarily documented on paper, but their existence was engraved and immortalized in old photos as well as in the memories of the elder generations.