Taiwan's Unmarried Women Slam Education Ministry

Taiwan's unmarried women were up in arms Thursday over the education ministry's online dictionary, which defines a "good woman" as one who focuses on her family life and adores her husband.

Several women lawmakers slammed the ministry for being biased against unwed women and promoting chauvinistic attitudes.

"The characteristic of a new good woman is to focus her life on her family, adore her husband, look after her children and do her best to maintain a happy and harmonious marriage," the dictionary states.

Lawmaker Lo Shu-lei, who is single, said the ministry "doesn't know which year we are" and "discriminates against unmarried women", adding that a good woman should be defined as "confident, hard-working and independent".

Unmarried lawmaker Chen Ting-fei said: "This is male chauvinism and feudalistic thinking. I am in a bad mood, because I have become a bad woman since I don't have a husband to adore and children to take care of."

The ministry promised to respect gender quality and seek advice of relevant rights groups when updating the dictionary.