Not only that, but women were even forced to follow the lead of their husbands in party ideology and the general decision making of the family. These advantages soon caused men to abuse their wives. For there wasn’t a lot of government interference, domestic violence and exploitation of women was common throughout villages. Je Son Lee, a North Korean defector, once said that “In my hometown, I’d say domestic violence occurred on a daily basis in three out of 10 households, and less often in others.” In this way, women’s rights were violated throughout their homes.
Additionally, women were manipulated by the North Korean government. The North Korean government primarily pushed for “gender equality,” but not for its virtuous purpose. In reality, the North Korean government was campaigning for the right’s of women to prompt the incentive for women to work for their economy. Calling the women, “hard-working heroines,” the government distributed awards to women who achieved benefits for the North Korean economy. However, once the economy was stabilized, the government immediately stopped the promotion of women’s opportunity to work and forced them back into their gender roles. Therefore, the contribution of North Korean women in their society was only considered important when they were demanded but that was merely until those demands were met.
Within North Korean society, women are applauded only when they profitably achieve their role as a women within their household. However, once they start to expand beyond the glass ceiling, they are automatically repositioned to their “original” place as a person who does all the housework.