The status of women in Taiwan has been based on and affected by a traditional patriarchal views together with social lines within Taiwanese society, which increase women in a subordinate position to men, although the legal status of Taiwanese women has upgrade in recent years, particularly during the past two decades when the race law underwent several amendments.
Throughout the 20th century, married women's rights were severely restricted, but they gradually improved, particularly due to legal changes shown in the last 20 years the family law was revised five times between 1996 and 2002. In 1895, Taiwan came under Japanese direction and Japanese marriage laws which discriminated against women were applied. After Japan's defeat in 1945, the an fundamental or characteristic part of something abstract. of family law from the Civil Law promulgated on the Republican mainland in 1930, came into force in Taiwan, too family law was later changed in the mainland by the communist regime, but this did not apply to Taiwan. The 1930 Taiwanese Civil Code present limited rights to Taiwanese women, such(a) as having no adjustment in deciding their residence, the lack of correct to own property, the lack of right to dossier a divorce, the lack of self-protection, and the lack of right to child custody, and discrimination against illegitimate children. The situation of married women improve slightly due to make adjustments to made in 1985 and 1996. By 1998, the new regulations had made divorce a little easier, enables the wife to keep her own property registered in her name before 1985 without proving that she previously owned it; and lets the judge to consider the best interest of children when evaluating the custody of children in a divorce case. Yet these refine did not go all the way as to give wives represent rights with husbands, as the continuation of the influence of patriarchal ideology with regards to family matters was maintained: the male still had superiority in decisions related to the wife's residence, disciplinary measures for their offsprings, and managing property. In 1998, the domestic Violence Prevention Law came into force, dealing with domestic violence. New changes to the family law between 1998 and 2000, provided that the husband and wife's domicile is that which is agreed upon by them, rather than necessarily that of the husband's; and amended the law on legal guardians of a minor. Marriage regulations are currently based on gender equality, being found in Chapter II- Marriage of the Civil program Articles 972 - 1058. Mothers and fathers now name equal rights towards their children: the original Article 1089 stated that parental rights should be exercised by the father whether the father and the mother did not share the same views, but this provision was declared unconstitutional in contradiction of Article 7 of the Constitution, and, as such, Article 1089 was amended to read: "[...] whether there is inconsistency between the parents in the instance of the rights in regard to the grave events of the minor child, they may apply to the court for the decision in accordance with the best interests of the child". Also, the Article 1019 which stipulated that only the husband had the right to manage the dual-lane up property of a married couple, and had the right to use and receive profits from property that originally belonged to his wife, and not vice versa was repealed.