College in China asks female students to sign chastity pledge

Students are asked to sign a 'commitment card' prohibiting them from engaging in premarital sex

A college in China has come under fire after it asked female students to sign a chastity pledge as part of a course.

The college, in the city of Xian in Shaanxi province, uses the "commitment card" during a course called No Regrets Youth class, BBC News reported citing the China Economic Daily.



"I promise to myself, my family, my friends and my future spouse and children that I will refuse all kinds of premarital intercourse before I step into a lifelong monogamous marriage," the card reads with space underneath for students to sign their names.

The photo of the card which has been widely shared on Chinese social media also includes a pledge to avoid infidelity once married.

Besides students at the college itself filing complaints against the pledge, the card has attracted lot of heat from social media users.

While some called the college’s method “outdated”, one user on Chinese microblogging site said, "It's hard to imagine that this would brazenly appear at a college in the 21st century."

Others seem to have no problem with the pledge itself; however, they objected to the fact that only female students are required to sign it. "This is a simply wonderful provision, but why does it not include boys?" asked one person. While another said, "Men should sign - isn't this sexist?"



Speaking to the newspaper, a teacher at the college claimed that the card was introduced keeping students’ best interests in mind; however, they never expected such a strong backlash.

While abstinence pledges have existed in US colleges since the mid-1990s, they are very rare in China.

The article originally appeared on BBC News