They were forced into marriage and abused. Now women facing exploitation in China have a glimmer of hope (opens in new tab)

Female activists are working in the shadows to find and support vulnerable women they fear are being failed by authoritiesLast summer, Xiaocao, a softly spoken woman in her 40s, received a tip-off that in Lüliang, a small city in China’s Shanxi province, vulnerable women were being forced into marriages. Along with another volunteer, she wanted to investigate.After leaving Beijing, the two volunteers travelled south for hours, on trains and in rental cars. A few villages turned out to be dead...