China's Female Bodyguards in Demand

They may be smaller than their male counterparts, but this group of women is in demand in China.

These ten women were selected from 20 candidates to be trained at Beijing's Tianjiao Special Guard and Security Consultant Company. They could soon join the country's growing ranks of female professional bodyguards.

The women, mostly young graduates, are on a four-week initiation course. The school also offers eight-month courses of stamina training, martial arts, reconnaissance, escorting skills, language and business etiquette.

According to the school's manager, Chen Yongqing, the increased demand for female bodyguards is mainly from wealthy businesswomen.

[Chen Yongqing, Manager, Tianjiao Special Guard & Security Consultant Co.]:
"Many female entrepreneurs, celebrities and pop stars—as well as their family members, children and parents—all need female bodyguards for protection. So we are particularly focusing on training female bodyguards from this year."

The recruits have to endure having bottles smashed over their heads to test endurance, but 22-year-old Sun Yiyao was happy to be breaking stereotypes of Chinese women as weak and demure.

[Sun Yiyao, Bodyguard Recruit]:
"In China, women are seen as a vulnerable group, and society always looks down on them. However, almost everyone looks at a female bodyguard in a different way. As a woman, I'm very proud to be able to protect a man or even a group of people."

Graduates from a bodyguard course can look forward to a well-paid career with a minimum monthly salary of 5,000 yuan (about 800 US dollars), often earning much more than their male counterparts.

The school itself charges 280,000 yuan (about 45,000 US dollars) for 12-months of full-time service from a female bodyguard, who can sometimes take home a third of that for herself.