IT is always true that economic independence is crucial for a person, especially a woman, to sustain dignity, but economic independence is in no case an easy thing to achieve for country girls with little education.

　　Due to meagre finance and heavy family farm work, such girls are often deprived of schooling. Attracted by prosperous cities, they pack a few clean clothes and set off on their hard journey.

　　They are young and full of dreams, just as those born in rich and carefree urban families. They want to make a small fortune or just experience new things before their parents marry them off for a dowry somewhere in the remote countryside.

　　The lucky ones will get a job with a small but steady income, but others, especially good-looking ones with a few nice clothes, risk falling or being draggedsintosan abyss of evil attested to by many cases reported in the official media.

　　Some beautiful girls are introduced to work at tightly guarded night clubsswheresclients enjoy their youth and beauty but complain about their illiteracy.

　　Some choose to make money by working hard and normally. Besides the money they mail back home regularly, they try to save enough to buy themselves cheap cosmetics, even new clothes.

　　Quite few, after learning they can change their fate if they make enough efforts, continue to study in evening school or learn new skills.

　　Some naive ones, recruited by hair salons along dim streets in backward neighborhood of the city, soon realize that they cannot make easy money by merely working as hair washers.

　　These above mentioned girls are a very specialsgroupsof people struggling at the margins of today's society. After living for some time in the modern city, they fallsintosa dilemma whether to continue doing so, or returning to their hometown.

　　The hard choice often perplexes them and they sometimes believe the decision is fated. If there is a chance, even a risky one, to stay, they usually try.

　　A very common way is to cohabit with a local man they might know a little but often do not, according to officials with the Shanghai Women's Federation, an organization women can turn to for help.

　　Usually the native man will show his concern that the woman has been longing for, which makes the woman, who is without permanent residency or a regular income, feel that her fate is changing and living with the man is a very good thing.

　　The federation is witnessing an increase in cases of migrant woman's out-of-law relationships with local men. Without obtaining a marriage certificate, the two cohabit and give birth to a baby that the man is unlikely to adopt after separation.

　　Though the federation strives to help the baby apply for an identity as a local resident, while seeking some financial compensation from "the father", the future of the children is always a big issue and the damage to the woman is hard to make up for.

　　Some experts have suggested that the government should tighten controls over migrant women to prevent natural childbirth, but I wonder whether that will help these women to arm themselves with the solid money and knowledge they need to prevent themselves from being taken advantage of.