Every week we ask a North Korean your questions, giving you the chance to learn more about the country we know so little about.

This week Shuang Lin in China asks:

Generally, do you feel that there is gender equality in North Korea society? Do women face serious discrimination? 

North Korea is highly patriarchal to this day. For example, women are not advised to pay a visit to other households on January 1 and it is also considered bad luck for a shop if the first customer of the day is female. In the past, women received heavy criticism if men happened