The fight of a Chinese single mother
The life of a single mother can be challenging anywhere in the world, but the hurdles are especially high for single Chinese mothers. One mother in Shanghai, Zhāng Méng 张萌, is now challenging the law on maternity benefits, and has filed a lawsuit against the Shanghai Social Insurance Management Center. In the first legal case of its kind in China, Zhang is seeking around 50,000 yuan ($7,000) as salary compensation for five months of maternity leave.
Photo credit: The China Project illustration
The life of a single mother can be challenging anywhere in the world, but the hurdles are especially high for single Chinese mothers. Obstacles include:
- Denial of access to assisted reproductive technology such as IVF and egg freezing.
- Extraordinary difficulty in obtaining a residency permit, also known as a hùkǒu (户口), for their children.
- Inability to claim maternity benefits because current law stipulates that applicants need to present family-planning certificates — but unmarried mothers sometimes cannot obtain these papers.
One mother in Shanghai, Zhāng Méng 张萌, is now challenging the law on maternity benefits, and has filed a lawsuit against the Shanghai Social Insurance Management Center. In the first legal case of its kind in China, Zhang is seeking around 50,000 yuan ($7,000) as salary compensation for five months of maternity leave.
The upshot: After Zhang lost three previous lawsuits over two years, her case has now reached the Shanghai Supreme People’s Court.
Click through to The China Project to read more about Zhang’s case.
