Grants for Single Moms: Painful Exceptions
Single mothers in some countries like the US, UK, Japan and Germany to name a few, are quite lucky to have governments who acknowledge their needs for financial assistance or grants. It is a known fact that this assistance, especially scholarship grants, can help single moms take a higher degree of education, to get a more financially rewarding job and provide more for their children.
In a positive way, single mothers are being encouraged to work by determining the root cause of their problem – which is education. But the fate of moms in other countries is quite different, and even heartbreaking.
Like Singapore, China also does not support single mothers. In Singapore, children who are born out of wedlock are considered illegitimate and are therefore not entitled to any form of benefit. The only way for a single mother to get support is by legally adopting her own child.
Chinese single mothers are in a similar situation but theirs is even worse. There are no grants for single moms are unmarried. As a result, they must pay a fine for bearing illegitimate children. This causes fear among Chinese mothers because they are like criminals who must be hounded.
Furthermore, they do not deserve any help and any form of single parent benefits, as far as the government and the community are concerned. They suffer from the consequences of their actions.
Last June, a very distressing story of a Chinese single mother was shared by Voice of America, through the article, Single Chinese Mothers Struggle to Overcome Social Hurdles. Ri Yan got pregnant three years ago and like most single mothers in China, she did not tell anybody about her situation.
Instead, she resigned from her job and decided to work from home so that she can have time for her little one. She could not claim for any allowances because her child was not registered in the China Population Records and household registration.
Only those with legitimate children are registered and are entitled to allowances. Their status is considered illegal and they have no protection whatsoever similar to those who violate the one-child policy. What is even more painful is that the Chinese society, strongly grounded on its traditional values, ostracizes them.
Chinese single mothers have no choice but to live in constant fear and anxiety about being caught and at the same time, not having enough to support their children. The government believes children should be born within the context of marriage.
Moreover, there are other cases of people in the country that require more help from them than the cases of single mothers who bear children out of wedlock and are considered violators of the Law. This causes other single mothers to do a drastic measure because they do not want to be ostracized by the Chinese community. A young woman in her 20s gave birth in a public toilet and attempted to flush the baby, for fear of punishment.
On the other hand, for a country with very firm and conservative values, it is actually quite alarming that more women – even those who are younger – are engaging in premarital sex and bearing illegitimate children. Perhaps, imposing punishments such as a fine is one of the government’s strict measures to discourage such action and to eliminate poverty in the country.
Still, most Chinese single mothers will most probably disapprove of this seemingly lack of consideration and help from the government. There may have been lack of emotional and financial preparation on the side of single moms prior to being parents. However, their children are faultless and do not deserve such kind of treatment.
The society’s disapproval of single mothers radiates towards their children as well. While this experience may serve a hard lesson for single mothers, what positive effect does this leave on their so-called illegitimate children, who are not accepted by the society even before they even see the world?
