• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

Equal Rights for Unwed Mothers

by Terry Xu
11/05/2013
in Commentaries
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0

By Ghui

As a Singaporean, I greeted the news that Singapore ranked 15th overall in terms of the wellbeing of mothers and children in the 14th “State of the World’s Mothers” report by Children’s aid agency, Save The Children (http://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapore-safest-place-to-be-born-in-asia–report-165347498.html) with pride.  This standing places Singapore ahead of developed countries such as the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and South Korea. It also gives Singapore the coveted position of surpassing all of its Asian neighbours.

Effective from May 1, single parents will also receive six days of childcare leave a year for children below the age of seven, two days for those aged between seven and 12 and six days of unpaid infant care leave annually if they have a child below two years of age.

I applaud Singapore for this development. However, we should not rest on our laurels as more can definitely be done. Even as this report was being compiled, the mothers among us are not given equal treatment. Single mothers do not qualify for the Baby Bonus or the Parenthood Tax Rebates. They also only get 12 weeks of paid maternity leave as opposed to the 16 weeks that married mothers get. (http://www.singapolitics.sg/views/its-about-time-single-parents-got-some-recognition)

This strikes me as manifestly archaic and baseless. In a state that is crying out for babies, why are children penalised on the basis that their parents are unmarried? A child is a child no matter what one’s personal moral values are and society should not be treating children born out of wedlock as persona non grata. Ultimately, the goal of the Baby Bonus, Parenthood Tax Rebates and maternity leave are to ensure that each child is adequately looked after and given the best possible head start. That being the case, why differentiate between children on the basis of whether their parents are married?

Why punish the children in a bid to punish their “fallen” mothers? Do we even have a right to judge unmarried mothers? We live in the 21st century after all and society, however conservative has to acknowledge that people have premarital sex, which sometimes leads to pregnancy! Why does a state that legalises prostitution suddenly become all conservative when a baby is added to the equation? The whole thing smells of double standards and hypocrisy. It also completely defies logic.

Is it our way of somehow censuring unmarried mothers for daring to get pregnant? If that is the case, this is completely counterproductive. The baby is already here. What point does this “punishment” serve? Is this a means to somehow discourage girls from falling pregnant outside wedlock? If so, I don’t think it is working. I don’t see the numbers of pregnancies outside wedlock changing much. Besides, are we subtly trying to suggest that abortion is preferable? I am staunchly pro choice but I have great difficulty seeing the rationale of people using morality as an argument against giving unmarried women equal rights when the alternative is abortion. If they are so righteous, surely abortion is worse?

Besides, why would giving both unmarried mothers and married mothers equal status as mothers “encourage” single mothers? Surely, only if unwed mothers were given more privileges would that be the case? We are certainly not in danger of that!

Are mothers somehow considered less motherly just because they are not married?

It is high time for us to re evaluate the purpose behind these discriminatory practices that have the net result of isolating certain groups from society. Certainly, not a great start to PM Lee’s promised “inclusiveness”.

 

In the words of Marine Parade MP Seah Kian Peng, unwed mothers should be treated as “mothers first and singles second”. For us to be truly deserving of the honour given to us by the report compiled by Save The Children, this is the sentiment that we should all collectively embrace.

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

One third of Amazon ‘degraded’ by human activity, drought: study
AFP

One third of Amazon ‘degraded’ by human activity, drought: study

27/01/2023
Luxembourg court sets aside Sulu heirs’ attachment order to enforce US$15b claim against Malaysia
Court Cases

Luxembourg court sets aside Sulu heirs’ attachment order to enforce US$15b claim against Malaysia

27/01/2023
Philippines to appeal ICC resumption of drug war probe
AFP

Philippines to appeal ICC resumption of drug war probe

27/01/2023
ASEAN

ASEAN governments must stop using ‘lawfare’ against critics, Southeast Asian MPs say

27/01/2023
Low Yen Ling says MTI and MAS don’t expect persistent inflation but they now say inflation projected to “stay elevated”
Economics

Low Yen Ling says MTI and MAS don’t expect persistent inflation but they now say inflation projected to “stay elevated”

27/01/2023
Malaysian court sentences man to 1,050 years’ jail, 24 strokes of the cane, for raping stepdaughter 105 times
AFP

Thai court jails activist for 28 years jail for royal defamation

26/01/2023

Latest posts

One third of Amazon ‘degraded’ by human activity, drought: study

One third of Amazon ‘degraded’ by human activity, drought: study

27/01/2023
Luxembourg court sets aside Sulu heirs’ attachment order to enforce US$15b claim against Malaysia

Luxembourg court sets aside Sulu heirs’ attachment order to enforce US$15b claim against Malaysia

27/01/2023
Philippines to appeal ICC resumption of drug war probe

Philippines to appeal ICC resumption of drug war probe

27/01/2023

ASEAN governments must stop using ‘lawfare’ against critics, Southeast Asian MPs say

27/01/2023
Low Yen Ling says MTI and MAS don’t expect persistent inflation but they now say inflation projected to “stay elevated”

Low Yen Ling says MTI and MAS don’t expect persistent inflation but they now say inflation projected to “stay elevated”

27/01/2023
Malaysian court sentences man to 1,050 years’ jail, 24 strokes of the cane, for raping stepdaughter 105 times

Thai court jails activist for 28 years jail for royal defamation

26/01/2023
Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

26/01/2023
KKH’s lack of continuous monitoring baby’s vital signs “was not ideal”, said State Coroner

KKH’s lack of continuous monitoring baby’s vital signs “was not ideal”, said State Coroner

26/01/2023

Trending posts

Two Indian nationals paid about S$330 and S$730 respectively for forged certificates submitted in their S-Pass application

MOM found issuing EPs meant for foreign PMETs to PRC waitress and general worker

by Correspondent
26/01/2023
31

...

Ho Ching breaks silence over Temasek’s write down of its US$275 million investment in FTX, says it “can afford to be contrarian”

US regulator questions VCs’ due diligence work prior to investing in FTX; Ho Ching says Temasek can afford to be contrarian

by The Online Citizen
24/01/2023
28

...

Equal Rights for Unwed Mothers

by Terry Xu
11/05/2013
0

...

Indian rupee falls 60% since signing of CECA while Singapore becomes top investor in India

by Correspondent
25/01/2023
41

...

“党籍不会过期失效”  前进党称已就党籍终止知会卡拉

AGC asked to explain purposes of 68 private letters of inmates illegitimately forwarded to prosecutors

by The Online Citizen
21/01/2023
16

...

Temasek and GIC reportedly in talks with Adani Group accused of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud

Temasek and GIC reportedly in talks with Adani Group accused of “brazen” market manipulation and accounting fraud

by The Online Citizen
26/01/2023
31

...

May 2013
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Apr   Jun »
  • About Us
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
  • Contact Us

© 2006 - 2021 The Online Citizen

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2006 - 2021 The Online Citizen