Thomas Li   

A debate over legal restrictions on children born out of wedlock is being propelled by a briskly declining birth-rate and a new generation of independent Chinese women. Despite a raft of pronatalist policies in recent years, single motherhood still remains a legal grey area in China. A large proportion of them do not enjoy any form of social welfare - including maternity benefits, maternity leave, health insurance. When news of their pregnancy spread, they were often ridiculed and even unfairly treated - evicted from their families, fired from their jobs, and even fined by the government.

In this report, I interviewed several single mothers who had children before marriage to understand their struggles, pains and needs. I also studied the local laws of all provinces in China with professional lawyers, trying to figure out how to protect the human rights of these mothers.