As Mother's Day approaches, women's groups have seized the opportunity to highlight the plight of unmarried mothers and inequalities between motherhood and fatherhood.
"Being an unmarried mother could be a sin that carries a longer penalty than any other crime. Everyone errs, but I think the unmarried mother is given a far longer sentence than others," said Yang Jui-ling (楊瑞玲), a social worker with the non-governmental Taipei Association for the Promotion of Women's Rights (台北市女權促進會), at a seminar on the plight of unmarried mothers in Taipei earlier this week.
"Having seen so many cases, I must say it is a `no way out' situation for the mothers who have babies to care for without the support provided by a marital relationship. With the coming of Mother's Day, people are talking about recognizing the devotion and sacrifices that mothers make, but we hope there will be a day when unmarried motherhood will also be recognized by society and can feel free about what they were and what they are," Yang said.
The Tapei Association for the Promotion of Women's Rights held the seminar on Thursday to highlight the difficulties unmarried mothers face in Taiwan society, as well as in other countries.
Following a screening of the British documentary film Least said, soonest mended, which depicted the story of a British unmarried mother, social workers at the seminar gave their own personal accounts of the problems unwed mothers face, drawing on their experience in the field.
Yang said the stigma attached to unmarried mothers is such that the mothers are denied the right to freely express their feelings and emotions -- fears of pregnancy, joy over the birth of a new life, or grievances over the hardship of life.
"People keep telling them they have no right to complain because they're evil and eventually they regard themselves as evil and repress their feelings. Being a mother is said to be a blessing, but for the unmarried woman, it can be a life-long curse," Yang said.
An official from Taipei City's social affairs department pointed out that official efforts to help unmarried mothers are still inadequate, and that resources and services available to unmarried mothers in other areas are even more limited.
Meanwhile, another activity -- related to motherhood -- organized by the Awakening Foundation (
Sylvia Feng (馮賢賢), a single mother, said she wanted her child to adopt the family name "Feng," but the wish was hampered by what she called "outdated legal provisions."
Yu Mei-nu (
In Feng's case, the father has agreed to the child adopting the mother's surname. However Feng has brothers and thus she by law cannot give her surname to the child.
According to the Awakening Foundation, the restriction is chauvinist and the foundation wants to use Feng's case to try to change the law to give mothers and fathers equal rights
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