In central Shanghai, one bookstore is especially popular among young people.

Within the store, an event for women is being held.

The topic is how to have children alone.

I'm interested in childbirth out of wedlock.

Like, can we get government allowance?
Or register our children in the family record?

I want to know about the challenges.

Many Chinese women are now showing interest in childbirth outside of marriage.

One reason is that in some regions, a new policy has been launched,

giving unwed mothers the same rights as their married counterparts.

China had long refused rights for women who gave birth outside of wedlock.

So despite the new policy, the conservative opinions toward unwed mothers have yet to noticeably change.

As unmarried mothers face a range of problems, a lawyer lends a hand to them.

A woman passed the public servant exam,
but went unhired because she was an unwed mother.

One woman has spent 4 years suing the local government while raising her son.

Women have the right to choose whether to
be married or not when they give birth.

We have to win that right ourselves.
It isn't given to us.

This episode focuses on the battles fought by unwed mothers in China.

What are you filming?

Here.

Thank you.

This is Xinxin and his mother, Zhang Meng.

They agreed to be interviewed under assumed names.

Zhang gave birth six years ago without getting married.

Come on!

I'll show you my house.

The two of them have been living here since Xinxin was born.

Those are all me.

I was wrapped in a blanket right after birth.

This is when we were playing.

Mommy was so pretty then.

And now?

She looks okay.

Zhang became pregnant with Xinxin when she was 40.

One day I felt sick on my way back from jogging.
I got tested and learned I was pregnant.

I was shocked. I had just broken up
with my boyfriend a few days earlier.

When I told him,
he said he didn't want a child.

I felt a connection with my baby.

It was as if he had taken root inside me.

I couldn't possibly give up that
life growing within me.

Soon after Zhang gave birth, she contacted her local government and applied for maternity benefits,

which cover medical bills and lost income.

However, the response surprised her.

They scolded me for being an unwed mother.
They wouldn't offer maternity benefits.

When I asked why, they said, "This is China."

They told me I couldn't apply for benefits
because the pregnancy was unplanned.

A "planned pregnancy" in this case is defined by the regulations of the One-Child Policy long enforced in China.

The One-Child Policy restricted couples to having a single child,

and assumed that the parents would be married.

Zhang filed for maternity benefits in 2017, after the Policy had ended.

But since they were still limited only to married couples, she was denied benefits.

I was upset.

I did nothing wrong,
yet I was denied benefits.

Having worked for a travel agency for a long period of time, Zhang had financial security.

But she sued the local government because she expected the same rights as married mothers.

Sadly, she lost the case.

The reason was that unwed mothers don't meet
the conditions for receiving benefits.

But childbirth is the right of all women.

Women have the right to choose whether to
be married or not when they give birth.

Believing the ruling was unfair, Zhang appealed.

She sent a letter to the judge, hoping to convey her opinion directly.

"Unwed mothers are deprived of
the benefits we need during childbirth."

"It's like telling unwed mothers
to choose between marriage or abortion."

"It tells us we can't have kids out of wedlock,
and drastically violates our basic human rights."

"Countless women have had abortions
due to this outdated and misguided policy."

"I hope that you and other judges
will consider our plight."

Zhang appealed in court for four years.

She even took her complaint to the Shanghai High Court,

but in the end, she still lost the case.

At the same time, her case was widely reported by the media,

and gained public attention.

In January 2021, Zhang received some good news.

The government of Shanghai launched a new online system for applying for maternity benefits,

and a marriage certificate was no longer a condition for application.

Zhang applied right away and was finally able to receive benefits,

four years after giving birth.

It was encouraging for me and others to see
that unwed mothers could actually get benefits.

I felt lost and conflicted
during the legal battle.

But I'm glad I continued to fight
without giving up.

In recent years, other major cities in China have also implemented policies

to provide maternity benefits to unmarried mothers.

Some experts believe these changes were made in a bid to boost births in China

as the population began to decline.

One woman has been fighting to protect the rights of unwed mothers.

Dong Xiaoying is an attorney based in Guangzhou City.

She has been receiving an increasing number of inquiries from unmarried mothers

as policies throughout China have begun to change.

Zhang Meng's case started a controversy, causing
many women in similar situations to take action.

This is the case of an unwed mother
living in Fujian Province.

She came to me because
she was denied benefits.

Few regions were offering benefits for unwed moms,
and it's especially difficult in small towns.

Even in Shanghai, where the policy has changed,

some unwed mothers are still denied maternity benefits.

This mother was told she doesn't qualify,
because she gave birth before 2016.

She had her child in 2013.

The mother agreed to be interviewed under an assumed name.

Chen Dongdong lives in Shanghai.

Chen gave birth in 2013 without marrying.

She was fined roughly 2,900 US dollars for violating the government's childbirth policy,

which considers marriage a pre-condition for childbirth.

Because of the fine,
I thought I had made a mistake.

So I had long given up on obtaining
maternity benefits.

Eight years after giving birth, Chen heard the news

that an unwed mother in Shanghai had received maternity benefits.

So I applied, too.

But they rejected my application.

They said they had internal papers stating
that pre-2016 births were ineligible.

When I asked them to show me the file,
they said they couldn't.

I demanded proof because they are a public entity.
But they still refused.

Kids born in 2013 and 2016
are only 3 years apart.

I can't accept the fact
I'm being denied benefits.

Chen believes that the right to maternity benefits shouldn't be violated

based on when women gave birth.

Five months ago, Chen filed a lawsuit against the Shanghai city office,

but the court has yet to accept the case.

On this day, Chen met with her lawyer Dong for the first time in Shanghai.

Let me ask you...

You'd repeatedly asked the court
to accept your lawsuit, right?

When I called,
a case manager picked up.

The call happened to go through.
Just once?

Just once?

Twice in six months.

I said my name and they looked it up.

I got the judge's name.

They said they'll tell the judge
that I want my case to begin.

Your case has a judge,
and yet you've been ignored.

Chen says she called the judge numerous times after that,

but to no avail.

I'll try calling the court.

Hello. Thank you for your call.

Please press 0 to speak to an operator.

Please hold while we connect your call.

Hello.

I'd like to speak to Judge Xu, please.

The judge in room ***?

They hung up.

I haven't been put through
in a long time.

Lawsuits are generally accepted
within a certain time frame.

A 5-month wait is unacceptable.

China's Supreme Court provision states that the decision whether to accept a civil

or administrative litigation will be made within 7 days of receiving the written complaint.

The decision whether to accept a civil or administrative litigation
will be made within 7 days of receiving the written complaint.

But according to Dong, in the case of administrative litigation,

long wait periods are not unusual.

They often delay cases likely
to gain attention.

The defendant is the government,
so we aren't on equal ground.

We're just citizens,
and the government has power.

Are the courts hesitant when dealing
with the government?

They may have some concerns.

What can Chen do after seeing no results for five months?

Dong suggested a solution.

You should go to the
courthouse yourself.

Directly?
Yes. If it doesn't work, we'll reconsider.

Should I call beforehand?
No. It's better to just go.

They should've received the documents.

State your name and seek action there.

You've been very patient.
Others would've quit.

Why?

It's a tiring process.

Not to me.

You have to make calls.

I'll call once in the morning
and once in the afternoon.

Okay.

That's it.

If everyone had that persistence,
it would help them.

Many people give up on it.

"What do you think of unwed mothers?"

I think it's a normal thing.

It's not a matter of good or bad.

Childbirth is a person's right.

Being fatherless is a little strange
for families.

An ideal family should have two parents.

If kids are sick or being bullied,

or if they struggle academically,

the mom and dad can help in different ways.

I'm not sure...

I think people should give birth
if they get pregnant.

But after the birth...

It's a tough question.

Hi! Hello!

Are you filming?

While single-handedly raising her son,

Zhang says she feels she had often been given the cold shoulder for having a child out of wedlock.

People said to me, "It's selfish to deprive
your child of a father."

"Did you ask the child if they
wanted to be born?"

I thought this was inevitable because I once
believed kids should be born to married couples.

Now I know it's OK to be an unwed mother.

As to what Xinxin thinks about his father,

Zhang says she hadn't pursued the topic with her son.

Mom, play the piano!

After you answer her questions.

Okay.

Do you wish you had a daddy?

Sometimes I want one. Maybe.

How do you imagine your daddy?

I think...

He's big, and has a car.

Mommy loves you.
But you still want a daddy?

No.

Why not?

Because I love mommy more.

But you said you want a daddy?

Not really.

Oh?

Probably not.

I'll play piano now.

Yay!

I hadn't asked him much about his father.

Maybe it's still hard for him
to express his feelings.

There's a certain children's book that Zhang cherishes.

Written by a British author, the book introduces many different forms of families.

In real life, families come in all sorts
of shapes and sizes.

Lots of children live with their
mommy and daddy.

But lots of others live with just their daddy
or just their mommy.

I'm lucky to live with my mommy.

You're lucky, aren't you?

Zhang hopes Xinxin will learn from it that there are all kinds of different families.

Children's books showing diverse families are
really rare. I've only found this one.

In class, textbooks, or novels,
kids only hear about traditional families.

I want him to gain a lot of information
and form his own opinion.

Lawyer Dong Xiaoying receives inquiries from a variety of clients,

not just unwed mothers.

Xu Zaozao hopes to freeze her eggs in case she wants to become a mother in the future.

China's first lawsuit for unwed woman to freeze her eggs.
Plaintiff loses suit.

But medical institutions refused to cooperate because she isn't married.

She filed a lawsuit, but lost.

It was a time in my life to develop my career.
I couldn't commit to marriage or childbirth.

I want the right to freeze my eggs
to plan for the future.

In China, medical institutions are prohibited from using reproductive technology

such as cryopreservation on unwed women.

Xu unsuccessfully filed suit, claiming that her personal rights,

which include the right to give birth, were violated.

All policies are made by those in power.
We're merely being controlled.

It's like they're telling us
what to do with our bodies.

I want the right to make decisions about
my own body and future.

Xu appealed the verdict and is preparing for her next chance in court along with her lawyer.

It's about the right of self‐determination.

Everyone has the right to freeze
a part of themselves.

Many people are expressing interest
in this lawsuit.

I'm happy when people ask about it.

I feel like they're waiting for
the ruling along with us.

Chen Dongdong approaches a courthouse in Shanghai.

Five months ago, she sued the local government for the right to receive maternity benefits

regardless of the year she gave birth, but there's been no progress.

She's attempting a direct visit to the courthouse to get things moving.

They said, "Your lawsuit
involves the government."

"The judge may be contacting the government.
It's a somewhat complex case."

They said they'll give the judge
my contact number.

I'll wait for the call.

I won't give up.

It's very socially significant,
so I'll keep on fighting until I get results.