Millions of single mothers have it rough in China where out-of-wedlock births are frowned upon, and where only married women can claim maternity benefits
The Chinese government in 2016 scrapped its longtime "one-child policy" and began encouraging citizens to have more children as the birth rate drops in the world's most populous country.
Image: Hector Retamal / AFP
Li Meng is a devoted mother trying to support her two-year-old daughter, but in the eyes of Chinese society and the state, she is almost a second-class citizen.
Millions of single mothers like her have it rough in a country where out-of-wedlock births are frowned upon, and where only married women can claim maternity benefits.
Li, a Shanghai resident, got pregnant with her boyfriend, but he left her to raise the child by herself.