Husband in China Divorcing Wife As Their 5th Child is Still a Daughter

In Chinese culture, it is commonly accepted that a couple would prefer a son over a daughter (read on to find out more).

However, it is also not accurate to say that daughters are unwanted in Chinese culture.

This concept is more commonly seen in Mainland China, where people there are still very conservative and have the views of the older generation.

In one recent incident that exploded on Mainland China’s social media platform, Douyin, a husband allegedly wants to divorce his wife as she is unable to conceive a male baby.

Women Pregnant with Fifth Child

According to Hu on her video on Douyin, who was eight months pregnant at the time of posting the video, she was pregnant with her husband’s fifth child.

However, upon hearing about the news that the fifth child would also be a daughter, he asked for a divorce.

Husband Asked for Divorce

Prior to having this fifth child, the woman says that she has four other children with her husband, all of whom are daughters. She would later go on to show them in the video she posted on Douyin.

In an interview with Jiupai News, Hu mentioned that her husband had been living separately as he had already moved out of their apartment three months ago.

She goes on further to state that her husband refused to pay the rent and insisted on a divorce because he thinks that their fifth child will also be a daughter.

Hu says that her husband deduced the gender of their baby based on her belly shape.

Since separating, Hu’s husband, whose identity was kept hidden, is said to have moved to a city away from the rural area of Guizhou in southwestern China to look for work.

Got Together at 15

When asked about their relationship, Hu told South China Morning Post (SCMP) reporters that she and her husband got together emotionally when she was at the age of 15.

She then goes on to mention that in 2014 and at the age of 17, she gave birth to their eldest daughter.

In addition, Hu said that her husband told her that he is the only son in his family and that if Hu was unable to conceive a son for him, he would go and find another woman who can.

Chinese Culture Prefer Sons Over Daughters

For those who are confused as to why Hu’s husband would say such a thing, freight not, we will explain it here.

In traditional Chinese families, financial security is a major reason for sex preference in China, namely the preference for male children over female children. This is because in older Chinese social culture, once a woman is married to her husband, she will belong to the husband’s family, which essentially implies that she will no longer take on the responsibility of having to take care of her parents anymore but instead will take care of her in-laws.

In contrast, the majority of traditional Chinese culture concept believes that sons can take responsibility for their families. This is because even after they are married, they still belong to their own families, unlike daughters.

This issue grew deeper as China developed and grew larger. Thus, to counter overpopulation, the Chinese government created the “one-child policy” in 1979. This policy led to many sex-selected abortions as people only wanted sons.

Furthermore, during that time, many posters that promoted the “one-child policy” showed photos of parents holding onto sons and not daughters, which further represses the idea of having a son is better than having a daughter.

Accepted the divorce

As Hu wanted to get out of the marriage, she accepted her husband’s request for a divorce.

She said that divorce has its advantages and disadvantages. One advantage that she mentioned was that she and her children no longer need to tolerate her husband’s constant abuse towards them.

Adding on, Hu says that her husband would always physically beat her and had an affair with another woman when Hu was still pregnant with their second daughter.

During the divorce, the couple came to an agreement that Hu would keep all five of their children after their divorce and that her husband would pay 1,000 yuan (SGD $192) per month in child support.

Hu would go on to give credit to her husband saying that after all that he has put her through, he still has a conscience as he was willing to accept the monetary terms of the divorce.

To support her children, Hu said that she now has to work very hard and lead a simple life so that she is able to pay for her children’s school fees.

Couple Will Travel Back to Hometown for Divorce

At the end of the year, the couple will be returning to their hometown, Guizhou, to register for their divorce.

This inconvenience is due to a law that only allows couples to file for their divorce at the city where they initially filed for their marriage.

Linhai’s Women’s Federation, a women right’s said that they have reached out to Hu to offer her assistance as well as to investigate the nature of the domestic abuse she had put up with.

Netizens Enraged

Since this incident has been a trending topic in mainland China for quite awhile now, many Netizens took to social media platforms such as Weibo to express their anger.

One Netizen who was enraged said “it is already the 21^st century, why are people still fixated on having sons instead of daughters?”

Another Netizen who posted on Douyin said “the gender of the baby is determined by the father, why is he blaming his wife for it?”

China’s problem of traditional gender preference for sons over daughters has caused an imbalance in the gender ratio of the country.

In 2021, the ratio of newborn boys compared to girls was 108.3 males for every 100 females, which is higher than the international level of 103 males to 107 females.

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Featured Image: 父女情深/Douyin