One Child Policy

One Child Policy by Cassie Barber

The one child policy was a policy set by the Chinese government to control the population. It started in 1979 and began to phase out in 2015. There were many exceptions allowed to this policy and all minorities were exempt from following it.

History:

*Originally designed to be a One-Generation Policy*Enforcement of the policy varied from place to place*More strictly enforced in densely populated urban areas*Flexibility of the policy and exceptions began to be granted in 1980*

Exceptions:

*Allowed to have two children if the family lived in a rural area and their first born was a girl*Parents who are only childs are allowed to have two children*Ethnic minorities were exempt because of their already limited populations*

Penalties For Failure to comply:

*Fined anywhere from $370 to $12,800*If unable to pay the fine, they could lose their jobs, land, and livestock, have their home destroyed, their children denied the rights and benefits of the state, or have their child taken away*The woman could be forced to be sterilized*The woman could also be forced to have an abortion if discovered with as pregnant without a birth certificate*

Rewards for complying:

*Receive a one-child-certificate, which gives the couple a wide variety of benefits, as well as their child*If women marry late, after they turn 25, they receive an extended maternity leave when they become pregnant*

why was the one child policy necessary:

The country was experiencing major food shortages so that a lot of people were starving from over population. There was also a huge gap between the population of men and women.

Issues with the one child policy:

*Led to cases of infanticide and sex selective abortions targeting females*Because the men outnumbered women, it was hard for many men to find a wife. This caused some men to turn to violence and criminality*Caused forced abortions of "illegal children"*Caused couples to become sterilized so that they are not able to have another child*Forced women to use dangerous contraceptives*Violated many human rights*

Sources:

http://time.com/4092689/china-one-child-policy-history/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-child_policy

http://alexatsintolas.weebly.com/rewards-for-complying.html

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by Arian Zwegers - "Zhongdian, one child poster"