By MP for Punggol East SMC, Lee Li Lian
[Delivered in Committee of Supply on 14 March 2013]
Madam, today a married woman is given 16 weeks of paid maternity leave. The situation for single mothers is very different. Single mothers are currently only entitled to 8 weeks of paid maternity leave from the state [1].
The bond between a mother and her child is special and often indescribable. Mothers in this house can certainly attest to it. Women today have many responsibilities both in the workplace and at home. All the more, the time a mother can share with her child is especially precious and when managed well, can strengthen the psychological and emotional attachment of the mother and her child. Maternity leave is particularly important for the child as well as the mother to recuperate physically and emotionally from child bearing. A mother’s marital status is irrelevant. They may be single by chance, but mothers by choice.
We must remember that such discrepancies in maternity leave only hurt the child, who has to suffer from lack of time with his or her parents simply because they are not married. It is unfair to penalize the child for whatever decisions parents may have made that the state frowns upon. Children, whether born to married parents or single-parent homes, require the same amount of love, care and support from the parents they have.
I certainly hope that the government does not view an additional 8 weeks of paid maternity leave to single mothers as a financial burden. Rather, I hope that the government will appreciate the needs of the child, as well as the value of the bond between a mother and her child, which is non-measurable in monetary terms. This is not about encouraging more single mothers, but ensuring better and fair support for children who have been born to them.
As such, I call upon the Ministry to consider extending the benefits of 16 weeks of paid maternity leave to single mothers and also look into granting paternity leave for single fathers.
