Nanfu Wang, Director of ‘One Child Nation’
Nanfu Wang was born in a rural village in mainland China and first moved to the U.S. on a full scholarship to study at Ohio University. She was surprised to learn there that certain American states restricted access to abortion. This was in stark contrast to China’s One Child policy, under which she grew up. In China, women were often forced to have abortions if they got pregnant with a second child. She came to see that while the policies seemed oppposite, they were essentially the same. “Governments were trying to control a woman’s body and rights.”
Nanfu Wang’s documentary, ‘One Child Nation,’ is a wrenching examination of how the one child policy affected women, families and babies born in China. As of 2015, the country now has a two child policy.
Poster for ‘One Child Nation’ Documentary
Under China’s one child policy local and national government commissions were created to ensure that women did not give birth to more than one child. If a woman did become pregnant a second time, the children were often forcibly aborted, abandoned once they were born or even killed at birth. Since families were only allowed to have one child, they often elected to “get rid of” females babies. Sometimes the babies did end up in government run orphanages and were adopted by parents outside of China.However, the policy inadvertently led to gender discrimination when deciding which fetuses to abort. Female fetuses were far more likey to be aborted.
Nanfu Wang With Her Mother and Father
Nanfu Wang was her parents first born child. They decided to keep their child despite the fact that she was a baby girl. Because she lived in a rural area, her parents were allowed to have a second child and they were happy to then welcome a son. Millions of female infants were never born or lost their lives due to the one child policy’s inadvertent sex discrimination.
Nanfu Wang With Her Brother
Nanfu’s parents were allowed to have a second child because of their location in the rural countryside. Second children were sometimes allowed in rural areas and sometimes if each member of the couple was a single child themselves.
Nanfu Wang’s Son
Nanfu began thinking critically about China’s one child policy after she became pregnant, while living in the United States. She became protective of her child and first questioned the morality of the policy. before she became pregnant, she just accepted the policy.
Listings of Abandoned Children
In the case of twins or second births, the Chinese government would sometimes confiscate the infants and place them for adoption, usually outside the country. Organizations are now conducting DNA tests to try and reconnect families that were forced to part with their children.
