Breastfeeding in public is still considered taboo in some parts of Chinese society. (Photo : www.ecns.cn)
A husband is threatening to take legal action for a picture that appeared online showing his wife breastfeeding her baby on the metro, according to Chinese Business View.
According to a statement the man surnamed Fang gave to the newspaper, he had talked to a lawyer and was planning to sue both the person who took the picture and the website that reposted it, as well as Sina.com, which hosted both microblogs.
The picture was posted on Nov. 27, accompanied with a caption that scolded the woman for "showing private parts in public." It even reminded her that she was on a subway in Beijing, "not a bus from your village."
It was reposted by nongovernment organization (NGO) Beijing Tale. Shortly after, it sparked a debate online.
While some netizens believed that the woman should have covered herself while breastfeeding, more expressed their support for her, directing their anger at the person who had taken the picture and the charity organization that reported it. Many said that a woman's breast is for providing food for a hungry baby, not a "private part."
Even the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) responded by saying that breastfeeding, even in public places, was the right of the mother and her baby.
"Breast milk is the most natural and perfect food for babies, which is irreplaceable," said UNICEF on its microblog.
The person who posted the picture under the name Han Jia Xiao Guai Xue has apologized for the photo. Beijing Tale has also apologized for reporting the photo.
According to Fang, the day the photo was taken, he and his wife had just taken their daughter to see a doctor. The three-month-old baby had been crying due to hunger while they were on the subway.
"It was peak time in the afternoon and someone gave my wife a seat in the crowded metro," Fang told Chinese Business View. "Since my daughter always vomits, so she can't be fed too much at one time. My wife fed her once in the hospital, but she was hungry again and cried on the Metro. My wife had no option but to feed her."
