If you think being an older sister is a tough job, think of this 22-year-old woman identified as Le Le who has been ordered by a court to take care of her two-year-old brother because their parents can’t afford to.
Chinese social media went abuzz when the story emerged that a couple took their dughter to court to enforce her care for her toddler brother because they can’t afford to.
It is reported that the couple who for several years had survived on their child’s monthly allowance alone decided to have a second child.
When they realised they couldnt afford the bills of the new child, they asked their 22-year-old daughter to raise the toddler on their behalf.
Le Le refused leading to the lawsuit from her parents.
She had managed to support herself through college and was dreaming about building a career for herself when she got the news of her new “job” from her parents.
Interestingly, she lost the case as the court ordered her to take up reposiblity of the child.
According to Article 29 of the “Marriage Law of the People’s Republic of China”, adults whose parents have died or are unable to take care of their underage children have an obligation to take care of their siblings.
The story has since generated constorversy with over 74 million reacting to it on China’s Weibo platform alone.
Many believe the ruling is unfair to the young woman and the parents should be made to face the irresponsibly of having a second child when they could not afford to take care of him.
According to Chinese news site Two Eggz, ever since China abolished their two-child policy, many couples have multiple children without first taking into consideration their ability to take care of them.
