‘Pink Carnations’ celebrates the sacrifice of Singaporean single mothers
Motherhood is not easy. It’s even harder when you’re a single mum.
For some, like Singaporean single mother Jun, who got divorced when pregnant, it’s a round-the-clock duty as she juggles work and taking care of her one-year-old daughter, Chinta. For others, like 28-year-old Sharifah Yazseerah, who was not married when she had her son five years ago, it's also a daily struggle with social stigma.
“People are going to ask you a lot of questions and put you in a spot,” she said in an interview, as part of a Mothers’ Day project, The Pink Carnations.
The project was launched on 29 March to spotlight the strengths of single mothers in Singapore through the stories of four mothers. The project was founded by local photographer, Natasha Salleh, 29, who worked with videographer friend Fajrina, makeup artist Faridah Abdullah and the people behind Cinnammon Tree Studios.
Inspired after a separate photo shoot with another single mother and her child some time back, Natasha felt that she had to do something “to create awareness by giving a shout out to single mothers this Mothers’ Day”, she said in an interview with Yahoo Singapore.
The owner of Kiera Roxanne Photography said the trio asked friends and family for support at first, but the movement went viral in no time.
Natasha said Yazseerah’s story was the one that touched her the most.
“Of the 4 mothers we featured, she's the unmarried one. There's the community backlash impression towards her and the struggles she had to face at some point bringing up her child on her own. But the strength she has to hold her head up high for her child is amazing,” she said.
Photos of the mothers featured on their Facebook page have generated hundreds of Likes and attracted a stream of comments from viewers, many of whom shared words of encouragement. A video showing snippets of interviews with the mothers also garnered close to 8,000 views since being posted on 15 April.
“Thumbs up!! Being a single mom does not mean you love your child or children lesser. In fact, you have (more) courage than others,” a commenter named Keslia Wan said on the page.
“You are strong because you have to be strong. You are awesome. Your sweetheart is blessed to have you as mum. And will grow up wonderfully with such a strong role model,” said a Susan Jackson-Choong.
According to the Ministry of Social and Family Development, 550 babies each year between 2007 and 2011 were born without the father's name being registered.
There has been a lot of debate about the lack of equal rights between single and married mothers in Singapore. Privileges such as maternity leave, varies for both. A single mother is given eight weeks of maternity leave while a married mother gets 16 weeks.
