family
India’s Supreme Court widens definition of ‘family’ to include unmarried and queer couples
- India's Supreme Court has ruled that familial relationships may take the form of domestic, unmarried partnerships or queer relationships, effectively expanding the country’s definition of what constitutes a “family.”
- The verdict was made during the hearing of a nurse named Deepika Singh, whose application for maternity leave was denied by her employer because she had already taken one to care for her husband’s children from an earlier marriage.
- Ruling in her favor, the presiding judges Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud and A. S. Bopanna noted that the existing understanding of the concept of a "family" ignores the “many circumstances which may lead to a change in one’s familial structure and the fact that many families do not conform to this expectation to begin with.”
- According to the judges, such "atypical manifestations" of the family unit are equally deserving of social welfare benefits.
- Observers believe the ruling could have a significant impact on the rights of women and the LGBTQ-plus community.
India’s Supreme Court has expanded its definition of what constitutes a “family,” ruling that it may take the form of domestic, unmarried partnerships or queer relationships.
The court decision, which prescribes that such “atypical manifestations” of familial relationships also deserve social welfare benefits, came in the verdict for the case of a nurse named Deepika Singh earlier this month.
Chinese parents win netizens’ hearts after transforming truck cabin into ‘princess bedroom’ for their daughter
- A mother and father from Qujing, a city in China’s Yunnan province, have captured the attention of Chinese social media users for transforming their coal freight truck cabin into a “princess bedroom” so that their 4-year-old daughter can travel with them on the road.
- The mother, only identified by the surname Hu, shared a video of her trucker husband and their daughter on social media earlier this month. The clip has already garnered more than 110 million views on Weibo.
- “We are 24 years old, not too young or too old; we cannot make everyone happy, but we will continue to work hard to make our little home better and better and our parents and child happy,” Hu wrote in response to questions from fans.
- Several social media users praised the couple for being “caring and loving,” while another person wrote, “Where the parents are is home.”
A mother and father from Qujing, a city in China’s Yunnan province, have captured the attention of Chinese social media users for transforming their coal freight truck cabin into a “princess bedroom” so that their daughter can travel with them on the road.
The mother, only identified by the surname Hu, posted a video of her trucker husband and their 4-year-old daughter on Douyin earlier this month.
Masochist: A Father’s Day essay for a dad who didn’t want me
- The clearance rack feels a little lonely tonight. I would mark myself down by 10% every day for you, never hitting zero — hoping that you would finally choose me and my melted crayons over your cheap champagne and Heineken. But you never do.
Somewhere in downtown Brooklyn, my future father is ironing his only nice dress shirt and practicing pulling out the chair for a girl he hasn’t met yet. He thinks about calling one of his older brothers for some last-minute kissing advice, having never locked lips with anyone before, but ultimately decides against it. He has very little hope for his mother’s weekly arrangements anyway.
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‘I get to be a big brother’: Veteran, 70, adopted as a child from Japan discovers his 7 siblings in Ohio
- Seventy-year-old Michael Bennett, who was adopted as a child, met seven of his siblings for the first time after undergoing a DNA test in 2019.
- Bennett was born in Japan in 1951 to a Japanese woman and an American soldier who served in the country after World War II.
- Bennett’s adoptive parents raised him with knowledge of his biological parents, and he understood why he had to be given up.
- The Green Beret said the discovery “opened up a whole new world for me” and that he now “gets to be a big brother.”
A Japanese American veteran had the reunion of his life when he met seven of his siblings for the first time after undergoing a DNA test to find out more about himself.
Michael Bennett, 70, was born in Japan in 1951 to a Japanese mother, Yoshiko Nakajima, and an American father, Dick Webster, who served in the country after World War II.
Elderly Malaysian man who orders dinner for 8 but dines alone has netizens offering to eat with him
- In a Facebook post uploaded on March 18, Zupi Bakhtiar describes having seen an elderly man ordering dinner for eight, even though he was alone through the entire meal.
- Malaysian radio station Zayan reposted the story on April 25, garnering over 3,700 reactions and 1,000 shares.
- The post explains that the man arranged eight sets of plates and cutlery around himself for a “family meal” but was seen eating alone the entire time.
- When Zupi asked the waiter about the elderly man, he was told that the man frequented the restaurant about two to three times a week and would order dinner for eight each time, requesting the leftovers be packed.
- Zupi asked that the restaurant's location remain hidden out of respect for the elderly man and in hopes that internet users who encounter him will not disturb him.
An elderly Malaysian man was seen ordering a meal for eight, complete with eight sets of dishes and cutlery, while eating alone.
A Facebook user who witnessed the moment, Zupi Bakhtiar, posted about his experience on March 18. After Malaysian radio station Zayan heard about the story, they reposted it to their official Facebook page on April 25, garnering over 3,700 reactions and over 1,000 shares.
Singaporean woman and her 91-year-old grandfather get matching tattoos to signify their ‘special bond’
- A woman in Singapore got matching tattoos with her 91-year-old grandfather as a symbol of their “special bond.”
- Kimberly Andrea Lim, 27, said that growing up Catholic, her grandfather, Ortega Francis, would always remind her to pray, serving as the inspiration behind the matching tattoos.
- Lim recalled her grandfather expressing enthusiasm at the prospect of getting matching tattoos and explained that he was excited to get another one after 70 years.
- The granddaughter and grandfather duo were tattooed by Lim’s 34-year-old boyfriend, Christopher Sim, a local tattoo artist.
A 91-year-old grandfather, who last got tattooed over 70 years ago, agreed to get a matching “pray” tattoo with his 27-year-old granddaughter.
When Singapore-based Kimberly Andrea Lim, 27, first brought up the idea of getting matching tattoos with her grandfather, Ortega Francis, she recalled his excitement and how “his eyes lit up,” reported AsiaOne. Although Ortega hadn’t been inked in over 70 years and was worried that his skin would not be able to handle a tattoo at his age, he decided to go through with the idea.
Singaporean woman, 82, fears for her future after moving overseas to be with daughter who stopped caring for her
An elderly woman claims that her daughter refused to take care of her after she and her husband sold their Singapore home and moved to Australia to live with her.
The 82-year-old woman, Zhang Xiujin, said that her daughter, 56, originally asked her parents to move in with her in Australia after learning that her father, Zhang’s husband, was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, according to Shin Min Daily News. Zhang and her husband then sold their four-bedroom home in Marine Crescent, Singapore, and immigrated to Australia in 2018 with their savings.
Myanmar families publicly disown their dissident children in newspaper notices due to Junta fear
- Burmese families are posting notices in local papers to announce they are cutting ties with their relatives who are against the ruling military junta.
- The military junta took control of the country after successfully unseating former State Counsellor of Myanmar and Minister of Foreign Affairs Aung San Suu Kyi last year.
- Since seizing power, the army has allegedly killed over 1,500 people and arrested almost 9,000, according to the nonprofit Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP).
- The army announced in November that it will seize the properties of what it deems opponents and arrest citizens who shelter protesters.
- Since then, an average of six or seven notices disowning family members have started showing up in state-owned newspapers on a daily basis.
Hundreds of families in Myanmar are posting newspaper notices disowning their relatives who oppose the military junta, including their own children.
Burmese families have been posting an average of six or seven notices daily since November when the ruling junta announced that it would take over properties of enemies and arrest those who shelter dissidents, reports Reuters.
Simu Liu announces memoir sharing his immigrant family’s ‘extraordinary origin story’
- Actor Simu Liu took to social media on Tuesday to announce his forthcoming memoir, “We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story.”
- The title alludes to Liu’s journey from child of a Chinese immigrant family in Canada to portraying superhero Shang-Chi in Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
- HarperCollins Publishers called the book “more than a celebrity memoir” and announced a May 2022 publication date.
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” star Simu Liu announced on Tuesday via Twitter that his memoir will be available this May.
In the tweet posted Feb. 1, Liu shared news of his forthcoming memoir with HarperCollins Publishers by posting a photo of the book’s cover and publication date.
Son’s emotional tribute to Cincinnati Bengals’ fan father goes viral on TikTok
- A viral TikTok video shows a son’s emotional reaction after his late father’s beloved football team, the Cincinnati Bengals, qualified for Super Bowl LVI.
- Robbie Tseng paid tribute to his father, who passed away in June 2021, by wearing his dad’s shirt and carrying a plush Garfield, a shared reference between them since Robbie’s childhood.
- Tseng shared that his father had “waited 30 years to see this happen” but ultimately “missed it by seven months.”
A video of a son paying tribute to his late father while celebrating the Cincinnati Bengals’ Sunday Super Bowl LVI qualification has gone viral on TikTok.
“I never thought I’d be crying because of a football game,” Tseng says in the video’s voiceover. “My dad waited 30 years to see this happen, and he missed it by seven months.”
Chinese father tries to kill himself because his son is still unmarried at 29
- A Chinese father was rushed to the hospital after he attempted to kill himself by overdosing on pesticides at Shanghai Railway Station on Jan. 22.
- His suicide note revealed he has “lived a life of shame” because his 29-year-old son has yet to find a partner and have his own family.
- The father was also upset because his son was not making enough money while working in Shanghai.
WARNING: The video in this article contains violent imagery and mentions of suicide that may be disturbing to some viewers.
A Chinese man who survived an apparent suicide by pesticide overdose at a train station in China revealed he did it, because he was ashamed his son was still single at 29 years old.
Taiwanese father is sentenced for assisting suicide of disabled son who faced amputations
- A Taiwanese man, only identified as Chang, helped his disabled son kill himself last year.
- Chang has been sentenced to one year and six months in prison and has also been given a three-year probation.
- He reportedly used a fruit knife to grant his son’s wish.
- Chang turned himself in after the incident, and his son was pronounced dead at the hospital.
A Taiwanese man who assisted his disabled son with committing suicide last year has been sentenced to jail and given a probation.
The man, identified only as Chang, was sentenced to one year and six months of imprisonment followed by a three-year probation with protection and restraint, according to CNA.
