Another day, another depressing news story to make you want to scratch your eyes out as soon as you’ve read it. The latest from world news is the story that the United Arab Emirates has passed a law requiring mothers to breastfeed their children until they are two years old.
'This is the right of every child for two years,' Sultan al-Sammahi has said, part of a commitee who believes the law is a human way of getting the best possible healthcare to children. 'If they do not have a mother or have been neglected, then they should get this right from someone else.'
While sites like Mumsnet obsess about the benefits of breastfeeding over powdered milk endlessly, (and new mums seem to spend hours trolling each other about their personal choices) the pros and cons of whether breastfeeding is better than a bottle - and the fact this law normalizes the view that breast is best - isn't really what's the heart of why this is wrong.
The real issue is that it may could raise the prospect of husbands suing wives who don't breastfeed. 'This part of the law can be a burden,' UAE social affairs minister Mariam al-Roumi, has been quoted as saying by the Emirati newspaper the National. 'If the law forced women to breastfeed, this could lead to new court cases.'
The law will also leave mothers who don’t breastfeed for the required amount of time open to facing potential fines. And in the event that a mother may not be able to feed a child, members of the UAE's federal national council, who passed the law, suggested that wet nurses should be provided. Which to us just sounds like another way the power dynamic can continue to shift in favour of husbands.
Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.