China: Two women spark debate after locking girl in plane toilet

The incident took place on 24 August onboard a Juneyao Airlines flight from the southwestern city of Guiyang to Shanghai.

The toddler, who was travelling with her grandmother, had started crying during the flight.

The airline said in a statement two days after the incident that the girl’s grandmother who was travelling with her had agreed to let two women take the girl to the toilet.

A video posted by Ms Gou on Chinese social media reportedly showed the other woman telling the girl she could leave the bathroom only if she stopped crying.

Local media reports say she was a one-year-old, though the airline has not given details.

Shortly after she posted the video, backlash was swift, with many criticising Ms Gou for lacking empathy and “bullying” the child.

Responding to the criticism, Ms Gou said she “prefers to take action rather than be a bystander”.

“I just wanted to calm the child down and let everyone rest,” she wrote on Douyin, China’s equivalent of TikTok.

She also explained that some passengers had “moved to the back of the plane to escape the noise” while others stuffed tissue papers into their ears.

Ms Gou’s account has since been set private.

“Children cannot control their emotions when they are one or two years old. What’s wrong with crying? Didn’t you cry when you were young too?” one user wrote on Weibo.

Another was concerned about the psychological impact on the girl, saying: “We should be thinking about how public spaces can better accept and accommodate young children.”

But there were some who defended the women, saying their actions were justified as the girl’s grandmother had given her consent.

“To be honest, some children cannot do without some education,” a Weibo user wrote.

There has been growing debate over how to manage what China calls “bear children” – spoilt young kids who kick up a fuss in public spaces such as by screaming or damaging public property.

The use of the word “bear” in this instance suggests some people in China think some children can act in a feral way.

Some public trains have started operating separate compartments for children.

There are mixed views on this elsewhere in the world. South Korea, for example, has designated hundreds of children-free zones in restaurants, museums and theatres.

But lawmakers have called on the government and get rid of these zones, citing the need to recreate a society which are more accepting of cihldren – especially as the country is wrestling with a low birthrate.

Global airlines, including Turkish-Dutch carrier Corendon Airlines and Singapore-based Scoot, offer the option for passengers to pay more to be seated in a child-free zone.