Although the divorce rate in India is the lowest in the world, it has increased over the past two decades. People are trying to gain more understanding and knowledge of the law of maintenance in order to go through a fair divorce proceeding. But when it comes to women, divorce and the right to livelihood are often portrayed as a manipulative ploy to rob husbands.
Women who demand maintenance are branded as selfish, self-respecting, and greedy. But is that a fair deal? Is it right to shame women for asking for alimony, which is their right? Just because a woman has decided to divorce, does that mean she has lost her morals, respect, and right to marital property?
The decision to get divorced is daunting for women. Women in our society are bred to make marriages forever, even if they go through multiple torments and difficulties within the bond. But when women prefer their happiness, sanity, and justice to a bad marriage, they feel ashamed for not fulfilling their responsibility to preserve the marriage. A woman who is getting divorced is therefore more severely tested than a man who chooses the same. Their morals are questioned, their reputation and self-respect ripped off and labeled as incapable and slut. While men who are divorcing their wives show sympathy.
Maintenance claims are considered a trick of the gold diggers
Therefore, in exercising the right to maintenance, a woman is more ashamed and criticized than a man. A woman is described as greedy and manipulative because she is “robbed”? a man of his money. It is believed that she only married the man for his money and that alimony claims are only part of her gold rush strategy. While this has been correct in many cases, is it correct to stereotype every woman and see her right to maintenance in the wrong light? Is it correct to assume that any woman who is divorcing her husband and demanding maintenance is a greedy gold digger (which is a very problematic concept in itself)?
How maintenance strengthens women
First of all, we have to understand that there are reasons why women have certain rights on the pages of the Constitution. The right to support is vital to a divorce as it enables women who are not making money to value their freedom and happiness without fear of the lack of financial support after the divorce after marriage. An alarming number of women quit their jobs between 2005 and 2012. About 65 percent of them never returned to female employment. In such situations, alimony acts as a medium to strengthen them financially after the divorce. So it is not right to shame a woman for claiming support from her husband after the divorce.
Men can also demand maintenance
According to the Hindu Marriage Act 1965, men can also claim maintenance if the wife earns more or the husband is unable to earn his own money. In 2008, the Delhi Supreme Court ruled that if a woman can earn enough money to support herself after the divorce, the right to child support is forfeited.
“If a wife has no income or no support for a living, the court must make an order that takes into account the husband’s income and living conditions. However, if the wife and husband both earn and have a good salary, an order is not required, ”said Judge SN Dhingra.
The right to maintenance is therefore not restricted to one gender. Even if the right to maintenance and streethan is a little more geared towards women, it is not right to question it, since women are more susceptible than men to financial disempowerment – through less salary, the loss of a job or no job at all. According to a study, the unemployment rate for women in India is more than double that of men.
Stop shaming women who demand maintenance
It is high time we stopped shaming women who demand maintenance. Divorce and alimony is a woman’s basic right. She is not immoral, greedy, or selfish to exercise her basic rights. Although women have legal rights to marriage and divorce, many are unaware of them. Most women fear the control of society because they choose to divorce their husbands. While others fear the lack of financial independence after divorce. The right to maintenance in our society is known to women not as their right, but as the trait of a shameless woman who wants to rob her husband and her in-laws. So it is time we encourage women to unlearn stereotypes and exercise their rights without fear.
The views expressed are the author’s own
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