Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Gender equality
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
====Marriage, divorce and property laws and regulations==== Equal rights for women in marriage, divorce, and property/land ownership and inheritance are essential for gender equality. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has called for the end of discriminatory [[family law]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Equalityinfamilyrelationsrecognizingwomensrightstoproperty.aspx|title=Equality in family relations: recognizing women's rights to property|website=Ohchr.org|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=10 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810113353/https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Equalityinfamilyrelationsrecognizingwomensrightstoproperty.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013, UN Women stated that "While at least 115 countries recognize equal land rights for women and men, effective implementation remains a major challenge".<ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2013/11/womens-land-rights-are-human-rights-says-new-un-report|title = Women's land rights are human rights, says new UN report|date = 11 November 2013|newspaper = Un Women β Headquarters|access-date = 2 March 2018|archive-date = 22 December 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171222072443/http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2013/11/womens-land-rights-are-human-rights-says-new-un-report|url-status = live}}</ref> The legal and social treatment of married women has been often discussed as a political issue from the 19th century onwards.{{Refn|[[John Stuart Mill]], in ''[[The Subjection of Women]]'' (1869) compared marriage to [[slavery]] and wrote that: "The law of servitude in marriage is a monstrous contradiction to all the principles of the modern world, and to all the experience through which those principles have been slowly and painfully worked out."<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web|url=https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mill-john-stuart/1869/subjection-women/ch04.htm|title=The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill|website=Marxists.org|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=18 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918233515/https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mill-john-stuart/1869/subjection-women/ch04.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=lower-roman}}{{Refn|In 1957, James Everett, then Minister for Justice in Ireland, stated: "The progress of organised society is judged by the status occupied by married women".<ref name=Oireachtas group=upper-roman>{{cite web |url= http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad1957011600008?opendocument |title= Married Women's Status Bill, 1956βSecond Stage: Minister for Justice (Mr. Everett) |website= [[Houses of the Oireachtas|Oireachtas]] |date= 16 January 1957 |access-date= 6 September 2015 |archive-date= 26 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150926014352/http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad1957011600008?opendocument |url-status= live }}</ref>|group=lower-roman}} Until the 1970s, legal subordination of married women was common across European countries, through [[marriage laws]] giving legal authority to the husband, as well as through [[marriage bar]]s.{{Refn|In France, married women obtained the right to work without their husband's consent in 1965;<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web |url=http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/explore/cmcf-vsi-women-in-france.pdf |title=Modern & Contemporary France: Women in France |website=Routledge |access-date=April 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092212/http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/explore/cmcf-vsi-women-in-france.pdf |archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref> while the paternal authority of a man over his family was ended in 1970 (before that parental responsibilities belonged solely to the father who made all legal decisions concerning the children); and a new reform in 1985 abolished the stipulation that the father had the sole power to administer the children's property.<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web|url=http://ceflonline.net/wp-content/uploads/France-Parental-Responsibilities.pdf|title=National Report: France|website=Ceflonline.net|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=11 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811145534/http://ceflonline.net/wp-content/uploads/France-Parental-Responsibilities.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=lower-roman}}{{Refn|In [[Austria]], the marriage law was overhauled between 1975 and 1983, abolishing the restrictions on married women's right to work outside the home, providing for equality between spouses, and for joint ownership of property and assets.<ref group=upper-roman>''Women and Politics in Contemporary Ireland: From the Margins to the Mainstream'', by Yvonne Galligan, pp.90</ref>|group=lower-roman}} In 1978, the [[Council of Europe]] passed the ''Resolution (78) 37 on equality of spouses in civil law''.<ref>{{cite web|title=RESOLUTION (78) 37 ON EQUALITY OF SPOUSES IN CIVIL LAW|url=https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=596422&SecMode=1&DocId=662346&Usage=2|publisher=Council of Europe|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160121025014/https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=596422&SecMode=1&DocId=662346&Usage=2|archive-date=21 January 2016|date=27 September 1978}}</ref> [[Switzerland]] was one of the last countries in Europe to establish gender equality in marriage, in this country married women's rights were severely restricted until 1988, when legal reforms providing for gender equality in marriage, abolishing the legal authority of the husband, come into force (these reforms had been approved in 1985 by voters in a [[Voting in Switzerland|referendum]], who narrowly voted in favor with 54.7% of voters approving).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/23/world/swiss-grant-women-equal-marriage-rights.html|title=SWISS GRANT WOMEN EQUAL MARRIAGE RIGHTS|date=23 September 1985|newspaper=The New York Times|last1=Times|first1=Special to the New York|access-date=8 February 2017|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111232657/https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/23/world/swiss-grant-women-equal-marriage-rights.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17988450|title=Switzerland Profile: Timeline|website=BBC News|date=21 December 2017|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-date=17 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617053429/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17988450|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{cite web|url=http://history-switzerland.geschichte-schweiz.ch/chronology-womens-right-vote-switzerland.html|title=The Long Way to Women's Right to Vote in Switzerland: a Chronology|author=Markus G. Jud|website=History-switzerland.geschichte-schweiz.ch|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=21 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191121120734/http://history-switzerland.geschichte-schweiz.ch/chronology-womens-right-vote-switzerland.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto1"/> In the [[Netherlands]], it was only in 1984 that full legal equality between husband and wife was achieved: prior to 1984 the law stipulated that the husband's opinion prevailed over the wife's regarding issues such as decisions on children's education and the domicile of the family.<ref>''The Economics of Imperfect Labor Markets: Second Edition'', by Tito Boeri, Jan van Ours, pp. 105</ref><ref>{{cite web|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170906070337/https://rm.coe.int/168045ae0e |archive-date = 6 September 2017| title = Dutch gender and LGBT-equality policy 2013β2016|url = https://rm.coe.int/168045ae0e}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/Gender/publication/Netherlands_2015_Review_BPFA_Report_of_the_Netherlands_Government.pdf|title=2015 Review Report of the Netherlands Government in the context of the twentieth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action|website=Unece.org|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=5 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005144755/http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/Gender/publication/Netherlands_2015_Review_BPFA_Report_of_the_Netherlands_Government.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In the [[United States]], a wife's legal subordination to her husband was fully ended by the case of ''[[Kirchberg v. Feenstra]]'', {{Ussc|450|455|1981|el=no}}, a [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]] case in which the Court held a [[Louisiana]] [[Head and Master law]], which gave sole control of marital property to the husband, unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/450/455/|title=Kirchberg v. Feenstra :: 450 U.S. 455 (1981) :: Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center|website=Justia Law|access-date=2015-10-10|archive-date=2016-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304130159/https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/450/455/|url-status=live}}</ref> There have been and sometimes continue to be unequal treatment of married women in various aspects of everyday life. For example, in [[Australia]], until 1983 a husband had to authorize an application for an [[Australian passport]] for a married woman.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.passports.gov.au/Web/passport_history.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614171552/http://www.passports.gov.au/Web/passport_history.aspx|title=The History of Passports in Australia|archive-date=14 June 2006|access-date=14 November 2017}}</ref> Other practices have included, and in many countries continue to include, a requirement for a husband's consent for an application for bank loans and credit cards by a married woman, as well as restrictions on the wife's [[reproductive rights]], such as a requirement that the husband consents to the wife's acquiring [[contraception]] or having an [[abortion]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.amnesty.ca/sites/default/files/womens_lives_womens_rights_campaigning.pdf|title=Women's Lives Women's Rights: Campaigning for maternal health and sexual and reproductive rights.|website=Amnesty.ca|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=26 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626165326/http://www.amnesty.ca/sites/default/files/womens_lives_womens_rights_campaigning.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/ngos/AmnestyInternational_for_PSWG_en_Indonesia.pdf|title=Left without a choice : Barriers to reproductive health in Indonesia|website=2.ohchr.org|access-date=14 November 2017|archive-date=23 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423125558/http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/ngos/AmnestyInternational_for_PSWG_en_Indonesia.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In some places, although the law itself no longer requires the consent of the husband for various actions taken by the wife, the practice continues ''[[de facto]]'', with the authorization of the husband being asked in practice.<ref>{{cite book|title = Education For Women|first =D. Bhaskara|last = Rao|page = 161|date = 2004|publisher = Discovery Publishing House|isbn=978-81-7141-873-2}}</ref> Although [[dowry]] is today mainly associated with [[South Asia]], the practice has been common until the mid-20th century in parts of [[Southeast Europe]].{{Refn|For example, in [[Greece]] dowry was removed from [[family law]] only in 1983 through legal changes which reformed marriage law and provided gender equality in marriage.<ref group=upper-roman>Demos, Vasilikie. (2007) "The Intersection of Gender, Class and Nationality and the Agency of Kytherian Greek Women." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association. August 11.</ref> These changes also dealt with the practice of women [[Married and maiden names|changing their surnames to that of the husbands]] upon getting married, a practice which has been outlawed or restricted in some jurisdictions, because it is seen as contrary to women's rights. As such, women in Greece are required to ''keep'' their birth names for their whole life.<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/06/women-change-name-after-marriage-greece |title=Should women change their names after marriage? Ask a Greek woman |first=Heather |last=Long |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2013-10-06 |access-date=2016-12-11 |archive-date=2013-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006115711/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/06/women-change-name-after-marriage-greece |url-status=live }}</ref>|group=lower-roman}} Laws regulating marriage and divorce continue to discriminate against women in many countries.{{Refn|For example, in [[Yemen]], marriage regulations state that a wife must obey her husband and must not leave home without his permission.<ref name="www2.ohchr.org" group=upper-roman />|group=lower-roman}} In [[Iraq]] husbands have a legal right to "punish" their wives, with paragraph 41 of the criminal code stating that there is no crime if an act is committed while exercising a legal right.{{Refn|Examples of legal rights include: "The punishment of a wife by her husband, the disciplining by parents and teachers of children under their authority within certain limits prescribed by law or by custom".<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web|url=http://law.case.edu/saddamtrial/documents/Iraqi_Penal_Code_1969.pdf |title=The Penal-Code with Amendments |access-date=April 25, 2021 |date=1969 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021100954/http://law.case.edu/saddamtrial/documents/Iraqi_Penal_Code_1969.pdf |archive-date=October 21, 2012 }}</ref>|group=lower-roman}} In the 1990s and the 21st century there has been progress in many countries in Africa: for instance in Namibia the [[marital power]] of the husband was abolished in 1996 by the ''Married Persons Equality Act''; in Botswana it was abolished in 2004 by the ''Abolition of Marital Power Act''; and in Lesotho it was abolished in 2006 by the ''Married Persons Equality Act''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/lesotho.htm |title=The Law and Legal Research in Lesotho |author=Buhle Angelo Dube |date=February 2008 |access-date=2010-07-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620014058/http://nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Lesotho.htm |archive-date=2010-06-20 }}</ref> Violence against a wife continues to be seen as legally acceptable in some countries; for instance in 2010, the [[United Arab Emirates]] Supreme Court ruled that a man has the right to physically discipline his wife and children as long as he does not leave physical marks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/10/19/uae.court.ruling/index.html?_s=PM:WORLD|title=Court in UAE says beating wife, child OK if no marks are left|website=CNN|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115015526/http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/10/19/uae.court.ruling/index.html?_s=PM:WORLD|url-status=live}}</ref> The criminalization of [[adultery]] has been criticized as being a prohibition, which, in law or in practice, is used primarily against women; and incites violence against women ([[crimes of passion]], honor killings).{{Refn|A Joint Statement by the United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice in 2012 stated:<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12672& |title=Statement by the United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150306103836/http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12672& |archive-date=2015-03-06 }}</ref> "the United Nations Working Group on discrimination against women in law and in practice is deeply concerned at the criminalization and penalization of adultery whose enforcement leads to discrimination and violence against women." UN Women also stated that "Drafters should repeal any criminal offenses related to adultery or extramarital sex between consenting adults".<ref group=upper-roman>{{cite web|url=http://www.endvawnow.org/en/articles/738-decriminalization-of-adultery-and-defenses.html%29|title=Decriminalization of adultery and defenses|website=Endvawnow.org|access-date=14 June 2015|archive-date=8 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108112544/http://www.endvawnow.org/en/articles/738-decriminalization-of-adultery-and-defenses.html%29|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=lower-roman}}
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)