Study finds divorced women’s trauma in securing alimony
NEW DELHI: While the Cabinet's decision on Wednesday may appear tipped in favour of women, a recent study shows that seeking maintenance through courts is fraught with delays and requires deep pockets. The countrywide study shows that in nearly 50% cases women did not seek maintenance from their husbands either because they lacked resources (41.5% women had no income after separation while 27% earned less than Rs 2,000 per month) or were unaware.
The government has set the ball rolling for bringing in an amendment to the marriage legislation that will give a woman right to the inherited or inheritable marital property. The compensation amount will be decided by the courts. Divorced or separated women in India have to depend on maintenance since there are no laws for sharing of marital property. The proposed law seeks to correct that but activists feel it does this only half-heartedly.
A survey — based on 405 divorced and separated women across the country — says that getting justice from courts has always been a gamble for women. The survey is part of the book "Separated and Divorced Women in India: Economic Rights and Entitlements in India'' authored by senior lawyer and AIDWA legal convener Kirti Singh. Women's rights activists have been consistently demanding a comprehensive legislation that would provide a women equitable share to marital property.
The survey found that vast majority (almost 60%) were living in marital homes acquired by in-laws and a large number (71%) were forced to live with their families post separation. After the separation 41.5% had no income and 27.4% earned less than Rs 2,000 per month. Although 58.5% surveyed were able to work outside their home, their earnings were too low for them to survive independently.
"In India there is absence of laws for division of marital property, when a separation or divorce takes place, the male spouse usually walks away with all moveable and immoveable assets of the household. The government's decision is just throwing women at the court's discretion and we have found that courts have been conservative in their decisions,'' Singh said.
Of the total, 47.4% (almost half) did not ask for maintenance after divorce. The reasons range from not knowing that they are entitled to ask for maintenance, to not having money to approach the courts or wishing not to be dependent on the spouse. As many as 48.8% of these maintenance cases are pending; in 41.8% of the case smaintenace had been allowed and in 9.4% of the cases their applications were dismissed. In 89 cases where maintenance was allowed, only 12 women reported receiving a satisfactory amount.
Of the 60 women who answered the question on the quantum of maintenance awarded to them, those with no income at all received merely 13% of the salary on an average for financial support. So not only were women given short shrift, they were also forced to wait for a long time before they received the paltry amount. Only in 35.6% of the cases filed in court, was maintenance granted within a year. The rest took anywhere between one and five years.http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Study-finds-divorced-womens-trauma-in-securing-alimony/articleshow/21155954.cms
NEW DELHI: While the Cabinet's decision on Wednesday may appear tipped in favour of women, a recent study shows that seeking maintenance through courts is fraught with delays and requires deep pockets. The countrywide study shows that in nearly 50% cases women did not seek maintenance from their husbands either because they lacked resources (41.5% women had no income after separation while 27% earned less than Rs 2,000 per month) or were unaware.
The government has set the ball rolling for bringing in an amendment to the marriage legislation that will give a woman right to the inherited or inheritable marital property. The compensation amount will be decided by the courts. Divorced or separated women in India have to depend on maintenance since there are no laws for sharing of marital property. The proposed law seeks to correct that but activists feel it does this only half-heartedly.
A survey — based on 405 divorced and separated women across the country — says that getting justice from courts has always been a gamble for women. The survey is part of the book "Separated and Divorced Women in India: Economic Rights and Entitlements in India'' authored by senior lawyer and AIDWA legal convener Kirti Singh. Women's rights activists have been consistently demanding a comprehensive legislation that would provide a women equitable share to marital property.
The survey found that vast majority (almost 60%) were living in marital homes acquired by in-laws and a large number (71%) were forced to live with their families post separation. After the separation 41.5% had no income and 27.4% earned less than Rs 2,000 per month. Although 58.5% surveyed were able to work outside their home, their earnings were too low for them to survive independently.
"In India there is absence of laws for division of marital property, when a separation or divorce takes place, the male spouse usually walks away with all moveable and immoveable assets of the household. The government's decision is just throwing women at the court's discretion and we have found that courts have been conservative in their decisions,'' Singh said.
Of the total, 47.4% (almost half) did not ask for maintenance after divorce. The reasons range from not knowing that they are entitled to ask for maintenance, to not having money to approach the courts or wishing not to be dependent on the spouse. As many as 48.8% of these maintenance cases are pending; in 41.8% of the case smaintenace had been allowed and in 9.4% of the cases their applications were dismissed. In 89 cases where maintenance was allowed, only 12 women reported receiving a satisfactory amount.
Of the 60 women who answered the question on the quantum of maintenance awarded to them, those with no income at all received merely 13% of the salary on an average for financial support. So not only were women given short shrift, they were also forced to wait for a long time before they received the paltry amount. Only in 35.6% of the cases filed in court, was maintenance granted within a year. The rest took anywhere between one and five years.http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Study-finds-divorced-womens-trauma-in-securing-alimony/articleshow/21155954.cms
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