The divorce debate : where does the Maltese woman stand?

Abstract

There is little glory in being a married woman in a world created for and ruled by men. Too little weighting is given to the important, though immanent, work carried out by females. Few in the past have paused to wonder what would happen were women to revolt against the disbalance inherent to the idea of marriage. The result is that now divorce, rather than a symptom of a greater disease called inequality, is regarded as a major ill in itself. 'Economic evolution in woman's situation is in the process of upsetting the institution of marriage. Increasing female economic independence is shaking the foundations of society as we know it today.' wrote Simone de Beauvoir in her landmark book 'The Second Sex'. Were girls to be treated from their earliest days as are boys, the same environment, the same expectations, the same demands, were women's work within the four walls of the home been granted proper recognition, sometimes wonder if divorce rates would not have been lower the world over. Divorce was not introduced/contemplated to redress an aggrieved, devalued woman who may want to start her life anew as a free individual. Divorce was introduced because it suited men. Jewish divorce is one of the oldest legislations dealing with the subject - yet only a man. can initiate proceedings. British divorce legislation was enacted to preserve patriarchal inheritances and titles. How was divorce introduced into different legislations? What were the conditions conducive to the birth of such a law that strikes directly into the heart of the smallest unit of society? When do women contemplate divorce (or in the local context separation)? What about life after divorce/separation? These are the questions that I will attempt to answer in this Essay.