Open Access Research Article
DIVORCE AND GENDER JUSTICE: IS THE LAW FAIR TO BOTH SPOUSES?
Abstract
The intersection of matrimonial breakdown,
statutory regulation, and gender justice occupies a contentious terrain in
contemporary family jurisprudence. Historically conceived as an instrument to
ameliorate the structural subjugation of women within patriarchal domesticity,
matrimonial law has evolved unevenly across jurisdictions. Today, the legal
architecture governing divorce stands accused of paradoxical failings: on the
one hand, feminist critiques highlight persistent economic precarity,
undervalued domestic labor, inadequate post-divorce maintenance, and systemic
enforcement deficits that leave divorced women, particularly custodial mothers,
economically disenfranchised; on the other hand, an escalating discourse around
men's rights and gender-neutral equity contends that modern procedural
mechanisms, criminal provisions, fault-based remedies, and parental alienation
doctrines impose disproportionate financial liabilities and custodial
marginalization upon men. This research article interrogates whether
contemporary divorce law achieves genuine fairness for both spouses or merely
redistributes systemic injustice. Examining statutory frameworks, judicial
precedents across common law regimes—with a focal comparative lens on India,
the United Kingdom, and the United States—and socio-legal realities, this paper
examines marital property division, spousal maintenance and alimony, child
custody adjudication, and the weaponization or under-enforcement of matrimonial
statutes. It posits that legal systems cannot achieve substantive equity by
oscillating between gender-blind formal equality and paternalistic
protectionism; rather, fairness requires recognizing marriage as an economic
and caregiving partnership, statutorily codifying community of property,
implementing rigorous child-centered shared parenting paradigms, and decoupling
financial distress from retaliatory litigation.
Published Paper
Author Details
Authors: RITU BHATIRegistration ID: 1013546 | Published Paper ID: IJLRA13546Approved ISSN: 2582-6433 | Country: Delhi, India
Article Information
DIVORCE AND GENDER JUSTICE: IS THE LAW FAIR TO BOTH SPOUSES?
Authors: RITU BHATI
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Volume 3
- Issue 8
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- AbbreviationIJLRA
- ISSN2582-6433
- AccessOpen Access
- LicenseCC 4.0
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