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Whither the men? - Women's Charter vs Modern Men
Whither the men?
Letter from Oo Choon Peng 07:32 AM Mar 23, 2010
http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/ED...ither-the-men?
THE "original" Women's Charter was passed in 1961. Amendments to it were made and passed in 1996.
In the meantime, the wage gap between men and women has greatly narrowed and for certain age groups, it is not uncommon for women to earn more than men.
With that as a backdrop, the Women's Charter's role of protecting women seems obsolete and unfairly discriminates the man especially when, and after a divorce takes place. It assumes that the man is the sole breadwinner and has to support his wife after divorce, but this is hardly the case now where in most families, both husband and wife work and share the cost of having a family.
The current law can even, to a certain extent, be seen as an incentive for women to demand a divorce as they get to gain everything but lose minimally. They are entitled to gain in terms of assets and monthly maintenance, and most of the time, they get custody of the children.
More divorces could be taking place as women might see divorce as a quick and easy way to regain freedom and, at the same time, to continue their current lifestyle since their ex-spouse will have to pay them maintenance. Even if their income is higher than their ex-husband's.
Reasons leading to a marriage breakdown vary greatly. To solely place the blame on the man is neither realistic nor fair.
As such, the law should be made more gender-neutral. Nobody disputes that children ought to be protected during a divorce by ensuring that an ex-spouse continues to provide maintenance for them. But justice would not be served in cases where no children are involved and "the fairer sex" demands maintenance from her ex-husband - who may eventually remarry and need to support a second family.
Perhaps, as a first step, we should move towards recognising prenuptial agreements to provide protection for both parties and to minimise unnecessary mud slinging during a bitter divorce settlement.
Letter from Oo Choon Peng 07:32 AM Mar 23, 2010
http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/ED...ither-the-men?
THE "original" Women's Charter was passed in 1961. Amendments to it were made and passed in 1996.
In the meantime, the wage gap between men and women has greatly narrowed and for certain age groups, it is not uncommon for women to earn more than men.
With that as a backdrop, the Women's Charter's role of protecting women seems obsolete and unfairly discriminates the man especially when, and after a divorce takes place. It assumes that the man is the sole breadwinner and has to support his wife after divorce, but this is hardly the case now where in most families, both husband and wife work and share the cost of having a family.
The current law can even, to a certain extent, be seen as an incentive for women to demand a divorce as they get to gain everything but lose minimally. They are entitled to gain in terms of assets and monthly maintenance, and most of the time, they get custody of the children.
More divorces could be taking place as women might see divorce as a quick and easy way to regain freedom and, at the same time, to continue their current lifestyle since their ex-spouse will have to pay them maintenance. Even if their income is higher than their ex-husband's.
Reasons leading to a marriage breakdown vary greatly. To solely place the blame on the man is neither realistic nor fair.
As such, the law should be made more gender-neutral. Nobody disputes that children ought to be protected during a divorce by ensuring that an ex-spouse continues to provide maintenance for them. But justice would not be served in cases where no children are involved and "the fairer sex" demands maintenance from her ex-husband - who may eventually remarry and need to support a second family.
Perhaps, as a first step, we should move towards recognising prenuptial agreements to provide protection for both parties and to minimise unnecessary mud slinging during a bitter divorce settlement.
