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Unit 17: Divorce, Widowhood and Re-marriage

Self Assessment Notes
Fill in the blanks:
1. __________ has found that the prominent factors for separation are desertion, and violence
(69.1%), infidelity (20%) and impotence (8.3%) etc.
2. The Hindu marriage is a sacred religious _________ and a bond forever.
3. Women will gain social and family status, once they get _________ for separation.

Justification of Divorce

1. Right to Equality: Today men and women enjoy equal rights in every field. Thus, not only
men, but women too should get the right to divorce.
2. To Make the Family Bond Strong: For the sake of the family and marital life, the right to
divorce should be given to both the partners. In a joint family, there were other members
to provide support to her. But the present day nuclear families consist of the husband-wife
and children only. There is no support for the wife and children, in case the husband goes
astray and gets irresponsible towards them. In such circumstances, divorce should be al-
lowed for the security of the women and the children and for the benefit of the family.
3. To Improve the Situation of Women: Women will gain social and family status once they
get the right to divorce. Men will perceive women with a different view, the husband and
wife will gain the trust of each other cases of inter-caste love will increase. This will also put
an end to their dominant ways. When this right was granted to women during the ancient
times, then why not today?
4. To end marital problems: Today, there are many problems related to Hindu Marriage,
Child marriages, unmatched marriages, restricted widow remarriages etc. To put an end to
these problems, the right to divorce should be granted.
5. To balance the social life: Today, many changes have occurred in our social life. Now, the
women are educated, they work alongside men in the fields of finance, politics, society and
culture. In such a scenario, denying equal marital rights to them will lead to social imbal-
ance. To avoid such a situation, women should be granted the right to divorce, on humani-
tarian grounds.

Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
The Hindu Marriage Act was enforced on 18 May, 1955, on all the Hindus, including Jain,
th
Buddhist and Sikh citizens, residing in India (except Jammu and Kashmir). Through this act, all
the other acts which were passed earlier, became void. One similar act was enforced on all the
citizens. This act recognises the various rituals prevalent in the Hindu Marriage. It also guaran-
tees the right to marriage and divorce, to men and women of all castes. The key features of this
act are as follows:

Conditions of Marriage
Following is the criteria for the marriage between a man and a woman:
1. At the time of marriage, the man’s or woman’s other spouse should not be alive.
2. At the time of marriage, the man or woman should not be mentally ill or stupid.
3. At the time of marriage, the groom should not be less than 18 years of age and the bride’s
age should not be less than 15 years. But after amendment of this act in 1976, the groom’s
age was increased to 21 years and the bride’s age to 18 years.

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