The most comprehensive compilation of information on the status of
women in the world.

Latest items for ATDW-PRACTICE-2

Jan. 4, 2024, 10:41 a.m.
Countries: Singapore
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2, ATDW-LAW-5

"Subsequent to the second marriage, the first wife may also file for divorce on the ground of her husband’s inequitable treatment" (41). "Under the AMLA, both Muslim men and women may initiate a divorce on multiple grounds… [S]ome are exclusive to women such as the husband’s failure to perform marital obligations (including providing maintenance)" (41-42).
June 12, 2023, 4:20 p.m.
Countries: Jordan
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2, DV-PRACTICE-1

"[D]ivorce and custody battles have discouraged women from seeking divorce out of fear of losing access to their children. This is particularly harmful for women suffering from domestic violence and abuse by their husbands, thereby demonstrating how divorce and custody laws are another example of discriminatory treatment against women" (Para.9).
March 31, 2023, 2:31 p.m.
Countries: Egypt
Variables: MARR-PRACTICE-5, ATDW-PRACTICE-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-2, ATDW-LAW-5

"[M]en have the right to unilaterally divorce their spouses (talaq), including verbally with a one-week period for official registration of the divorce, which leaves many women in precarious situations, whereas women who seek divorce by unilateral termination of their marriage contract (khula) under Act No. 1 of 2000 can only obtain such a divorce if they forgo alimony and return their dowry" (14).
Feb. 2, 2023, 1:11 p.m.
Countries: Austria
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"The Committee notes the following with concern: (a) The fault-based criteria for divorce in the State party’s family law, which are often more difficult for women to prove and which may have discriminatory effects that are reinforced by gender stereotyping in the courts" (14).
Jan. 13, 2023, 7:19 p.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"Within the Taliban’s misogyny, women belong to men, as a property and an object representing the honour of the family" (para 14).
Jan. 12, 2023, 8:01 p.m.
Countries: Nicaragua
Variables: LRCM-LAW-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-2, ATDW-LAW-5

"Following the Proclama, the salient Divorce Law of 1988 was passed, permitting women to leave their toxic and/or abusive relationships" (para 14)(NF - CODER COMMENT - The implementation of this law insinuates that prior to its implementation, divorce on the grounds of toxic or abusive reasons were not enough/valid).
Dec. 26, 2022, 5:35 p.m.
Countries: Qatar
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2, ATDW-LAW-5

"Men can marry up to four wives but can divorce any wife without even informing them about it. Divorce for women is limited, even if the marriage is abusive" (para 3).
June 29, 2022, 11:33 a.m.
Countries: Indonesia
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"[The Committee] is particularly concerned about:... The delay in withdrawing or amending discriminatory provisions in Law No. 16/2019 on marriage and in the Civil Code and other discriminatory provisions, including provisions that:... exclude Muslim women from marriage and divorce under the civil law" (15). "[The Committee] recommends that the State party:... Amend, without further delay, the discriminatory provisions in Law No. 16/2019 on marriage and in the Civil Code, and any other discriminatory provisions, with a view to... (iii) making civil marriages and divorce accessible to all women in the State party" (16).
June 21, 2022, 8:35 a.m.
Countries: United Kingdom
Variables: MARR-PRACTICE-6, ATDW-PRACTICE-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"it is concerned about the obstacles faced by women in religious marriages who seek a divorce, as well as the relatively high number of forced marriages in the State party, despite efforts made by the Forced Marriage Unit" (14-15).
June 7, 2022, 10:47 a.m.
Countries: China
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"The Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women, which was amended in 2005, has made further provisions for the better protection of the rights and interests of women in relation to marriage and family. Article 45 of the law provides that “during the period of pregnancy, within one year after childbearing or within 6 months after termination of pregnancy of a woman, her husband shall not apply for divorce. If the woman applies for divorce or if the people’s court deems necessary to accept the divorce application of the husband, the case shall not be subject to this restriction" (56).more
March 25, 2022, 8:54 p.m.
Countries: United Arab Emirates
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-2, ATDW-LAW-5, DV-LAW-3

"For a woman to obtain a divorce with a financial settlement, she must prove her husband inflicted physical or moral harm upon her, abandoned her for at least three months, or had not provided for her or their children’s upkeep. Physical abuse claims require medical reports and two male witnesses. It is up to the judge’s discretion to consider women as full witnesses or half witnesses. Alternatively, women may divorce by paying compensation or surrendering their dowry to their husbands" (28).
Jan. 10, 2022, 10:08 a.m.
Countries: Philippines
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-2, ATDW-LAW-3, ATDW-LAW-4, ATDW-LAW-5

"The law does not provide for divorce. Legal annulments and separation are possible, and courts generally recognized divorces obtained in other countries if one of the parties was a foreigner. These options, however, are costly, complex, and not readily available to the poor. The Office of the Solicitor General is required to oppose requests for annulment under the constitution. Informal separation is common but brings with it potential legal and financial problems. Muslims have the right to divorce under Muslim family law" (28).
Jan. 6, 2022, 12:09 p.m.
Countries: Somalia
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"A woman can seek divorce but it is easier for a man to divorce a woman. A woman must ask for her divorce and if he refuses to give it to her, she is not technically divorce. In some cases a woman will go to her father, brother, and/or uncles demanding that the man divorces her. In some cases when the divorce escalates, the clan of the woman and the clan of the man (if from different clans) will come together to solve any issues" (1).
Nov. 30, 2021, 2:33 p.m.
Countries: Israel
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"The law allows a Jewish woman or man to initiate divorce proceedings, and both the husband and wife must give consent to make the divorce final. Sometimes a husband makes divorce contingent on his wife conceding to demands, such as those relating to property ownership or child custody... In rare cases Jewish women refused to grant men divorces, but this has a lesser effect on a husband under Jewish law. Rabbinical courts sometimes sanctioned a husband who refused to give his wife a divorce, while also declining to grant the divorce without his consent. A Muslim woman may petition for and receive a divorce through the sharia courts without her...more
Sept. 29, 2021, 9:33 a.m.
Countries: Mali
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2, IAW-LAW-1

"The law does not provide the same legal status and rights for women as for men, particularly concerning divorce and inheritance. Women are legally obligated to obey their husbands and are particularly vulnerable in cases of divorce, child custody, and inheritance. Women had very limited access to legal services due to their lack of education and information as well as the prohibitive cost. The government effectively enforced the law" (23).
Sept. 10, 2021, 9:23 a.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"It is easier for women who have left Afghanistan. Farida Sadaat was a child bride and had her first baby at the age of 15. She and her husband later separated and she moved to Germany with her four children. Ms Sadaat told the BBC her husband had not been present in his children's lives, physically or emotionally, and she believes he has no right to have his name printed on their Afghan identity cards. 'I brought up my children all by myself. My husband refused to divorce me so that I cannot get married again,' she said. 'I call upon the Afghan president to change the law and record...more
Aug. 6, 2021, 1:10 p.m.
Countries: Egypt
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"In marriage and divorce cases, a woman’s testimony must be judged credible to be admissible. Usually the woman accomplishes credibility by conveying her testimony through an adult male relative or representative. The law assumes a man’s testimony is credible unless proven otherwise"(46).
Aug. 3, 2021, 2:44 p.m.
Countries: France
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"Those judgments are just as likely to come from women as from men, in Farrès’s experience. 'There’s not enough solidarity between women. They’re full of judgment, there’s a lot of jealousy.' Djellal agrees: 'Maybe we have to learn to be kind and watch out for each other first, before we expect men to be kind to us.' I’m moved. I can only tell them I agree. I wonder if the jealousy and judgment among women they mention has any link with a history of relaxed attitudes to sexual fidelity, in which notions of loyalty and friendship must be stretched to breaking point. Even when a friendship weathers the tension, as...more
July 26, 2021, 7 p.m.
Countries: Egypt
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2, ATDW-LAW-5

"'[Can’t] we issue a law stipulating that divorce becomes invalid except in the [presence of] the marriage official to give people [who decided to get divorce] the chance to rethink their decision?,' Sisi said, calling for invalidating oral divorce. Sisi justified his proposal, saying that the invalidation of oral divorce will help protect families from being affected by only two words that a husband may say while infuriated. In Islam, if a husband voluntarily told his wife 'Anti Taleq' (you are divorced), then the wife is considered divorced unless he was threatened or compelled to say so" (para 6-7).
July 20, 2021, 8 p.m.
Countries: United Arab Emirates
Variables: IW-PRACTICE-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"'And it was reported explicitly in the national press… that the changes to the rules on inheritance and divorce were just going to apply to expatriates, not to Emirati women'" (Para 22).
July 20, 2021, 7:53 p.m.
Countries: United Arab Emirates
Variables: IW-PRACTICE-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"'And it was reported explicitly in the national press… that the changes to the rules on inheritance and divorce were just going to apply to expatriates, not to Emirati women'" (Para 22).
July 16, 2021, 4:37 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"In recent days, Chinese internet users complained about the difficult divorce process after news spread of a Hunan province court that rejected a woman’s divorce request four times. The woman, Ning Shunhua, expressed frustration in an interview that the court wouldn’t consider evidence that her husband had beaten her. The Hengyang County People’s Court said on its Weibo account it was processing a fifth request and had rejected previous ones because Ms. Ning hadn’t provided enough evidence and her husband had pleaded with her multiple times for forgiveness" (para 22).
July 9, 2021, 11:47 a.m.
Countries: Qatar
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"According to Amnesty International, it is much more difficult for women than men to seek divorce and they are at severe economic disadvantage if their husband leaves them"(para 47).
May 15, 2021, 7:08 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"China’s family courts are places of peril for women...Chinese judges earn promotions by handling cases quickly and for avoiding complaints and appeals. (A typical judge in a family court may hear 200 cases a year.) They are rewarded for pressing plaintiffs to withdraw divorce suits and try once more to patch up their marriages...Judges routinely refuse first requests for divorce, obliging plaintiffs to come back after a cooling-off period of up to three months. The policy should exclude cases involving violence, but many judges are too scared to declare a husband an abuser. Some judges fear being assaulted themselves. Others worry about presiding over a case that leads to a...more
Feb. 4, 2021, 6:11 p.m.
Countries: Turkey
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2, ATDW-LAW-5

"In Turkey, divorce falls under civil law thanks to Ataturk-era reforms after World War I. The separating parties have equal rights, except for a stipulation that women cannot remarry for 300 days after divorce without permission from the court" (para 34).
Feb. 4, 2021, 6:07 p.m.
Countries: Syria
Variables: MARR-LAW-5, ATDW-PRACTICE-2, ATDW-LAW-5, ADCM-LAW-1, CUST-LAW-1

"In Syria, divorce is a frightening prospect for women. Although citizens have equal rights in civil law, family law and divorce falls within the realm of sharia. Men, but not women, can unilaterally divorce with only a verbal decree. If a woman divorces through court proceedings, she rarely gets alimony, and she loses custody of young children if she remarries" (para 33).
Jan. 19, 2021, 9:39 a.m.
Countries: Afghanistan
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2

“‘Her husband hit her and chopped off her nose with a sharp kitchen knife,” she said. “She wanted a divorce because he abused her and beat her frequently’” (Para 2). This seems to indicate that for a woman to instigate a divorce ushers in some potential for violent response in a country where domestic abuse is as common as it is (BRC - CODER COMMENT).
Jan. 1, 2021, 2:12 p.m.
Countries: Iran
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"To many critics, the erasure of the three little girls from the textbook highlighted more than four decades of state-imposed discrimination against women, including discriminatory laws that give women less rights in areas such as child custody and divorce and force them to cover their hair and body in public" (13).
Dec. 24, 2020, 10:28 a.m.
Countries: Malaysia
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"In cases such as divorce and domestic violence, Majidah said women sometimes have had to wait up to 10 years to get a court judgment granting a separation because of a 'lack of empathy' among male judges" (para 6).
Dec. 24, 2020, 10:09 a.m.
Countries: Turkey
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-2

"In Turkey, divorce falls under civil law thanks to Ataturk-era reforms after World War I. The separating parties have equal rights, except for a stipulation that women cannot remarry for 300 days after divorce without permission from the court" (para 33).