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

Latest items for ATDW-PRACTICE-1

March 30, 2023, 9:45 a.m.
Countries: Saudi Arabia
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"According to information on the ground, there is a gap between the legal obligation of the former husband to pay postdivorce maintenance to the former wife and its enforcement for reasons that include: (i) lack of awareness among women of their rights; and (ii) the procedure to enforce a court-ordered maintenance is lengthy. The lack of a financial support system or division of assets following a divorce is a significant hurdle limiting women’s ability to exit abusive or harmful marriages. Even under the mandated threemonth financial maintenance (nafaqa) and compensation (mut’aa) system, the amount provided to a divorced wife is often arbitrary and limited" (23-24).
March 29, 2023, 9:32 a.m.
Countries: Congo
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"Women experienced discrimination in divorce settlements, specifically regarding property and financial assets" (20).
March 28, 2023, 8:56 p.m.
Countries: China
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"[T]he judges’ behavior patterns privilege men in litigation outcomes due to their superior economic capabilities. For example, one option the law provides for disposing of the family home is for each of the husband and wife to 'bid' how much they are willing to pay to buy the other person’s share. The highest bidder gets to buy the other one out, often at less than the market price. Judges can order an appraisal to discover the market price, but often encourage litigants to engage in bidding because it is the most efficient way to fix a price for the matrimonial property. As a result, many women lose their homes (and...more
March 28, 2023, 4:01 p.m.
Countries: Colombia
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"People may think that the equitable distribution is as simple as to divide all the properties in the middle, but it is not that easy. The equitable distribution consists of splitting down the property in a fair way, where aspects like the earning power of each party and their contributions in the course of the marriage are considered by the judge, in order to grant that each party receives equal distribution of property in value. In some cases, one of the spouses submits evidence at the court to demonstrate that his or her contribution was considerably bigger than the other party, so the judge can determine whether the request is...more
March 27, 2023, 5:17 p.m.
Countries: New Zealand
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"The judge [is] guided by some general principles when they divide your relationship property: men and women have equal status each partner has made an equal contribution to the relationship so relationship property should usually be shared equally (50:50). It usually doesn’t matter if 1 person is more responsible than the other for the break-up of the relationship. Unpaid work, such as caring for children and running the home, is equal in value to paid work" (para 1).
March 27, 2023, 4:08 p.m.
Countries: Cameroon
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"Legislation does not limits women's inheritance rights but customary practices do, which by all standards contravenes national and international laws and human rights. Though customary law practices are contrary to the law, it is gaining grounds. In Achu v Achu, Ingish J posited that 'customary law does not countenance the sharing of landed property between the husband and wife on divorce'. This is because the wife is still regarded as the husband's property. In principle, upon breakdown of a marriage or death, the woman is considered as an object of inheritance. This practice is prevalent in Cameroon and it is perceived as a measure to control and maintain family property...more
March 24, 2023, 9:53 a.m.
Countries: Slovakia
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1, ADCM-PRACTICE-1

"Division between property, land or assets may be settled by the courts if an agreement cannot be reached between the partners. The judge may rule upon any matter except for awarding sole custody" (3).
March 23, 2023, 1:38 p.m.
Countries: Singapore
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"'The woman's rights to matrimonial assets are written in law, thanks to the Women's Charter in Singapore. However, the division of these assets between the couple are still contentious, and not many realise that the Court makes the final decision on how matrimonial assets are divided. This means that the Court has power, separate from the written law, to decide on the "grey" areas when it comes to premarital or matrimonial assets'" (para 5). "So yes, even stay-at-home mums or dads may be able to lay claim to their share of the property; whether or not they were the ones directly paying the mortgage. 'However, should one party not have...more
March 23, 2023, 11:12 a.m.
Countries: Russia
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"The default spousal property regime is joint property which applies by operation of law (section 34, Family Code). Each party is deemed to have equal rights to joint assets, and on separation the asset pool is divided equally between them (for more details on what joint spousal assets may include, see Question 8, Default regime). Trust, company or other assets, the legal title to which is not held by one of the parties, are not taken into account as a financial resource. However, the value of a husband or wife’s share in a company can be expertly assessed and included on the balance sheet as an asset subject to division"...more
March 22, 2023, 10:12 p.m.
Countries: Senegal
Variables: LO-PRACTICE-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-1, IAW-PRACTICE-1

"Women often do not have the right to speak when land issues are discussed and only have access to land through a father, husband or son. Women often lose this access if they are single, divorced, or widowed" (para 21). "For example, divorced women explained how they were removed from the community land registers where they were born as soon as they were married, but were unable to rejoin these land registries once they got divorced. Similarly, widows were removed from their husband's community land registers after their husbands died, but then could not reclaim access to the land registers of the communities where they were born" (para 33).more
March 22, 2023, 9:16 p.m.
Countries: Romania
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"Joint property can be divided either by mutual agreement of the spouses or by a court decision. If the spouses cannot agree, an application for division of the property may be lodged after the dissolution of the marriage, through the divorce proceeding, through a principal action, or at any time thereafter (incidental or accessory application). The share of property awarded to each spouse is determined on the basis of his or her contribution to acquiring and maintaining the joint property. The wife's work in the house and care of the children are taken into account when determining each spouse's contribution to obtaining the joint property. This contribution may be established...more
March 22, 2023, 2:09 p.m.
Countries: Canada
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

" 'I took a financial hit because I didn’t have a pre-nuptial agreement around my pension,' said [Laurel] Price, a retired Port Perry marriage and family therapist who now teaches at Durham College. 'My husband worked on straight commission and didn’t have a pension, so I lost the equivalent of 50 per cent of my pension for the 17 years we were married (given Ontario’s property equalization scheme for divorces). In addition, women, who are usually the custodial parent, bear the brunt of their children’s expenses.' Wisely, while married, Price insisted that she and her ex-husband create a registered education savings plan (RESP) for their son, so he was able...more
March 22, 2023, 2:02 p.m.
Countries: Canada
Variables: LO-PRACTICE-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-1, ATFPA-PRACTICE-2

"[Family-law specialist Jason] Howie has seen couples with assets allocated to the primary income earner, while other assets, such as a house, went to the other. 'But lo and behold,' he says, 'they show up on our desks years later because the wife – and it usually is the wife – needs financial support and the husband’s retired.' This is not an uncommon issue among older divorcees, [certified financial planner Annie] Kvick says. Women are often particularly disadvantaged when it comes to grey divorce, given that men of older generations were often primary breadwinners and may have greater financial literacy to draw on as a result. 'I recall an older...more
March 22, 2023, 1:49 p.m.
Countries: Canada
Variables: LO-PRACTICE-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-1, ATFPA-PRACTICE-2

"'I mainly work with women' [said Jen Lawrence, divorce coach]. 'I deal a lot with situations where the husband has a big job, she has been at home, and their duties are bifurcated. She’s been hands-off the money. So there’s not a sense of how much money one actually needs to pay for a lifestyle. The other issue is, it’s so fearful. They are divorcing pretty powerful guys, so there are issues with that. And that’s not even dealing with economic abuse, such as not allowing access to bank accounts. And I deal with that as well, unfortunately.... There is so much stigma around money that [women] feel, ‘I don’t...more
March 16, 2023, 6:18 p.m.
Countries: Bolivia
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"Article 206 creates the possibility for a non-judicial divorce in case of couples without property to share, who renounce any demands for alimony and who do not have children or whose children are over the age of 25" (3). "Patrilineal patterns impact widows’ and divorced women’s access to land" (3).
March 15, 2023, 2:28 p.m.
Countries: Palestine
Variables: LO-PRACTICE-1, LO-LAW-1, LO-DATA-1, ATDW-PRACTICE-1, IAW-PRACTICE-1, IAW-LAW-1

"The gender gap in the labour market is reflected in women’s lower access to land. Only 7 per cent of women own a house or real estate property, compared to 57 per cent of men... however, the problem is often more of a cultural dilemma than a legal one" (para 5). "Although in Palestine women are often knowledgeable about their rights to inheritance and wish to claim them, the consequences for doing so are high. Women face the risk of being cut off from their families or creating frictions and divisions within the families, which is a major deterrent.°48 Family is a very important safety net in Palestine, especially as...more
March 15, 2023, 12:20 p.m.
Countries: Qatar
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"When getting divorced in Qatar, the division of assets is a significant concern. In general, each party will retain assets held in their own name, whether this is real estate, businesses, cars, or anything else. Joint assets in the name of both spouses will be shared according to contributions made. For example, if a husband contributes 70% of the payment towards a property and the wife pays only 30%, the property will be sold and the proceeds will be divided as 70% and 30% respectively" (23-24).
March 15, 2023, 12:15 p.m.
Countries: Qatar
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"Most divorced women who spoke to Human Rights Watch did not obtain a divorce based on dharar or shiqaq, even when they were in abusive marriages, but negotiated out-of-court settlements in which their husbands agreed to divorce them, or resorted to khula in which a woman pays compensation or return of the dowry (mahr) for her husband to divorce her in return. 'Amna,' age 34, said she was able to obtain a khula divorce in 2009 by returning half her mahr, and successfully negotiated to keep her son even if she remarries: 'We went to a lawyer and I paid an amount of money—40,000 QAR [around USD10,000], so that I...more
March 10, 2023, 8:11 p.m.
Countries: Brazil
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1, IAD-PRACTICE-1

"Notwithstanding the provisions protecting women’s land ownership rights, local customs commonly infringe the enjoyment of women’s land rights over inheritance or after divorce" (8).
March 8, 2023, 8:31 p.m.
Countries: Brazil
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"It is also interesting to highlight that in case of divorce, the property remains to the women, regardless to the matrimonial property regime" (para 7).
March 4, 2023, 5:38 p.m.
Countries: Norway
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"In Norway, issues of property division and issues of children are normally not dealt with within a divorce case, because both the separation and subsequent divorce are normally handled administratively by the local county governor" (para 10). "The estate should be settled within a reasonable time after a separation. It is not a requirement that the estate must be settled for a divorce to be granted. The administration of the estate cannot take place if the assets of the spouses are held as separate assets. This follows from the fact that the administration of estates only relates to the distribution of the assets belonging to the spouses that are held...more
March 4, 2023, 5:11 p.m.
Countries: North Korea
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"In other words, North Korea only recognizes strict judicial divorce. Once a court decides on a divorce, the couples can then determine, by agreement, matters about custody of the children and division of family property" (para 9). "After their divorce, the husband and wife may divide family property. If there is no agreement on that, the determination is made by the court. But few people own private property in North Korea, so disputes over property division are rare" (para 11).
March 2, 2023, 3:12 p.m.
Countries: Mauritania
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"After a divorce, women also face challenges in retaining property, including both land and non-land assets" (3).
Feb. 25, 2023, 3:51 p.m.
Countries: Philippines
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1, ATDW-LAW-1

"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, were 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 was common but brought with it potential legal and financial problems. Muslims have the right to divorce under Muslim family law" (37).
Feb. 25, 2023, 3:08 p.m.
Countries: Mongolia
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1, ATFPA-PRACTICE-2

"For instance, while the Civil Code of Mongolia stipulates that assets registered after marriage are a common property of family members, the person in whose name this property is officially registered may dispose of it without the consent of other family members, which entails gender disparities if property relations are skewed in favor of one particular gender. It is a common phenomenon that women work for family businesses without formalizing their shares in those businesses, and it is a similarly common phenomenon that in the case of a divorce, the woman loses out, having no claim to any share of the business" (20).
Feb. 24, 2023, 6:14 p.m.
Countries: Montenegro
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"Montenegrin law has developed a disposition, which acts as a mechanism against discriminatory practices regarding joint property: if a spouse only registers his or her immovable property under a single name, the spouse is automatically registered as joint custodian (s. 289). This mechanism aids in preventing particularly women from being unable to claim an equal share of joint property due to biased registration" (3). "Montenegro also assures equal spousal access to property rights by ensuring that all immovable property registered under one spouse’s name is immediately considered as acquired by the unnamed spouse. This mechanism aims in ameliorating women’s equal access to joint property during marriage and in divorce proceedings"...more
Feb. 24, 2023, 12:56 p.m.
Countries: Mauritius
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"If you get divorced in Mauritius the courts will look at the financial regime that existed during your marriage. Under the Civil Code a community property regime will apply by default so that only property acquired after the marriage is jointly owned. You and your spouse may choose a different regime for property ownership, including keeping all property separate. If you do decide to hold property separately you must have this choice formalised by deed. Prenuptial agreements that may contain elements of both property regimes discussed above are common in Mauritius... A separate property regime could lead to significant disadvantage for the financially weaker spouse on divorce" (para 8-11).more
Feb. 23, 2023, 3:14 p.m.
Countries: Malta
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"Following a separation or divorce, a married woman may reach an agreement for division of assets or a Court may decide the division. In the latter, article 32 regarding non-discrimination of enjoyment of property would again be applicable" (7).
Feb. 23, 2023, 11:20 a.m.
Countries: Belize
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1

"There is no legal discrimination regarding divorce and it appears that there are no practices which may restrict those rights" (3).
Feb. 22, 2023, 10:12 p.m.
Countries: Belgium
Variables: ATDW-PRACTICE-1, ATDW-LAW-1

"The Act of 22 July 2018 provides additional possibilities for ensuring more support for, and protecting, the economically weaker spouse in the event of division of assets. This led to the creation of a new matrimonial regime, namely a system of separation of assets with joint ownership of acquired assets. Upon dissolution of the marriage, the economically stronger spouse must pay the economically weaker spouse the amount of money provided for in the marriage contract. The spouses can also choose to include a judicial fairness correction clause in their marriage contract, in case an unfair situation arises. For example, a woman with no income may claim compensation in the family...more