Why Should Men Marry?

August 30, 2013

This is a question which many young men have is that why should they marry?

The Rajya Sabha recently cleared The Marriage Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010 (“IrBM”) and the salient features of the bill are given below.

A concept of irretrievable break-down of marriage has been introduced which provides another ground to the spouses for divorce

The bill is gender biased as husbands donot have a right to oppose the divorce filed by the wife

All the property of the husband that he currently owns and his ancestral property (inherited or inheritable) will be divided between the husband and the wife

Men are still liable to pay maintenance and alimony to his wife even after property division as per various other statutes

Other cases filed by the wife such as 498a, DV etc… will keep continuing even after divorce. IrBM the world over is treated as a ‘no-fault’ divorce where incompatibility between couples is the reason cited for separation, if this is the case then why are suits for domestic violence, 498a etc… allowed to continue

This law is giving yet another reason to men not to marry due to the gender biased provisions in the statute. In essence the reason not to marry may boil down to –

A husband can not oppose divorce filed by his wife, whereas the wife can oppose the divorce filed by the husband

A husband’s property which he might have earned before marriage, during marriage and also his ancestral property will be divided with his wife at the time of divorce. Wife’s property will not be divided with the husband

Husbands rarely get the custody of children. Further, visitation rights are also not adhered to by the wives post divorce

During marriage there is always the threat of domestic violence looming on the husband. As in the movie Minority Report where future crimes were punishable, so are the acts of domestic violence. As per Section 4 any domestic violence ‘ likely to be committed ’ is also covered

’ is also covered The sword of 498a cases are always looming over the husband’s head. Any time a fabricated dowry case may be slapped

Post divorce, even after sharing hard-earned property with the wife the husband is liable to maintain his wife

Married men are 2 times more likely to commit suicides in India

The work load of a married man increases post marriage as he is now liable to maintain his wife and has the responsibility of a primary breadwinner. As per the ‘CSO’s Women and Men in India, 2012, 14th issue’ women spend about 2.1 hours per day on cooking, 1.1 hour on cleaning and 3.16 hours of taking care of children per day, totaling to 6.36 hours of daily work. Whereas men work atleast 9 hours in office and 0.32 hours taking care of children totaling to about 9.32 hours of daily work.

Do the risks / work above justify the benefits of marriage?

Home Page: Stand Up for a Cause…