IrBM Arguments in the Media

Recently there has been a spate of discussions in the media on the upcoming Irretrievable Breakdown of Marriage Law (IrBM). Some important highlights of the proposed bill are –

1. Divorce can now be filed as a ‘No-fault Divorce’ stating that marriage has broken down irretrievably.
2. Husbands do not have the right to oppose the divorce petition filed by their wives, whereas the wives can oppose the divorce petition filed by the husbands. Hence, the irretrievable break down of marriage can only be claimed by a wife and not the husband as husband’s petition can be challenged by the wife.
3. 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.

Some arguments that have been promulgated for supporting this bill during media debates are –

1) Poverty is a gender issue and primarily in India women are poor: This is a baseless argument as the data shows just the opposite. Two most important features of poverty are malnutrition and substandard healthcare due to which the life expectancy reduces and deaths due to diseases increase respectively.

Rebutting Patriarchy Theory

As per Wikipedia[i], Patriarchy (rule by fathers) is a social system in which the male is the primary authority figure central to social organization and the central roles of political leadership, moral authority, and control of property, and where fathers hold authority over women and children. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination.

In the recent past most of the feminists talk about their movement as against patriarchy and not against men or demonizing men. Per the definition of patriarchy there are 2 important points to it –

1)      Female Subordination

2)      Creating a social system them deliberately subordinates them with pressure.

As per the feminists we are living in a patriarchal society which means you and I deliberately, with pressure subordinate women. Now these are not women of a different country or a different sect / religion but our own family members with whom we share an intimate bond like mothers, daughters, sisters and wives. Meaning, men are ready to hurt and subordinate with pressure, the very person they love and share a bond for their own gains. We can only think of a Sociopath or a Narcissist who does like this[ii].