A woman, who was blamed by French courts for her divorce because she no longer had sex with her husband, has won an appeal in Europe’s top human rights court, the court said on Thursday, reigniting a debate in France over women’s rights.
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[Lawyer, Lilia Mhissen] “This decision marks the abolition of the marital duty and the archaic, canonical vision of the family,” she said in a statement. “Courts will finally stop interpreting French law through the lens of canon law and imposing on women the obligation to have sexual relations within marriage.”
Marriage needs to stop being looked at through the lens of religion. It is and always has been a tax tool. It’s extremely easy to enter a marriage. You should just as easily be able to exit .
Though as the current default in many places is “split everything you both own 50:50 including all the things before getting married”, it has to be a bit complicated as rarely were the starting conditions equal.
I’m pretty sure most countries exclude what was owned by the respective parties before the marriage from the shared ownership and things like inheritances can be exempt even during the marriage.
Also people can agree on different models of ownership.
I agree though, that the idea behind the default 50/50, which is to protect mostly women, who make less money as they focus on the household and kids instead of making a career does not work as as a singular concept. Either you have a traditional role separation in the marriage and the legal protections for that apply, or you have a different model that requires different rules.
I also think exit contracts (like a pre-nup) should be agreed on and signed as part of the marriage contract. Marriage is a business contract. Both parties should agree to the exit terms before entering into the contract.
This is a pretty good way to spot a person who you shouldn’t marry, too. “If we get divorced, you’re fucked” in writing is pretty clear.