The Indian government has proposed a new law that would make “irretrievable breakdown of marriage” as a cause of divorce. The new law would make it easier for one party to obtain a divorce without the consent of the other party. This new law is creating a controversy in India, and both proponents and opponents of the law are making their concerns known :

The pros of this new law may be :

1)      May give a woman more agency; especially when the husband is abusive.

2)      Allows couples to part amicably, since both parties need not show up in court.

3)      May make divorce more socially acceptable, lessening the discrimination faced by divorced people.

The cons of the new law may be :

1)      Many children may be negatively affected by the new law. Support services for children of divorced parents are scarce in India. Even if there are more support services available, the bureaucratic nature of the system may be unable to cope with the trauma of such a divorce on a child.

2)      Husbands may be able to desert their wives much easier. This may be especially crippling on women in rural areas, where the husband is the bread winner and few financial opportunities are available to women.

3)      Women face harsher social stigmas with being divorced. Divorced women have a tougher time of becoming remarried than women.

4)      May cause people to make frivolous reasons to divorce and tear down the social fabric of Indian families.