Every month celebrates something. January celebrates new starts, February celebrates love, and March celebrates women. Now, take a guess on how we’re apparently celebrating Women’s History Month.
Don’t have to think too hard. If you haven’t heard, we’re apparently celebrating the month of women by advocating for our basic rights.
This isn’t a joke. We tried finding the original proposed document ourselves but all we could find were the public screenshots circulating social media…and if they’re real, it’s nothing but plain horrific.
We’re literally going to be advocating for our rights because if the new, as of yet unapproved, Personal Status Law is actually legitimate, it will make sure we have none of them.
Recently, the new draft came to public attention with the amendment that a man legally can’t take a second wife without his first wife approving.
And this was the first and last thing that people seemed happy to hear. Soon enough, the other amendments made themselves clear.
See, the Personal Status Law was always a source of controversy in the public sphere, with every amendment to it being a source of outrage because the amendments are usually polarizing.
This year, though, the outrage has been even more overwhelming because the proposed amendments are just unreal.
Women won’t be legally recognized as capable. As in, however old they get or however distinguished, they won’t be able to get married unless a male guardian gives the okay.
Women will also not be recognized as able to choose their husbands. And any male relative in her family can, at any time, terminate her marriage contract if he feels like it. As in, a woman won’t be directly involved in her marriage and might also find herself suddenly divorced on a whim.
Speaking of divorce, do you remember that law stating that women will be able to retrieve their property and furniture in the event of divorce? The one that was instated because of how much women’s rights were being abused?
Yeah, that one’s gone too. Now, the Criminal Court won’t be involved in applying the pressure women used to get their things back.
It gets worse. In the new draft, any male relative could forbid a woman from travelling for any reason he desires. Even if the need for travel is dire, like a surgery or a job.
Women will also not be legally responsible for their children. As in, they won’t be allowed to register their kids’ birth certificates or be allowed to confirm the need for surgery.
They also won’t be able to choose their schooling unless a court interferes. Women wouldn’t be even allowed to procure passports for their children or travel with them unless the father agrees.
And there’s a whole lot more of terrible amendments in that new draft of the Personal Status Law, which we cannot at any cost stand by and just let happen.
We need everyone talking. We need everyone understanding that if this draft is passed, it will render every woman powerless when they didn’t have that much power to begin with.
These amendments will only make cases of spousal abuse and misogyny more horrendous than we could have ever imagined. It will give some people the excuse that “if the law says it’s okay, then I can do it“.
And no one wants that, obviously. What we want is for the law to progress, not regress. What we want is for the law to tackle other issues to make us feel more protected. Not threatened.
