Brian Mayodi
Professor Margaret Kobia, a former cabinet secretary for Gender and Public Service, has urged cautious examination of the recent divorce property ruling.
According to Professor Kobia, women shouldn’t be put at a disadvantage in the event of a divorce.
“The Supreme Court ruling on sharing of properties during a divorce based on what each party contributed needs careful examination,”
“Contributions made by women need to include costed unpaid care work, including psychological support,” she added.
According to UN Women, unpaid care work includes home tasks including cooking, cleaning, collecting water and fuel, as well as providing child or elder care.
Unpaid caregiving is often not regarded as employment, they claimed.
The Supreme Court invalidated the widely-held belief that marital property should be divided equally last week in a momentous decision.
Now, if one cannot demonstrate that they contributed to the acquisition of the assets, they will not be entitled to a portion of the marital property after the divorce.
The court ruled that parties expecting to cite indirect contributions, such as housework, childrearing, and lawn mowing, will be on fragile legal foundation.
“Unpaid care and domestic work is valued to be 10 and 39 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product and can contribute more to the economy than the manufacturing, commerce or transportation sectors,” they said.
Based on a case in which a couple who had been litigating the division of property received 50/50 rights to the property, the Supreme Court made its ruling.
“After divorce, the husband and wife will leave the marriage with only a percentage of what they contributed to the marriage,” the court ruled.
