In the issue of 8 October, Anna Mallia writes angrily about “a victory for men” as a result of a recent judgement of the Court of Appeal, ordering a woman to go out to work and maintain herself when her kids reach 12 years of age.
I on the other hand applaud this judgement because I feel that marriage shouldn't be seen as a lifelong meal ticket, as many Maltese women seem to!
I suspect this lifetime meal ticket is one of the advantages that many women who resist the introduction of divorce in Malta (under the guise of it going against their Catholic upbringing/conscience) do not want to wave goodbye to, ever.
It’s not only a victory for men, it’s also a victory for all those men and women who have, rightly or wrongly, started stable relationships with other (separated) people. It’s hard for such relationships to move forward when a partner is burdened by substantial maintenance payments which may last for years, if not a lifetime.
Of course, each case has its own merits and I don’t expect a 50-year-old woman who has never worked outside the home to be ordered by the judge to find work and support herself. But younger women should work and support themselves when their children are of an age to handle their mother being away from home for a couple of hours each day.
One thing that the judge probably had at the back of his mind, and which Dr Mallia ignored, is the likelihood that a young separated woman will find another man (probably separated too) pretty soon. Indeed, I have seen this happen time and time again, and even with women who were utterly shattered by the breakdown of the marriage. So to me, a judge terminating maintenance in the future and at a time when the kids reach 12 years of age is most reasonable and fair.
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