China’s divorce rate is spiking because women no longer have to accept unsatisfying marriages. This should be celebrated, not stifled
- Due to amended laws and declining stigmas, women are the main initiators of China’s climbing divorce rate
- Alarmed authorities are now taking countermeasures, but women’s freedom should not be sacrificed for ‘social stability’
During many of my parents’ arguments, my mother used to say, pointing an accusing finger at my father: “Marrying you is the worst thing that happened in my life!” I’ve always been sympathetic to her since my father was indeed a lazy, feckless and ill-tempered man.
Yet, mother never contemplated divorce since she held the traditional belief of “marry a dog, stay with a dog; and marry a rooster, stay with a rooster”.
Women in China were only granted the right to divorce in 1950, when the victorious Chinese Communist Party introduced the New Marriage Law. Throughout the Mao era, only a small percentage of women exercised that right, and usually for political reasons.
But things are changing in China. In fact, a soundless revolution is playing out. In early November, Zhou Qiang, the president of the Supreme People’s Court, revealed in a speech that roughly 74 per cent of divorces in China are initiated by women.
I raised a toast with my daughter over the news. I regard it as an achievement in the liberation of Chinese women because they are now more assertive in pursuing what they want. They are no longer willing to put up with an unhappy marriage, the way our mothers did. The trend of women seeking a divorce runs against the traditional culture, where women are expected to stay in a marriage, good or bad.
