More on divorce - India and Spain

Two news items that caught my eye last week: 1) Parents in Spain faking divorce so their kids can get extra points to get into favorite schools (click here for news article) 2) The national commission for women in India wants to "save marriages" through conselling, now that they have strengthened major laws related to women (The Hindu 11 Apr 2008) .

If you have read my blog that divorce laws are poles apart you might find these interesting as well. Apparently in Spain, there is fast track divorce - you can apply for one and get it in 5 weeks! To fix some single parent issues, the government gives extra points to such kids, so they end up in the better schools. Now, parents who are together are using this scheme to get the best for their kid - apply for divorce, get the extra points for their kid, and then go for counseling. I don't agree with the approach, but it is amazing how different people are.

Now, across continents in India, they want to "save marriages" that are broken. The belief is only in extreme situations couples must divorce, young couples are breaking up over trivial issues, and women suffered in most cases. So, the police, the state and some third party mediators are being sensitized so tha laws are properly implemented, couples who have undergone domestic violence get into conciliation and settlement. My belief is that's a lot to chew for the government of a billion+ population. Spain, incidentally had pretty tough divorce laws until recently due to conservative christian culture, and now it all changed - the goal is to "save individuals" or "save individual freedoms", so even single parents can effectively bring up kids, single women can lead an individual and respectable lives on their own, instead of reconciling with domestic violence, settle and save the marriage.

Hope someone points out Spain to the Indian law makers.