Repeal of a Quaddafi-era law regulating polygamy – by requiring a first wife’s consent before a man took additional wives –has surfaced along with a prohibition on charging interest as part of the new interim government’s plans for a return to a more strongly shariah-based legal system in Libya.
DOMA, Immigration Law and Bi-National Couples
In late February, the Obama Adminsitration announced that it would no longer defend the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in litigation pending in several courts. (See Charlie Savage and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, In Shift, U.S. Says Marriage Act Blocks Civil Rights, NY Times Feb. 23, 2011).
Two PACS for every three marriages in France
Statistics for 2009 showed 250,000 marriages in France and 173,045 registrations of a pacte civil de solidarité (PACS). France allows both opposite-sex and same-sex couples to enter a PACS, and 95 percent of the newPACS registered in 2009 were between opposite-sex couples. See Scott Sayare and Maïa De la Baume, In France, Civil Unions Gain Favor Over Marriage (N.Y. Times, Dec. 15, 2010).
Surge in Iran’s Divorce Rate
Here’s a story reporting that the divorce rate in Iran has tripled over the past decade, reflecting changes in the attitudes of women in Iran toward marriage, relationships, and careers. See William Yong, Iran’s Divorce Rate Stirs Fears of Society in Crisis (N.Y. Times, Dec. 6, 2010).
Premarital Sex and Abandoned Infants Concern for Malaysians
See this article by Liz Gooch in the N.Y. Times: Malaysia Struggles with Baby Abandonment.
Radmacher: Britian Moves Toward Enforcing Prenups
In its long-awaited decision this week in Radmacher v.
Marriage and Divorce in Tunisia
In this analysis of Marriage and Divorce in Tunisia – Women’s Rights, posted on the web site of the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), Massan d’Almeida discusses the Personal Status Code enacted in Tunisia in 1956, and notes two guidebooks on marriage and divorce published in Arabic and French by the Tunisian Women’s Association for Research and Development (Associa
Mexico’s Supreme Court and Same-Sex Marriage
According to a recent ruling of Mexico’s Supreme Court, all of the Mexican states must recognize the validity of same-sex marriages entered into in Mexico City. See David Agren, Mexican States Ordered to Honor Gay Marriages (NTY 8/10/10).
Polyandry Disappearing in Northern India
This story by Lydia Polgreen in the New York Times considers the end of polyandry as traditionally practiced in the Himalayas: One Bride for Two Brothers: A Custom Fades in India.
Argentina Becomes First Latin American Country to Allow Same-Sex Marriage
Here’s a report in the New York Times by Alexei Barrionuevo: Argentina Approves Gay Marriage. the article notes that both Uruguay and Colombia allow same-sex couples to form civil unions, and Mexico City allows same-sex couples to marry.