The stories of Emirati divorced mothers struggling to keep themselves afloat point to certain gaps in society's safety net that cry out to be addressed. As The National reported yesterday, one divorced woman said she received as little as Dh200 in monthly maintenance. Unsurprisingly, some are deeply in debt. These cases prompt a number of questions, in order to determine if there might be a just and fair solution to be found.
To begin with, would it be possible to define clearer mechanisms to determine the level of maintenance deserved by each case? For example, perhaps support can be reviewed more formally on a regular basis to take into consideration inflation, the age of children and the needs of such offspring as they grow older. Life and the cost of living is not static, and it would be foolish to assume that the moment of a divorce settles the matter of expenses indefinitely.
Next, is there a way to ensure that maintenance is paid on time? Late payments can create disputes, to say nothing of hardship for mothers struggling to raise children. In an interview with this newspaper, one woman claimed that her ex-husband had not paid her alimony for 12 consecutive months. A solution might be to formalise the process of alimony payment. Instead of waiting for an ex-husband to hand over the monthly cheque, a divorced mother could perhaps receive an electronic credit that is automatically linked to her ex-husband's salary. Admittedly, such a system would not be without difficulty in establishing. Quite likely, new laws will need to be passed.
Finally, what opportunities are there for divorced mothers to become financially independent? Some may have married young and abbreviated their education. In such cases, more concerted effort could be made to help them gain fresh qualifications that will allow them to enter into sufficiently remunerative jobs. Or perhaps they might be given greater assistance to start their own businesses, allowing them to calibrate the balance between earning an income and caring for children.
Divorce is never a happy outcome, but if it (sadly) were to happen to a marriage, then one would hope that situations prevail that promise fairness. In fact, the one overarching issue should be that children are adequately provided for. It might even be said that the most important point of equity relates to the care of children in families torn asunder.
