Parliament passes changes to Women's Charter
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By Imelda Saad | Posted: 10 January 2011 1917 hrs
SINGAPORE: Parliament has passed sweeping changes to the Women's Charter, which was last amended 15 years ago.
The key to the changes is making sure divorced men pay up to support their children and ex-wives.
Following the changes, a man who defaults on maintenance payments will have to go for financial counselling and do community service.
His maintenance debts can also be reported to credit bureaus, which would affect his credit worthiness.
And to protect kids, the court can transfer matrimonial assets - divided between parents - to a Children's Development Account.
Still, some MPs questioned if more can be done, such as confiscating a spouse's travel documents, imposing curfews or even confiscating handphones.
But Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said such sanctions would be difficult to enforce.
Instead, the government has opted for measures such as requiring those who re-marry to declare their maintenance debts.
There were also calls for greater parity in the treatment between men and women in issues related to a failed marriage, such as access-to-children rights.
In reply, Dr Balakrishnan made clear that just as men are expected to pay maintenance, women should also comply fully to a court's access orders and not use their children as bargaining chips.
The minister also explained why even after 50 years, the Women's Charter will not be renamed to a more gender neutral "Family Charter" to reflect the changing role of men and women in bringing up kids.
He said: "The brutal truth is even today after we have made much progress, women and children still need protection. Furthermore, we also have to ask ourselves whether as a society, have we reached a point where the majority of us are willing to say that a woman has the responsibility to support a man after a divorce?
"I'm not sure outside this House that a majority of people have come round to this view. So my sense is: we will hold the current position but flag this up as a constant review."
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desperate.
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stay single as a move for yourself...
they r pleading your understanding.....stay firm and single
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wat abt those woman tat tau jiak?
so pay hubby esp in those cases they're financially stronger..
luckily in many recent cases, e judge would throw out e woman's case.
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all your voices will be unheard as rising discontents are seen through greater rise in singles and divorces....greater hatred against women will result
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And to protect kids, the court can transfer matrimonial assets - divided between parents - to a Children's Development Account.
the govt is having a hand to get something out of some misery.
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not until u see the day when a balanced policy comes to fruition....
this is only a beginning to see them plead...shedding some light which would continue to glow so long as the proportion of singles and divorces grow ever larger....they will come to heed that past gender policy has affected so many of our lives for the sake of the other
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He brought up the extreme example where a woman supports a man after a divorce but forgot the middle ground where the man can have no responsibility to support a woman after divorce.
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it seems we have forgotten also the other unlimited liabilities a man has to face when he enters NS...what is there to protect when the policy is not even protecting them from such liabilities...not to say to protect the weak and the young?
a social problem cannot be interpreted from just one perspective without seeing other factors and social responsibilities that hold him barred aside to other economic pressures that the other gender have to undergo....
what does he think when he talks about his own gender? or perhaps to sustain his job to speak what he is asked to?
i am laughing at the growing problem....
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but for sure this amended women charter will catalyst even further the decline birth rate of true blue SGs, they really wanted to make us extinct.
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Originally posted by Clivebenss:
And to protect kids, the court can transfer matrimonial assets - divided between parents - to a Children's Development Account.
the govt is having a hand to get something out of some misery.
you mean this "Children's Development Account" plays the same 'role' as CPF?
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The ministers ought to lead by examples, and give all their saving to their wife to show that love is beyond anything
, and let their wife manage them.
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Originally posted by Clivebenss:
"Furthermore, we also have to ask ourselves whether as a society, have we reached a point where the majority of us are willing to say that a woman has the responsibility to support a man after a divorce?"
can you ask yourself whether as a society, have we reached a point where the majority of us are willing to say that a man still has the responsibility to support a woman after divorce?
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women are always asking for equality.
why didnt they ask to be treated equally in this?
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lol.. rofl ... v.stupid... we are going downhill... it's high time to rethink where do we put our votes...
yes, protect the kids I agree.. but not the women ...