ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the economics of marriage, expenses involved in celebrating weddings and arranging dowry while connecting it to the way the law works at the time of separation of the parties. It argues that at the time of divorce or separation, a woman is entitled to receive only her stridhan. None of the personal laws provide for equal division of matrimonial property even after a woman has spent years in marriage. The maintenance granted by the courts is first not sufficient and more importantly, remains unpaid on one pretext or the other. Also, newer forms of economic violence are being inflicted on women that enhance women’s vulnerability within the marriage. The argument that women are ‘gold diggers’ is falsely propagated by men to escape their economic liabilities and to deny women their economic dues. The way the system works is that complainants hardly receive anything and end up spending scarce available resources on litigation. Instead of ensuring restorative or compensatory justice, the system merely reiterates patriarchal values.
