Mizo Divorce Ordinance No Longer in Force

Aizawl, Mar 29 : Women in Mizoram will have to continue their fight for equal rights over property after separation and divorce as an ordinance introduced in this regard is no longer in force in the state.

The Mizo Divorce Ordinance notified in the official gazette on October 6, 2008, is no longer in force as the session of the Assembly held on December 16 did not adopt it and it expired, Law Minister Lalsawta said today.

The matter has been referred to the state Law Commission for detailed study and to draft a more comprehensive bill, Lalsawta told the Assembly.

The new Congress government felt that the ordinance did not include important provisions as it was issued in haste by the previous Mizo National Front (MNF) government, he said.
Sinlung Says:
Mizo women are up in arms over the outdated Mizo Christian Marriage law that allows men to walk out of marriages at will. Social rights activists argue that the law, apart from enslaving women, has increased prostitution in Mizoram. 

One reason is that the existing law does not allow a Mizo woman to get any money from the husband in the event of divorce.

And most of Mizoram’s sex workers do happen to be divorcees. Says B. Sangkhumi, head of MHIP, Mizoram’s apex women’s body, “It’s time we had a Mizo Christian Marriage Act or the Indian Marriage Act.”