Wives to get right to claim infidelity
Published on January 07, 2006
Thai Rak Thai men MPs led by chief whip Pongthep Thepkanjana have thrown their support behind an amendment to the divorce law which would allow a wife to file for divorce against a husband who has had sex with another woman. The amendment was drafted by the Women’s Affairs and Family Development Office of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and will be put before the House during its March session.
The divorce law is Article 1516 of the Civil Law and states that if a wife sleeps with a man who is not her husband she commits adultery, giving her husband grounds to file for divorce. According to the law, however, a woman is unable to reciprocate if her husband sleeps with another woman, except if she can prove that he supports the other woman or regards her as being on the same level as herself.
“We propose to amend the law to allow wives to file for divorce against a husband who has had sex with another woman, even once,” said Kingkaew Inwang, deputy director of the office.
There was concern that male MPs would not support the proposed amendment, but many from the ruling party yesterday promised they would.
Thai Rak Thai chief whip Pongthep Thepkanjana said the law should be amended in the interest of equality between the sexes.
“The amendment aims to put women on an equal footing with men and will not create chaos in our society, though it is still one where many men are licentious,” he said.
Pongthep added that even with the amended law it would take a lot for a wife to sue an adulterous husband.
Thai Rak Thai MP Ardhasit Sappayasit said he had thought for a long time about amending the law because it would relieve family problems caused by a husband’s infidelity and make husbands thinking about being unfaithful realise the possible repercussions.
“I would encourage other MPs to support the amendment,” he said.
Democrat MP Ongart Klampaiboon also agreed with the proposal, saying it would make husbands think twice.
However, Chart Thai MP Chuvit Kamolvisit disagreed, saying sexual equality was of little use in a society filled with massage parlours peddling sex to men.
“If society’s fundamental values are not changed, the amended law would be bound to create chaos. Many men would be sued by their wives, and the courts would be overloaded,” he said.
Among female politicians support for the amendment was strong.
Thai Rak Thai MP Ladawan Wongsriwong said she and other female MPs agreed with the proposal and she had recommended TRT male MPs to support it.
“Most MPs agree and will vote for the law,” she said.
She said she was not concerned about how hard it would be to prove whether a husband had cheated on his wife, because at least it was better than doing nothing.
Senator Rabiabrat Pongpanich said she was delighted by the proposal with all the laws passed by male politicians that favoured men at the expense of women, though she was not sure if the male MPs making up the majority of the House were broad-minded enough to pass it.
“Article 37 of the Constitution is about sexual equality, but many organic laws still flout it,” she said.
However, she quipped, if the amendment is approved over half the men in the country may end up being sued.
Feminist activist Supensri Pungkoksung of the Friends of Women Foundation said amending the law was not enough and costs should be abolished for women because many faced financial difficulties when they took their husbands to court.
Chatrarat Kaewmorakot,
Sucheera Pinijparakarn
The Nation