EDITORIAL: New divorce law could be a game-changer

Justice minister Yvonne Dausab’s push for reforms to the country’s divorce law is justified. The ancient thinking that the breaking off a marriage must be made difficult has gotten many Namibians trapped in unholy matrimonies that today only exist on paper. And, true, the fact that the law prescribes that divorce must be based on fault is archaic backwardness. Except for the vows, marriage is not too different from casual romantic relationships where an unhappy girlfriend can simply walk away.

Sometimes love dries up, even in marriages. What one felt on the day the vows were exchanged may simply not be there any more. Some couples have sought professional help to bring back that oomph to their marriages, but it simply didn’t work. Why can’t these people be allowed to amicably end their marriage, without the draconian legal prescription that one party must be blamed for something in order to effect separation?

How do you co-parent your children, as divorced parents, when the law dictates that you must first blame each other in order to be granted separation? Is there a guarantee that after accusing each other of all evils under the sun, you’d be able to reconcile for the sake of your children? We think not!

We are in full support of minister Dausab’s proposal to keep embarrassing divorce details out of the public eye. There’s absolutely no ‘public interest’ in knowing about people’s infidelities and other unsavoury bedroom conduct.