NEW DELHI, INDIA, August 17, 2001: Divorce laws are about to change dramatically for Christian women. The Cabinet has accepted all recommendations of the Law Ministry on major changes in the Indian Divorce Act. The changes, which have been approved by the most prominent church groups, will be passed in Parliament next week. Under the new provisions, divorce by mutual consent would be allowed and Christian women would be entitled to greater alimony than before. So far, the law is loaded in favor of Christian men, and women from the community have been lobbying for years for these changes. India does not have a uniform civil code for all citizens, but rather has personal codes for members of each religion, allowing, for example, Muslims to have four wives, but not Christians or Hindus.
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