Marriage, Divorce and Mutual Indebtedness

Abstract

This article offers an original insight on the gift economy in Tajikistan. As long shown by the literature, ceremonial expenditures sustain social status and convey moral obligations and social order. In this context, we find that marriage breakdown sheds a new light on social cohesion and the sense of indebtedness in Tajik society. In the case studies provided, the material and symbolic meaning of marital breakdown is analysed from the perspective of divorced women. In the context of high ritual expenditure, we ask what are the effects of divorce (and more broadly, demarriage) on women’s perceptions of gender and marital roles in a context of economic crisis and mass male migration to Russia. Specifically, we are interested in the language of debt that shapes women’s discourses about their former marital bond, and how it disrupts the principles of the gift economy that derive from traditional gender and generational roles. In particular, the notion of debt allows divorced women to condemn their ex-in-laws’ failings towards them. The end of the marriage opens the way for the denunciation of broken promises, the expression of unfulfilled expectations and the breaking of marital, gender and collective obligations towards the spouse. While it brings with it a demand for recognition and social justice, it also expresses the contradictory tensions that run through society, its norms and the traditional social roles associated with conjugality.

Social bearing of laws and their implementation with reference to irretrievable breakdown of marriage: A comparative study of laws in India and Asian countries

“…In Tajikistan, the Family Code recognises both fault-based and no-fault divorce (Cleuziou, 2021). A spouse may file for divorce on the grounds of harm, whether physical or psychological or on the grounds of a serious defect in the other spouse, making the marriage's continuation impossible (Cleuziou & Dufy, 2022). Additionally, a spouse may file for divorce on the grounds of the other spouse's abandonment for a period of one year or more, or if the spouses have been living separately for a continuous period of two years or more (Cleuziou, 2021).…”

“…The Family Code also allows for no-fault divorce based on the mutual consent of the spouses (Cleuziou, 2021). If both parties agree to the divorce, they can submit a joint petition to the court (Cleuziou & Dufy, 2022).…”

“…Unilateral divorce is permitted in Tajikistan, but it is subject to certain restrictions (Cleuziou, 2021). A husband may divorce his wife without her consent by pronouncing talaq, the Islamic divorce form (Cleuziou & Dufy, 2022). However, the husband must provide financial support to his ex-wife for a period of three months following the divorce (Cleuziou, 2021).…”

“…In cases involving children, the Family Code addresses issues such as child custody, child support, and visitation rights (Cleuziou & Dufy, 2022).…”