In Chile, a law required that widowed or divorced women wait 270 days before remarrying. This "period of emptiness" has just been abandoned in the South American country.
The Chilean law requiring widowed or divorced women to wait 9 months to remarry was finally abolished on September 1 by the country's deputies. However, it has yet to be promulgated by President Sebastian Piñera. "This law puts an end to one of the most unfair discriminations in the civil code. Women were under the seal of suspicion ", underlines the Chilean Minister for the Status of Women, Monica Zalaquett.
This period of validity was established in Chilean law in the 19th century in order to avoid possible uncertainties of parentage. Thanks to the development of DNA tests to establish the paternity of a newborn baby, it had been obsolete for several years. Its removal is a big step for Chile in the fight against discrimination against women. Indeed, this period of emptiness still exists in many countries. It was repealed in France only in 2004 during the divorce reform.
In Senegal, a woman has to wait 300 days after a divorce before remarrying. In Cameron, the family code specifies that this period "is reduced to 180 days in the event of the death of the spouse". In Morocco, a widowed woman who is not pregnant must wait "four months and ten clear days"to be able to repeat"Yes". If a woman is divorced and pregnant, "his emptiness retreat lasts until his deliverance." On the other hand, if she does not carry life, "she must observe the retreat for three menstrual periods".
These terms and laws, however, do not really generate debate in these countries. In 2018 in Tunisia, a Committee on Individual Freedoms and Equality presented proposals for societal reforms, including the abolition of the waiting period. This report was strongly rejected by religious associations because it was considered dangerous and contrary to Islamic precepts.
Baudouin Dupret, research director at the CNRS and specialist in standards and law in Arab and Islamic societies, explains that "The principle of the period of emptiness is rather seen as a protective status of the divorced or widowed wife. This gives the right to alimony and establishes a presumption of paternity for any pregnancy or birth occurring during its duration." As for DNA tests, they do not have a good reputation and are often considered suspect. Thus, they find it difficult to integrate into societal customs.
In Japan too, we find this period of emptiness, reduced from 6 months to 100 days in 2016. "No movement, debate, demonstration took place. Even today, the obligation to bear the husband's surname after marriage is, for example, much more disputed"says Miyako Hayakawa, doctoral student in anthropology at EHESS in Marseille, who regrets the lack of interest of Japanese women in the fight for gender equality. According to a report on gender equality from the 2019 World Economic Forum, the country du Soleil Levant is ranked 121st out of 153 nations.