Cost-effective divorce can empower women

March 8 is International Women's Day, and this year's theme is "Be Bold for Change".

Change, they say, is the only constant. The industrial Revolution had brought work opportunities and financial independence to women in the 20th century. This century, the IT Revolution, and the attendant digital communication explosion, have empowered women by adding a new dimension to their relationships.

Only the bold and the beautiful - beauty is inner as well as superficial, and in the eyes of the beholder - can embrace, and will survive and ride, change.

One such bold woman, a Chinese mother of five, used technology to obtain divorce recently, giving a new twist to the tale of change and women.

A civil court in Fuquan, southern Guizhou province, finalized her divorce last month even though she was in Tianjin more than 2,000 kilometers away in the north. A WeChat video call helped settle matters fast.

Technology has made getting a divorce a simple, quick and cost-effective process. I'd like to believe this will further empower women by opening up possibilities for fulfilling relationships.

It could even help women in the reproductive stage of their life to make the most of China's second-child policy, thereby strengthening efforts to restore gender balance and demographic stability for larger economic good.

Here, a disclaimer: I'm no relationship guru. I'm 48 going on 24, single (never married), happy and, yes, addicted to instant-messaging apps such as WhatsApp and WeChat.

In the last few years, I must have read, heard or watched at least 8.37 billion messages, jokes, cartoons, slides, audio and video clips on relationships - insight-powered, mind-enriching discourse on dos and don'ts, enough to make me believe I know a bit about relationships.

Rest assured, my views are not solely app-derived. A younger Chinese colleague recently told me it took him no more than 20 minutes to obtain a divorce. He has since remarried and appears to be happier.

A legal eagle has red-flagged use of WeChat in divorce cases citing privacy concerns, but I disagree as the pros outweigh cons.

Easier divorce mechanisms would:

force couples to make conscious efforts to make their relationship work. A marriage full of understanding and insight is more likely to produce love, happiness - and (two) kids.

help people get out of unhappy, abusive or unproductive marriages, potentially opening doors to new relationships.

encourage people to marry, and remarry, in the hope of finding one's "soul mate" as they wouldn't be deterred by the prospect of a long, unhappy marriage, or costly, protracted divorce proceedings.

tackle socio-economic problems caused by unreasonably high "bride prices" in some rural areas of China. Men would learn not to spend everything they saved on one woman straightaway - they would consider spreading their savings and thereby risks.

potentially result in practices like prenuptial agreements, which, in turn, would encourage hesitant singles to take the marital plunge as all the bases would be well-covered.

drive e-economy: More marriages would mean more red packets and flower sales on Valentine's Day and Qixi festival.

Contact the writer at siva@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/08/2017 page2)