The Government and the Opposition became one in the National Assembly today as they passed the Matrimonial Causes (Amendment) Bill 2024, which pushes equal rights for both men and women during divorce proceedings.

The bill was piloted by Attorney General Anil Nandlall, who explained that the updated legislation is modern, since it removes existing discriminatory provisions and guarantees equal rights, which is a fundamental human right.

The Attorney General said in an environment where equal treatment is now a guaranteed fundamental right, the law must make provision for equal treatment.

The Attorney General stated that the legislation was framed in such a way where women were treated differently from men, and men treated differently from women.

“Because there are a series of provisions in the principal Act, that confers protection upon a wife but does reciprocally, confers such protection on the husband. So, in those provisions we have brought those equality and equilibrium,” the Attorney General stated.

Clause four of the Amendments will now offer protection for the husband’s property during a divorce proceeding. Under the Principal Act, only the wife’s property was protected.

Clause Five of the Amendments will now see both husband and wife being granted orders under Judicial separation while Clause Six of the Amendments provides for payment of alimony to both the husband and wife. The Principal Act had only allowed for alimony to be paid to the wife or her trustee.

Opposition Member of Parliament, Geeta Chandan-Edmond, described the legislation as progressive, while her Opposition colleague, Ms. Volda Lawrence said the Amendments reaffirm Guyana’s commitment to the concept of “all are equal before the law and are entitled to equal benefits.”

“Mr. Speaker, these amendments are long overdue, Guyana as a whole for many years since 1980’s, we have been championing equal rights and gender quality and we are here today and I am proud to be in this house as we make this bold step,” Ms. Lawrence noted.

The Bill also amended the subsection to replace “husband” with “a party” referring to both genders. It states that the Court, if it thinks fit, may make an order “requiring a party to the marriage to maintain the other party to the extent that the first mentioned party is able to do so.”

The Bill also addresses divorce, making it easier to complete the process. The grounds for divorce will be amended to include “irreconcilable differences which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage,” provided that the parties have been separated and lived apart for a continuous period of six months prior to filing for the divorce.

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