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EVOLUTION OF DIVORCE LAWS: FROM RUKHMABAI'S HISTORIC CASE TO MODERN REFORMS
The Business Guardian
|September 11, 2025
A child bride defied tradition, won her freedom, and returned as a pioneering doctor who inspired legal reform.
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Divorce laws around the world have transformed dramatically from the 19th century to the present, reflecting shifts in societal values and the quest for gender equality. In India, the journey from the first legal divorce of a Hindu woman Dr. Rukhmabai Raut in the 1880s - to today's multifaceted divorce laws illustrates how legal reforms often follow courageous individuals and changing social norms.
This article traces the trajectory of divorce law in India, examines key legal reforms and landmark cases, and compares global practices, especially regarding how assets are divided (who gets "half of everything") after a divorce. By exploring why judges decided cases the way they did, and quoting their words or those of the people involved, we can understand how legal reasoning and social pressures have shaped modern divorce laws.
RUKHMABAI RAUT: INDIA'S FIRST LEGAL DIVORCE CASE (18805)
In 1885, Rukhmabai Raut became the first Hindu woman in India to legally obtain a divorce, after a protracted court battle that challenged orthodox norms.
Married at age 11 to Dadaji Bhikaji (then 19). Rukhmabai had continued to live with her widowed mother and stepfather, pursuing education - an unusual path for a girl in 19th-century India. When her husband eventually demanded she move into his home, Rukhmabai flatly refused.
Dadaji sued for "restitution of conjugal rights," seeking a court order to compel his wife to live with him.
The Bombay High Court case Bhikaji v. Rukhmabai (1885) attracted widespread attention. Justice Robert Pinhey, who first heard the case, stunned society by siding with Rukhmabai.
This story is from the September 11, 2025 edition of The Business Guardian.
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