MANILA: In her bid to convince lawmakers to legalize divorce, Filipino fruit vendor Avelina Anuran has publicly testified about the abuse she said she regularly endured at the hands of her husband.
She also keeps a copy of the medical certificate from the bloody injuries she says he inflicted, hoping it might one day serve as evidence in court.
But the mother of two-turned-activist has gotten no closer to ending her marriage.
The Philippines is one of just two countries — along with Vatican City — where divorce remains illegal.
Last week, the latest attempt to introduce a divorce law evaporated as the upper house ended its session without even a hearing.
“They kept passing it around,” Anuran said.
The last time such legislation made its way to the Senate in 2019, she painstakingly detailed her experience for a public hearing. But the bill foundered.
Spouses have a “right to be free,” she said, adding that she would keep pushing for a law.
“Hopefully it will (pass) next year, with new senators coming in.”
Ending a marriage in the deeply Catholic society of 117 million is possible only via annulment or “nullification.”
But few Filipinos can afford the fee of up to $10,000, and the process does not consider domestic violence, abandonment or infidelity as qualifying grounds.
“I just want to be free from this marriage,” said Anuran, whose estranged husband remains the beneficiary on a life insurance policy she cannot change without his consent.
Campaigners like Anuran believe the tide of public support for divorce is turning, with surveys showing about half of Filipinos now firmly back a change.
Before taking office in 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos said he was open to supporting divorce.
But the latest effort to introduce such a bill still faced strong opposition in the Senate.
The proposed law would have compelled courts to provide free legal and psychological assistance to low-income petitioners, capped lawyers’ fees at 50,000 pesos ($859) and mandated divorce petitions be resolved within a year.
The divorce bill’s co-author, lawmaker Arlene Brosas, said it was “unacceptable” that the Senate had refused to tackle the measure given the “strong public demand.”
She said her Gabriela Women’s Party will refile it when a newly elected Congress convenes in July.
“We will continue fighting for the divorce bill, no matter the composition of the Senate and House of Representatives in the next term,” Brosas said.
The previous bill was likely influenced by the mid-term elections in May, family lawyer Lorna Kapunan said.
“Because (half of senators) are seeking re-election, they are afraid of the backlash of the Catholic Church,” Kapunan said.
Senate President Francis Escudero had argued the bill would “create divisiveness,” suggesting instead that the grounds for nullification could be expanded while avoiding the word “divorce.”
Father Jerome Secillano of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, meanwhile said divorce contravenes the Church’s teachings on marriage and would ultimately destroy families.
“We will see more couples separating. We will see children who don’t know where to go,” Secillano said.
He also argued the number of domestic abuse victims would “double” as divorced men would “have another chance to be violent again” to new spouses.
Kapunan called the existing laws “very complicated, very expensive, very anti-woman and anti-child.”
Despite the opposition and failed previous attempts to legalize divorce, Anuran remains determined.
“No one’s backing down. Win or lose, the fight will continue.”
Philippine divorce activists vow to fight on
https://arab.news/m692r
Philippine divorce activists vow to fight on
- The Philippines is one of just two countries – along with Vatican City – where divorce remains illegal
- Ending a marriage in the deeply Catholic society of 117 million is possible only via annulment or ‘nullification’
What Bangladesh’s election means for India, China and Pakistan ties
- Bangladeshis will vote on Feb. 12, almost two years after the 2024 student-led uprising
- After nearly 2 years of tensions, experts expect a thaw with India under elected government
DHAKA: As Bangladesh prepares to hold its first elections since the 2024 ouster of Sheikh Hasina, its longest-serving prime minister, the outcome will define Dhaka’s relations with the most important regional powers — China, India, and Pakistan.
Nearly 128 million Bangladeshis will head to the polls on Feb. 12 to bring in new leadership after an 18-month rule of the current caretaker administration.
The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, took control following a student-led uprising that ended 15 years in power of Hasina and her Awami League party.
The two main parties out of the 51 competing for power are the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat-e-Islami. The Awami League, which for decades has had close ties with India, was excluded from the election ballot over its role in the deadly crackdown on the 2024 student-led protests, in which 1,400 people were killed.
While Bangladesh’s relationship India has deteriorated since the fall of Hasina, who has been in self-exile in New Delhi, the period of diplomatic strain is expected to ease when the new government takes office.
“Whoever comes to power in Bangladesh, due to domestic pressure in the country, relationships with India need a resetting,” Humayun Kabir, former ambassador to the US, told Arab News.
“It’s anticipated that India will also engage with the new government, but they will protect their interests, and we also have to do the same. It’s most likely that the India-Bangladesh relationship will be normalized under the new, elected, government.”
Since 2024, India has suspended key transshipment access that allowed Bangladeshi exports to go via Indian ports and airports. It also put on hold most normal visa services for Bangladeshis, who were among its largest groups of medical tourists.
From Hasina’s heavy pro-India orientation, the interim government has tried to rebalance Bangladesh’s foreign policy toward the two other key regional players — China and Pakistan — who at the same time are India’s main rivals.
If New Delhi regains its importance, it should not deal a blow to the newly expanded relations with Pakistan, with whom Bangladesh has recently increased exchanges, especially economic, and last month resumed direct flights — after a 14-year gap.
Since the relations have been expanded under the caretaker government, Prof. Delwar Hossain from the International Relations Department at Dhaka University forecast that they would only further improve, no matter who comes to power, and there is no likelihood of a sudden change.
“For Pakistan, any political coalition — whether BNP or Jamaat — will be positive. The BNP has a long history of having good relations with Pakistan during their rule ... Jamaat also has a strong and very positive influence in Pakistan,” he said.
“For Pakistan, the new regime or new government is not the issue. The issue is what the (India) policy of the new government would be and to what extent it would actually support Pakistan’s view.”
Both the BNP and Jamaat have repeatedly said they wanted friendly relations with India, and Hossain expected that they would, at the same time, continue the balanced approach introduced by the caretaker administration.
“India is a reality as a neighbor. At the same time, India is also showing interest in mending relations or adopting a more cooperative approach after the vote, with the government that will be elected ... I think there will be pragmatism from both sides,” he said.
“I don’t see there is a long-term threat to Bangladesh-India relations ... When China and Pakistan were trying to create a trilateral cooperative system or some kind of coalition — China, Bangladesh and Pakistan — we have seen that Bangladesh opted out. It seems that Bangladesh is going to continue its policy of maintaining a balance among these great powers.”
Bangladesh’s relations with China have not changed since the ouster of Hasina, whose government signed several economic agreements with Beijing. Yunus’s administration has continued this cooperation, and China was among the very few countries he officially visited during his term.
During the visit, he secured about $2.1 billion in Chinese investments, loans and grants, including funding for infrastructure like Mongla Port and a special economic zone in Chattogram — Bangladesh’s largest port. China has also eased visa rules for Bangladeshi businesspeople, medical travelers and tourists.
According to Munshi Faiz Ahmed, Bangladesh’s former ambassador to Beijing, China’s importance for Bangladesh cannot be substituted by any other country, especially as over the past few years it has emerged not only as its key investor, but also the largest trade partner.
In the fiscal year 2024-25, Bangladesh’s trade with China was over $21.3 billion, according to National Board of Revenue data. With India, it was about $11.5 billion.
The trade — especially import — dependence on Beijing started long before the regime change. In terms of trade volume, China overtook India already in 2018.
“Even when people thought that we had very close relations with India, our relations with China continued to grow in terms of trade and commerce ... Our trade with China has surpassed India’s, and China is a much bigger investor in Bangladesh’s development projects,” Ahmed said.
“Bangladesh will continue to cooperate with China for a long time to come because what China can provide, no other country can.”
