Are There Gender Differences In Consequences Of Divorce Under Hindu Law? Are These Differences Favourable To Women In True Spirit?
In Ancient times, the concept of divorce was not known toanyone. They considered marriage as a sacred concept.According to Manu, the husband and wife cannot be separatedfrom each other, their martial tie cannot be broken. Later theconcept of divorce came in the picture and established as acustom to put the marriage to an end.

Research has found the most common reasons people give fortheir divorce are lack of commitment, too much arguing,infidelity, marrying too young, unrealistic expectations, lack ofequality in the relationship, lack of preparation for marriage,and abuse. Marriage is a beautiful concept but it comes with aheavy price. It is not so easy to maintain the sanctity of anyrelationship unless both sides are willing to work on it. A numberof times this unwillingness and callousness leads to divorcewhich can get ugly. It is being observed that divorce rates havegone way high in recent times and there are several reasonscited for the same.

No, According to me there is no gender differences inconsequences of divorce under Hindu law and these differences do not favourable to women in true spirit1Despite the law provides equal rights and responsibilities towards each other after divorce but these provisions do not favourable to women in true spirit when we look into social aspects.

Regarding Maintenance

Despite there being a multitude of alimony and maintenance� laws, women are left empty handed and struggle to meet ends after a bad marriage. Women have to struggle till the end for maintenance despite of interim maintenance is present. Women have to be financially dependent on her husband, after divorce household chores takes centre stage and the stress of financial uncertainty can usually be felt more greatly bywomen despite of the provisions given in the law regarding the maintenance and alimony.

Women sometime do not get timely maintenance and it is cumbersome for a women to knock the door of law every time. Under Section 18 (3) of Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act1956, it is mentioned that A Hindu wife shall not be entitled to separate residence and maintenance from her husband if she is unchaste, the word 'unchaste' is directly related with the personal life of a women as, chastity or purity of a women cannot be put to any test, Because it is her personal life which would not be objected or questioned in any manner. In our epic Ramayana, the Lord Rama tried to test the chastity of his wife Sita by compelling her to undergo Agni -Pariksha whichwas crueler than cruelty.

Change In Circumstances

Case: T. Kausalya V. T. Narayan Reddy And Anr. 1

It was held that change in circumstances includes change in circumstances of a husband also. Fall and rise in husband's income may be urged as change in circumstances. So, if the husband is retired or lack of job, the decrease in income is change in circumstances of husband and the maintenance willbe affected accordingly.�

In such cases without any fault of women, she have to compromise in their maintenance rights.

Regarding Custody Of Children

Section 6 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act 1956 the natural guardian of a boy and unmarried girl would be fatherland after him the mother, a women who bears a pain of 9months and have an emotional attachment with the child before his /her birth, that mother is not the first guardian. Soeven a women can get the custody of the child but the father of the child is seen as the sole guardian and has the legal right of guardianship.

All the important decisions related to children life still be taken by the husband. In cases of divorce between partners who have children out of their wedlock, the custody of the child becomes one of the important consideration by either of the parent. In such cases, the man has an equal right to get custody of that child.

�The upbringing and welfare of the child are outmost importance and the husband may approach the court and show that hi is in a better position than wife to raise the child, on this ground court may consider the better financial condition of father and may give the custody to the father, the mother loose the custody if the child do not oppose it which makes her feel more traumatic life.

Regarding Re-Marrying

There are difficulties engaging in a new relationship and creating new family as she has once faced a fatal married life, then how she can trust on coming life partner as a perfect one. She lacks confidence in building a new relationship. Also the very importantly on one side the women is encouraged to get re-marry which is given in Section 15 of Hindu marriage Act but on the other side on getting re married she lose the maintenance right. It is not justice at all, as a women who get re marry and if then also she in unable to maintain herself then how the concept of re marriage and maintenance after divorce can be said to be valid or beneficial to women.

Also women face much difficulty when she have children fromfirst marriage and she married again.

Section- 13(1) And 13(2)

Women have given special rights to file for divorce under Section 13(2) of Hindu Marriage Act 1955,but in real sense women found themselves ungrateful torn between standing up for themselves and their rights or continuing suffering and maintaining a good family reputation. This happens mostly to rural areas women. The do not have any outside support and even their parents try to encourage them to be patient and stay positive for things to improve.

Also mostly women are not much aware about all their rights. In India, data from NCRB shows that 19 women die each day from dowry related violence. The recent NFHS ( National Family Health Survey)-5 data found that on an average, 30percent of women in India gave suffered from domestic violence. A number that is likely higher due to underreporting. Sadly, over 90 percent of women have never divorced due to suppression from husband's and societal pressure.

Regarding Property Rights

A women who spend almost 20 to 30 valuable years of life in afamily and taking care of family members can not claim for property which is of her husband's property. She only get the property right if she has financially supported her husband regarding such property and which she needs to prove on documents. And what about her compromises which she hadmade for buying such property?

The concept of Streedhan has-been glorified is the case of Pratibha Rani V. Suraj Kumar, Asper Hindu law Streedhan is whatever a women receives during  her life time, Streedhan includes all movable, immovable property gifts etc. received by women during marriage. Section 14 of Hindu Succession Act 1956, states that property of a female Hindu to be her absolute property, but Sometimes after women have to face lot of issues while getting return her own personal property or gifts which she received from her parents during marriage.

Facing Problem In Standing Financially

Indians are of the view that women's absence at home negatively impact the well being of the entire family and the upbringing pf children, which dome how or the other makes women financially dependent during marriage. So a women who didn't involved much in earning how she can be able toper form a job in a multinational companies immediately after divorce to bear the burden of earning.

Account to surveys women perform 9.8 times the amount of unpaid work than men. Women are officially entitled to full political, economic, and social participation but the reality is however slightly different due to deeply entrenched patriarchal attitudes in the society, especially in rural areas. After separating if women wants to do a job she faces difficulties due to lack of confidence.�

She do not able to present herself even after having knowledge and hesitate I'm decision making. She gets low wages salarydue to incompetence.

Void Marriage

A women in void marriage do not claim for maintenance. Only alegally wedded wife is recognized for claiming maintenancerights.

Mutual Divorce

The concept of mutual divorce has been given under Section13B of the Hindu marriage Act but sometimes the husband put condition on wife that he will only mutually agreed to give him divorce only when the women waive of her maintenance rights, which itself a pathetic condition for women but then also she agreed so that she can get easily divorce from the court of law.

Conclusion
In a nutshell I would like to conclude that Yes there has been various provisions for empowering women after divorce but yet there is a need that one officer is appointed by the court who personally look-over to the accountability of maintenance provided to the women or check whether she is getting timely maintenance also. In rural areas or to uneducated women routine awareness programmers must be established by NGO'sso that women come to know about their rights regarding divorce.

Regarding property rights The Union government must be commended for the changes it has proposed to the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955. The proposed Hindu Marriage Amendment) Bill, 2010 addresses the anomalies in the existing law that had made the entire divorce process antagonistic to the interests of women.

The most progressive aspect of the amendment is that in the eventuality of a divorce, women will be entitled to a share in the property or assets acquired by the couple after marriage According to the prevailing law, the husband pays the woman a monthly maintenance or a one-time settlement, both of which, in most cases, are a pittance. So in effect, the woman is left with nothing at the end of the divorce.

The share in the property acquired by her spouse, that the amendment guarantees, would go a long way in providing women some degree of financial security after a divorce. Moreover, when one views the issue purely in terms of power relations, an assured share in property is a much more empowering compensation than the rather patronizing payment of maintenance.