Bruce Mathers, Lija
More separated women?
The front page of The Times (July 22) contained the phrase "with 55.6 per cent of separated individuals being women". For the last few days I have been struggling with this - how is it possible? The most obvious answer is that some of the husbands are dead.
But that won't do, since the wives remain legally married and therefore become widows (rather than "separated") on their husbands' death. Two other possibilities occur to me. Either there is more polygamy than I had suspected or some of the husbands simply haven't noticed that their wives have gone and still count themselves as "married" while their wives consider themselves "separated"! Any other ideas?
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Fenech MD
Jul 29th 2010, 08:24
True. If a woman is separated, so is the man! This means that are EQUAL numbers of separated men and women
U Mulej tini s sabar!
Joe Zammit
Jul 28th 2010, 16:34
Bruce, when one of the spouses die, the bond of marriage dissolves. So on the death of a spouse, the surviving spouse will be separated no more.
The reason why there are more women here in Malta is the fact that some males spouses have emigrated.
Polygamy in our Criminal Law is a crime. No one can remarry when their marriage subsists.
Joseph Calleja
Jul 28th 2010, 18:26
"The reason why there are more women here in Malta is the fact that some males spouses have emigrated." Yes Joe, they emigrated over to the next door neighbor, you know Love Thy Neighbor. Where do you come up with such answers? I would think that since it takes a man and a woman to make a marriage ( which in this day and age is questionable) the answer would be 50/50. Unless the obvious, we don't know what is happening behind closed doors. Who comes up with these ridiculous statistics? All very confusing.
c gatt
Jul 28th 2010, 18:47
I really don't know what worries me most about fundamentalists, their one-track mindedness, or their pedantic lack of a sense of humour. Thanks for the lecture about the criminal code Joe, but this was a light-hearted comment.
Incidentally, i've been meaning to ask... are you actually married ?:)
Joe Zammit
Jul 29th 2010, 10:04
Joseph, you are overlooking that some separated men have left our shores. That is a fact. What you are saying makes sense only if all the separated persons have remained here. I personally know persons who have emigrated.
RJ Micallef
Jul 28th 2010, 15:28
I shall ask my wife, she knows everything. Ooops.
M Vella
Jul 28th 2010, 16:49
Mine toooooooooooooo
C.Formosa
Jul 28th 2010, 14:14
Reminds me of the children's riddle which asks if there are more uphills or down hills in Valletta/Malta.
Tommy Vella
Jul 28th 2010, 12:35
It could be that same-sex marriage has entered the statute books behind our backs.
J Borg
Jul 28th 2010, 11:45
Those who have remarried after obtaining an annulment or divorce are classified as married. So if more men remarry, there are less of them in the group of separated people.
Evarist Saliba
Jul 28th 2010, 11:28
I raised this point, claiming that the figures are far from clear as soon as the press commented on this report, but there was no official reaction. Nor am I expecting one now.
Lina Caruana
Jul 28th 2010, 11:03
My guess is that there are more polygamy than we assume which should keep us on our toes rather than gullible when presented with some tales of woe. I was taught that "Troppo bonta e il nemico del bene" by a wise old owl.
Tanja Cilia
Jul 28th 2010, 10:58
Simple logic: women are more equal than men.
Ramon Casha
Jul 28th 2010, 10:51
Maybe of the couples who got a divorce abroad, slightly more men remarried than women.
Joseph Micallef
Jul 28th 2010, 10:29
I totally agree with you Mr. Bruce Mathers - and thanks for bringing this up. I also questioned this report and found it absurd - to say the least! Maybe someone can give us some clarifications - not simple probabilities.
C.sammut
Jul 28th 2010, 10:17
yes.. remarrying...emigration (or escape)... or bad statistics..!
G Psaila
Jul 28th 2010, 10:15
More men left the island (perhaps they were foreigners)?