Shaking Off Prying During Chinese New Year!

Today is the second day of Chinese New Year and I thought I would review a recent article I read in The Business Times.

Prying by relatives during CNY

Lunar New Year is a happy occasion for many Chinese around the world. Unfortunately, in Singapore at least, many women face prying by curious relatives during this period. Single women above the age of 28 have it the worst. 28 is the median age of married women in Singapore.

Many single men are judged differently from their female counterparts. Single men appear to be “biding their time” while single women have a “deadline”.

According to Jamie Lee, the writer of the article, the questions a single lady face typically suggest that something is wrong with her. Is she too tall, too fat, too educated, too opinionated, too quiet, too successful or too much of a party animal?

Singapore divorce rate increases

However, what prying relatives do not consider is the fact that Singapore divorce rate increases year after year.

In a 2015 SingStat paper, it was reported that unreasonable behaviour from men was the most common reason for divorces filed by wives. 60% of wives who commenced divorce proceedings cited their husband’s unreasonable behaviour.

The biggest group of divorced couples in 2015 were those who were married for 5 to 9 years. This was followed by those who were married for 20 years or more.

More women gave up on their marriages than men. In 2015, 60% of divorce proceedings were started by women.

Conclusion by the author

Single women should not be pressured into marriages, especially given the fact that Singapore divorce rate increases from year to year. It is a poor choice if a woman were to succumb to inner pressure, giving up inner peace and the option to make independent choices.

See: Jamie Lee, “Single women, shake off the prying this CNY”, The Business Times, 23 January 2017

Yes, it is true that Singapore divorce rate increases year after year. I agree with the author that women (and men) should not be pressured into getting married for the sake of getting married.

However, the fact that Singapore divorce rate increases every year should not deter young people (or divorcees) from getting married (or remarried). Never shy away from love when it comes knocking!

And to my clients, there is life after divorce.

You may also be interested to read more about:

1. Divorce and Separation

2. Annulment (Nullity) of Marriage

3. Children’s Issues

4. Matrimonial Assets

5. Maintenance Issues (Alimony)

6. Family Violence

For more information, please contact us here.

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