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77-617: A wife is a female participant in a marriage. Wife , WIFE , or wives may also refer to: Wife The word is of Germanic origin from the Proto-Germanic word wībam , which translates into "woman". In Middle English , it had the form wif , and in Old English wīf , "woman or wife". It is related to Modern German Weib (woman, female), Danish viv (wife, usually poetic), and Dutch wijf (woman, generally pejorative , cf. bitch ). The original meaning of

154-429: A Christian husband only if she has committed adultery (Matthew 5:32). The New Testament allows a Christian widow to (re)marry a man she chooses (1 Cor 7:39) but forbids a divorced Christian woman to remarry because she would be committing adultery if she did (Matthew 5:32). As such she is to remain unmarried and celibate or be reconciled with her husband (1 Cor 7:1-2 & 8-9 and 1 Cor 7:10-11). A Christian wife can divorce

231-610: A Hindu widow, though, under the Act, the widow forsook any inheritance due her from her deceased husband. Social stigma in Joseon Korea required that widows remain unmarried after their husbands' death. In 1477, Seongjong of Joseon enacted the Widow Remarriage Law, which strengthened pre-existing social constraints by barring the sons of widows who remarried from holding public office. In 1489, Seongjong condemned

308-401: A couple will develop a mutually dependent relationship where the woman's income is needed, but at the same time the woman will do the majority of the housework. At the beginning of the 1970s the traditional dynamic was that women performed domestic labor and that men worked for income due to the economic pressures in place. Eventually, second wave feminism challenged this dynamic. Starting in

385-408: A factor to consider in a property settlement , it may affect the status of children, the custody of children ; moreover, adultery can result in social ostracism in some parts of the world. In addition, affinity rules of Catholicism, of Judaism and of Islam prohibit an ex-wife or widow from engaging in sexual relations with and from marrying a number of relatives of the former husband. In parts of

462-468: A husband with other wives. As a result, divorce was relatively uncommon in the pre-modern West, particularly in the medieval and early modern period , and husbands in the Roman, later medieval and early modern period did not publicly take more than one wife. In pre-modern times, it was unusual to marry for love alone, although it became an ideal in literature by the early modern period. In the 12th century,

539-417: A long terminal illness. In addition, both men and women have been observed to experience lifestyle habit changes after the death of a spouse. Both sexes tend to have a harder time looking after themselves without their spouse to help, though these changes may differ based on the sex of the widow and the role the spouse played in their life. The older spouses grow, the more aware they are of being alone due to

616-418: A married woman would commonly wear a wedding ring , but in other cultures, other markers of marital status may be used. A married woman is commonly given the title " Mrs ", but some married women prefer to be referred to as " Ms ", a title which is also used by preference or when the marital status of a woman is unknown. A woman on her wedding day is usually described as a bride . Occasionally, this naming

693-495: A new marriage law which guaranteed gender equality between the spouses, women in Greece are required to keep their birth names for their whole life. Traditionally, and still in many cultures, the role of a wife was closely tied to that of a mother , by a strong expectation that a wife ought to bear children, while conversely, an unmarried woman should not have a child out of wedlock . These views have changed in many parts of

770-546: A non-Christian husband if he wants a divorce (1 Cor 7:12-16). Christian husbands are to love their Christian wives as Christ loved the Church (Ephesians 5:25) and as he loves himself (Ephesians 5:33). The Christian wife is to respect her husband (Ephesians 5:33). Christian husbands are to not be harsh with their Christian wives (Colossians 3:19) and to treat them as a delicate vessel and with honor (1 Peter 3:7). Women in Islam have

847-424: A prevalence of female celibacy never yet documented for any other major traditional civilization. In addition, early modern Western women married at quite high ages (typically mid to late 20s) relative to other major traditional cultures. The high age at first marriage for Western women has been shown by many parish reconstruction studies to be a traditional Western marriage pattern that dates back at least as early as

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924-457: A range of rights and obligations (see main article Rights and obligations of spouses in Islam ). Marriage takes place on the basis of a marriage contract . The arranged marriage is relatively common in traditionalist families, whether in Muslim countries or as first or second-generation immigrants elsewhere. Women in general are supposed to wear specific clothes, as stated by the hadith , like

1001-523: A spouse without reference to gender. Among the last European countries to establish full gender equality in marriage were Switzerland, Greece, Spain, and France in the 1980s. In various marriage laws around the world, however, the husband continues to have authority. For instance, the Civil Code of Iran states in Article 1105: "In relations between husband and wife; the position of the head of

1078-421: A spouse's death, when they had a 66-percent increased chance of dying". There remains controversy over whether women or men are worse off, and studies have attempted to make each case, while others suggest there are no sex differences. While it is disputed as to whether sex plays a part in the intensity of grief, sex often influences how a person's lifestyle changes after a spouse's death. Research has shown that

1155-430: A standard adopted by Roman Catholic canon law . In ancient Roman law, first marriages to brides aged 12–25 required the consent of the bride and her father, but by the late antique period Roman law permitted women over 25 to marry without parental consent. The father had the right and duty to seek a good and useful match for his children, and might arrange a child's betrothal long before he or she came of age. To further

1232-409: A suitable family (family of same caste, culture and financial status), the boy and the girl see and talk to each other to decide the outcome. In recent times however the western culture has had significant influence and the new generations are more open to the idea of marrying for love. Indian law has recognized rape, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse of a woman by her husband as crimes. In Hinduism ,

1309-502: A throne be brought and he had her sit at his right hand, which is in stark contrast to when she was Queen consort and bowed to King-Prophet David when she entered. Prophet Jeremiah portrays a Queen mother as sharing in her son's rule over the kingdom in Jeremiah 13:18-20 . The wife of Prophet Isaiah was a Prophetess. Isaiah 8:3 There is a widely held expectation, which has existed for most of recorded history and in most cultures, that

1386-499: A wife is known as a Patni or Ardhangini (similar to "the better half") meaning a part of the husband or his family. In Hinduism, a woman or man can get married, but only have one husband or wife respectively. In India, women may wear vermilion powder on their foreheads, an ornament called Mangalsutra ( Hindi : मंगलसूत्र ) which is a form of necklace, or rings on their toes (which are not worn by single women) to show their status as married women. China 's family laws were changed by

1463-408: A wife is not to have sexual relations with anyone other than her legal husband. A breach of this expectation of fidelity is commonly referred to as adultery or extramarital sex . Historically, adultery has been considered to be a serious offense , sometimes a crime, and a sin . Even if that is not so, it may still have legal consequences, particularly as a ground for a divorce . Adultery may be

1540-407: A wife. In Western countries today, married women usually have an education , a profession and they (or their husbands) can take time off from their work in a legally procured system of ante-natal care , statutory maternity leave , and they may get maternity pay or a maternity allowance . The status of marriage, as opposed to unmarried pregnant women, allows the spouse to be responsible for

1617-554: A woman in an informal cohabitation relationship, which may be known as a girlfriend, partner, cohabitant, significant other, concubine , mistress , etc. However, a woman in a so-called common law marriage may describe herself as a common law wife, de facto wife, or simply a wife. Those seeking to advance gender neutrality may refer to both marriage partners as "spouses". In response to this naming change, many countries and societies are rewording their statute law by replacing "wife" and "husband" with "spouse". A former wife whose spouse

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1694-434: A woman of the royal clan, Yi Guji , when it was discovered that she had cohabited with her slave after being widowed. More than 40 members of her household were arrested and her lover was tortured to death. In some parts of the world, such as Zimbabwe , the property of widows, such as land, is often taken away by her in-laws. While illegal, since most marriages are conducted under customary law and not registered, redressing

1771-497: Is a person whose spouse has died and has usually not remarried . The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjective for either sex is widowed . These terms are not applied to a divorcé(e) following the death of an ex-spouse. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood . The term widowhood can be used for either sex, at least according to some dictionaries, but

1848-566: Is also uncommon for widows to challenge their treatment because they are often "unaware of their rights under the modern law…because of their low status, and lack of education or legal representation.". Unequal benefits and treatment generally received by widows compared to those received by widowers globally has spurred an interest in the issue by human rights activists . During the HIV pandemic, which particularly hit gay communities, companions of deceased men had little recourse in estate court against

1925-481: Is considered appropriate after the wedding ceremony or the honeymoon , though she is typically called a wife within the marriage. If she is marrying a man, her partner is known as the bridegroom during the wedding and within the marriage is called her husband . If she is marrying a woman, each partner is referred to as a wife. In the older customs, which are still followed by the Roman Catholic ritual,

2002-422: Is deceased is a widow . The status of a wife may be terminated by divorce , annulment , or the death of a spouse. In the case of divorce, terminology such as a former wife, former-wife or ex-wife is often used. In regard to annulment, such terms are not strictly accurate. This is because annulment, unlike divorce, is usually retroactive , meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from

2079-473: Is to be between one woman and one man, that God Himself joined them and that no human is to separate them, according to Christ's words (Matthew 19:4-6). The New Testament states that an unmarried Christian woman is to be celibate or is to become the Christian wife of one husband to avoid sexual immorality and for his sexual passion (1 Cor 7:1-2 & 8–9). The New Testament permits divorce of a Christian wife by

2156-744: The Communist revolution; and in 1950, the People's Republic of China enacted a comprehensive marriage law including provisions giving the spouses equal rights with regard to ownership and management of marital property. In Japan , before enactment of the Meiji Civil Code of 1898, all of the woman's property such as land or money passed to her husband except for personal clothing and a mirror stand. See Women in Japan , Law of Japan Christian marriage as based on biblical teachings and conditions,

2233-467: The New Testament in regard to their view on the position of a wife in society as well as her marriage. The New Testament condemns divorce for both men and women (1 Cor 7:10–11) and assumes monogamy on the part of the husband: the wife is to have her "own" husband, and the husband is to have his "own" wife (1 Cor 7:2). In the medieval period, this was understood to mean that a wife should not share

2310-470: The Sati Prevention Act , which made it illegal to support, glorify or attempt to commit sati. Support of sati, including coercing or forcing someone to commit sati, can be punished by the death sentence or life imprisonment, while glorifying sati is punishable with one to seven years in prison. The people of Fiji practised widow-strangling. When Fijians adopted Christianity, widow-strangling

2387-437: The folklore of Chiloé of southern Chile, widows and black cats are important elements that are needed when hunting for the treasure of the carbunclo . In societies where the husband is the sole provider, his death can leave his family destitute. The tendency for women generally to outlive men can compound this. The Bible has written several commandments about caring for the widow, the prohibition against harming her and

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2464-424: The hijab , which may take different styles depending on the culture of the country, where traditions may seep in. The husband must pay a mahr to the bride. Traditionally, the wife in Islam is seen as a protected, chaste person that manages the household and the family. She has the ever-important role of raising the children and bringing up the next generation of Muslims. In Islam, it is highly recommended that

2541-445: The 1980s, correlations between higher income of women and higher rates of divorce began decreasing. The economic independence theory establishes that if one side of the couple provides more than 60% of the total income of the couple, there is a dependence effect. Therefore, in recent decades women have had a major increase in their economic independence. At the same time, women have had to wrestle with other economic decisions, such as

2618-441: The 20th century, women could in some regions or times sue a man for wreath money when he took her virginity without taking her as his wife. If a woman did not want to marry, another option was entering a convent as a nun . to become a " bride of Christ ", a state in which her chastity and economic survival would be protected. Both a wife and a nun wore Christian headcovering , which proclaimed their state of protection by

2695-548: The High Middle Ages. In addition, local customary law influenced wives' property rights; as a result, wives' property rights in the pre-modern West varied widely from region to region. Because wives' property rights and daughters' inheritance rights varied widely from region to region due to differing legal systems, the amount of property a wife might own varied greatly. Under the English common law system, which dates to

2772-528: The Roman Catholic Church drastically changed legal standards for marital consent by allowing daughters over 12 and sons over 14 to marry without their parents' approval, even if their marriage was made clandestinely. Parish studies have confirmed that late medieval women did sometimes marry against their parents' approval. The Roman Catholic Church's policy of considering clandestine marriages and marriages made without parental consent to be valid

2849-590: The United States to signify their widowhood and devotion to their deceased husband. After the Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856 in India, the status of widowhood for Hindu women was accompanied by a body symbolism - The widow's head was shaved as part of her mourning, she could no longer wear a red dot sindoor on her forehead, was forbidden to wear wedding jewellery, had to keep her bosoms uncovered and

2926-428: The ability to ascend socio-economically, widows—who were "presumably celibate"—were much more able (and likely) to challenge conventional sexual behaviour than married women in their society. It may be necessary for a woman to comply with the social customs of her area because her fiscal stature depends on it, but this custom is also often abused by others as a way to keep money within the deceased spouse's family. It

3003-531: The basis of a Jewish marriage contract, called a Ketubah . There is a blur of arranged marriages and love marriages in traditional families. Married women, in traditional families, wear specific clothes, like the tichel . Once, a man called Shechem, a Hivite, offered a dowry to get an Israelite wife, but was rejected, since he was not an Israelite himself. Genesis 34 In ancient times there were Israelite women who were Judge, Queen regnant , Queen regent , Queen mother , Queen consort , and Prophetess: Deborah

3080-413: The beginning as though it had never taken place. In the case of the death of the other spouse, the term used is widow . The social status of such women varies by culture. In some places, they may be subject to potentially harmful practices, such as widow inheritance or levirate marriage , or social stigmatization. In some cultures, the termination of the status of wife makes life itself meaningless. In

3157-500: The best character and the best of you are those who are best to their wives." Traditionally, Muslim married women are not distinguished from unmarried women by an outward symbol (such as a wedding ring). However, women's wedding rings have recently been adopted in the past thirty years from Western culture. Women in Judaism have a range of rights and obligations ( see main article Jewish views on marriage ). Marriage takes place on

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3234-584: The case of those cultures that practice sati , a funeral ritual within some Asian communities, a recently widowed woman intentionally commits suicide by fire , typically upon the husband's funeral pyre . The legal rights of a wife have been subject to debate since the 19th century in many jurisdictions. The subject was in particular addressed by John Stuart Mill in The Subjection of Women (1869). Historically, many societies have given sets of rights and obligations to husbands that differ vastly from

3311-505: The child, and to speak on behalf of their wife; a partner is also responsible for the wife's child in states where they are automatically assumed to be the biological legal parent. Vice versa, a wife has more legal authority in some cases when she speaks on behalf of a spouse than she would have if they were not married, e.g. when her spouse is in a coma after an accident, a wife may have the right of advocacy. If they divorce , she also might receive—or pay— alimony (see Law and divorce around

3388-447: The context of her children, "Wife" refers to the institutionalized relation to the other spouse. In some societies, especially historically, a concubine was a woman who was in an ongoing, usually matrimonially oriented relationship with a man who could not be married to her, often due to a difference in social status. The term wife is most commonly applied to a woman in a union sanctioned by law (including religious law ), but not to

3465-427: The countries that have joined CEDAW. In the United States, Social Security offers a Survivor's Benefit to qualified people once for a loss through their 50th birthday after which a second marriage may be considered when applying for benefits. The maximum still remains the same but here the survivor has options between accessing their earned benefits or one of their qualifying late spouses at chosen intervals to maximize

3542-576: The death of their husband or wife. This negatively impacts the mental as well as physical well-being in both men and women. In some parts of Europe and Latin America , including Russia , Slovakia , the Czech Republic , Greece , Italy , Portugal , Spain and Mexico , widows used to wear black for the rest of their lives to signify their mourning, a practice that has largely died out. Orthodox Christian immigrants may wear lifelong black in

3619-418: The deceased’s family. Not yet able to have been legally married the term widower was not considered socially acceptable. This situation was usually blessed with an added stigma being attached to the surviving man. As of 2004, women in United States who were widowed younger are at greater economic hardship risk. Married women who are in a financially unstable household are more likely to become widows "because of

3696-462: The difference falls in the burden of care, expectations, and how they react after the spouse's death. For example, women often carry more of an emotional burden than men and are less willing to go through the death of another spouse. After being widowed, men and women may react very differently and frequently change their lifestyles. Women tend to miss their husbands more if they died suddenly; men tend to miss their wives more if they died after suffering

3773-455: The duty to make her happy during the holidays, for example: "Be joyful at your festival—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns".(Hebrew Bible, Book of Deuteronomy 16:14) In 19th-century Britain, widows had greater opportunity for social mobility than in many other societies. Along with

3850-429: The family is the exclusive right of the husband" . In some parts of the world, traditional payments or exchanges are typically made, including: The purpose of the dowry varies by culture and has varied historically. In some cultures, it was paid not only to support the establishment of a new family, but also served as a condition that if the husband committed grave offenses upon his wife, the dowry had to be returned to

3927-463: The husband upon getting married. For some, this is a controversial practice, due to its tie to the historical doctrine of coverture and to the historically subordinated roles of wives. Others argue that today this is merely a harmless tradition that should be accepted as a free choice. Some jurisdictions consider this practice as discriminatory and contrary to women's rights, and have restricted or banned it; for example, since 1983, when Greece adopted

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4004-406: The increased benefits for delaying a filing (i.e. at age 63 claim husband one's reduced benefit, then husband two's full amount at 67 and your own enhanced benefit at 68). In parts of Africa, such as Kenya , widows are viewed as impure and in need of cleansing. This often requires having sex with someone. Those refusing to be cleansed risk getting beaten by superstitious villagers, who may also harm

4081-437: The interests of their birth families, daughters of the elite would marry into respectable families. If a daughter could prove the proposed husband to be of bad character, she could legitimately refuse the match. The age of lawful consent to a marriage was 12 for maidens and 14 for youths. In late antiquity, Most Roman women seem to have married in their late teens to early twenties, but noble women married younger than those of

4158-423: The later medieval period, daughters and younger sons were usually excluded from landed property if no will was produced. Under English common law, there was a system where a wife with a living husband ("feme couvert") could own little property in her own name. Unable to easily support herself, marriage was very important to most women's economic status. This problem has been dealt with extensively in literature, where

4235-422: The lower classes, and an aristocratic maiden was expected to be virgin until her first marriage. In late antiquity, under Roman law, daughters inherited equally from their parents if no will was produced. In addition, Roman law recognized wives' property as legally separate from husbands's property, as did some legal systems in parts of Europe and colonial Latin America. Christian cultures claim to be guided by

4312-514: The mid-16th century. In the 20th century, the role of the wife in Western marriage changed in two major ways; the first was the breakthrough from an "institution to companionate marriage"; for the first time since the Middle Ages, wives became distinct legal entities , and were allowed their own property and allowed to sue. Until then, partners were a single legal entity, but only a husband

4389-639: The most important reason for women's limited power was the denial of equal education and equal property rights for females. The situation was assessed by the English conservative moralist Sir William Blackstone : "The husband and wife are one, and the husband is the one." Married women's property rights in the English-speaking world improved with the Married Women's Property Act 1882 and similar legal changes, which allowed wives with living husbands to own property in their own names. Until late in

4466-454: The phrase "wife" as simply "woman", unconnected with marriage or a husband/wife, is preserved in words such as " midwife ", " goodwife ", " fishwife " and " spaewife ". After marriage, it is generally expected in many cultures that a woman will take her husband's surname , though this is not universal. A married woman may indicate her marital status in a number of ways: in Western culture ,

4543-497: The postponement of motherhood . In Indo-Aryan languages , a wife is known as Patni , which means a woman who shares everything in this world with her husband and he does the same, including their identity. Decisions are ideally made in mutual consent. A wife usually takes care of anything inside her household, including the family's health, the children's education, a parent's needs. The majority of Hindu marriages in rural and traditional India are arranged marriages. Once they find

4620-478: The rights of marriage. Much more significant than the option of becoming a nun, was the option of non-religious spinsterhood in the West. An unmarried woman, a feme sole , had the right to own property and make contracts in her own name. As first demonstrated quantitatively by John Hajnal, in the 19th and early 20th centuries the percentage of non-clerical Western women who never married was typically as high as 10–15%,

4697-401: The sets of rights and obligations given to wives. In particular, the control of marital property, inheritance rights, and the right to dictate the activities of children of the marriage, have typically been given to male marital partners. However, this practice was curtailed to a great deal in many countries in the twentieth century, and more modern statutes tend to define the rights and duties of

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4774-553: The strong relationship between mortality [of the male head] and wealth [of the household]." In underdeveloped and developing areas of the world, conditions for widows continue to be much more severe. The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (ratified by 135 countries) while slow, is working on proposals which will make certain types of discrimination and treatment of widows (such as violence and withholding property rights) illegal in

4851-528: The wife or her family. Due to this condition, the dowry was often made inalienable by the husband during the marriage. Today, dowries continue to be expected in parts of South Asia such as India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, and conflicts related to their payment sometimes result in violence, such as dowry deaths and bride burning . In some cultures, particularly in the Anglophone West , wives often change their surnames to that of

4928-427: The wife remains at home although they are fully able to own property or work. The husband is obligated to spend on the wife for all of her needs while she is not obligated to spend even if she is wealthy. Muhammad is said to have commanded all Muslim men to treat their wives well. There is a hadith by Al-Tirmidhi , in which Muhammad is said to have stated "The believers who show the most perfect faith are those who have

5005-656: The woman and her late husband's children. It is argued that this notion arose from the idea that if a husband dies, the woman may have performed witchcraft against him. Use of widows in harem has been recorded in Ancient Egypt , medieval Europe, and Islamic empires. Sati was a practice in South Asia where a woman would immolate herself upon her husband's death. These practices were outlawed in 1827 in British India and again in 1987 in independent India by

5082-411: The word bride actually means fiancée , and applies up to the exchange of matrimonial consent (the actual marriage act). From that point, even while the rest of the very ceremony is ongoing, the woman is a wife and no longer considered as a bride. Hence, the bridal couple is no longer referred to as such, but instead as the newlywed couple or " newlyweds ". Unlike mother , a term that puts a woman into

5159-418: The word widowerhood is also listed in some dictionaries. An archaic term for a widow is " relict ", literally "someone left over"; this word can sometimes be found on older gravestones . Occasionally, the word viduity is used. The phenomenon that refers to the increased mortality rate after the death of a spouse is called the widowhood effect . It is "strongest during the first three months after

5236-408: The world ). The effect of women's income on heterosexual relationships’ dynamics depends on several factors. If the couple has strong traditional values, the income of women will affect men's gender identity and affect their well-being. If they have strong liberal values, the income of a woman will make the woman the provider of the house and put the man in a more domestic role. However, in most cases

5313-618: The world, adultery may result in violent acts, such as honor killings or stoning . Some jurisdictions, especially those that apply Sharia law , allow for such acts to take place legally. As of September 2010, stoning is a legal punishment in countries such as Saudi Arabia , Sudan , Iran , Yemen , the United Arab Emirates , and some states in Nigeria as punishment for zina al-mohsena ("adultery of married persons"). Widow A widow (female) or widower (male)

5390-567: The world. Children born outside marriage have become more common in many countries. Although some wives in particular in Western countries choose not to have children , such a choice is not accepted in some parts of the world. In northern Ghana , for example, the payment of bride price signifies a woman's requirement to bear children, and women using birth control are at risk of threats and coercion. In addition, some religions are interpreted as requiring children in marriage; for instance, Pope Francis said in 2015 that choosing not to have children

5467-619: Was "selfish". Many traditions like a dower, dowry and bride price have long traditions in antiquity. The exchange of any item or value goes back to the oldest sources, and the wedding ring likewise was always used as a symbol for keeping faith to a person. In ancient Rome, The Emperor Augustus introduced marriage legislation, the Lex Papia Poppaea , which rewarded marriage and childbearing. The legislation also imposed penalties on young persons who failed to marry and on those who committed adultery. Therefore, marriage and childbearing

5544-619: Was abandoned. Those likely to be accused and killed as witches , such as in Papua New Guinea , are often widows. Widow inheritance (also known as bride inheritance) is a cultural and social practice whereby a widow is required to marry a male relative of her late husband, often his brother. The Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856 , enacted in response to the campaign of the reformer Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar , to encourage widow remarriage and provided legal safeguards against loss of certain forms of inheritance for remarrying

5621-426: Was allowed to exercise this right, called coverture . The second change was the drastic alteration of middle and upper-class family life, when in the 1960s these wives began to work outside their home, and with the social acceptance of divorces the single-parent family, and stepfamily or "blended family" as a more "individualized marriage". Today, some women may wear a wedding ring in order to show her status as

5698-533: Was controversial, and in the 16th century both the French monarchy and the Lutheran church sought to end these practices, with limited success. The New Testament made no pronouncements about wives' property rights, which in practice were influenced more by secular laws than religion. Most influential in the pre-modern West was the civil law , except in English-speaking countries where English common law emerged in

5775-441: Was expected to walk barefoot. These customs are mostly considered backward but still prevalent among Hindus. In some parts of South Asia , a woman is often accused of causing her husband's death and is not allowed to look at another person as her gaze is considered bad luck. Some Nigerians prefer a widow to drink the water her dead husband's body was washed in, or otherwise sleep next to her husband's grave for three days. In

5852-584: Was made law between the ages of twenty-five and sixty for men, and twenty and fifty for women. Women who were Vestal Virgins, were selected between the ages of 6 and 10 to serve as priestesses in the temple of goddess Vesta in the Roman Forum for 30 years after which time they could marry. Noble women were known to marry as young as 12 years of age, whereas women in the lower classes were more likely to marry slightly further into their teenage years. Ancient Roman law required brides to be at least 12 years old,

5929-716: Was the wife of an Israelite man whose name was Lapidoth, which means "torches." Deborah was a Judge and a Prophetess. Esther was the Jewish wife of a Persian King named Ahasuerus. Esther was Queen consort to the King of Persia and at the same time she was Queen regnant of the Jewish people in Persia and their Prophetess. Bathsheba was the Queen consort of King-Prophet David and then the Queen mother of King-Prophet Solomon. He rose from his throne when she entered and bowed to her and ordered that

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