Pregnancy is also contribution to marriage, judge says

High Court Judge Teresiah Matheka added to the list of contributions by finding that judicial officers should factor in the nine months a woman carries a baby in her womb while presiding over disputes on the distribution of matrimonial property.

According to the judge, it is unfair to find housewives contributed less or nothing. 

Justice Matheka pointed out that society today can monetise carrying a baby through a surrogate, adding that taking care of children is today a full-time job.

“It is easy for the spouse working away from home and sending money to lay claim to the whole property purchased and developed with that money by the spouse staying at home and taking care of the children and the family. That spouse will say that the other one was not employed so they contributed nothing.”

“That can no longer be a tenable argument as it is a fact that stay-at-home parents and in particular women because of our cultural connotations do much more work,” she said.

Justice Matheka observed that although it is unfair to only rely on seen income, the mindset that one has to contribute money to marriage to find value is so entrenched in the society that housewives are the ones telling courts ‘sifanyi kazi’ (I do not work), simply because they do not leave home to go earn money elsewhere.