Editing Spouse

{{short description|Partner in a marriage or similar union}}
[[File:John Deveney and family - DPLA - 0829acbecf1394fbc243da45a26b51e3.jpg|thumb|Husband and wife, 1951]]
[[File:Le Mariage de la Vierge (The Marriage of the Virgin) Musée des Beaux-Arts (Cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Marriage of the Virgin (Perugino)|''Marriage of the Virgin'']], a Renaissance period painting depicting a [[marriage]]]]
A '''spouse''' is a [[significant other]] in a [[marriage]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-07 |title=Definition of SPOUSE |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spouse |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref>  A female spouse is called a [[wife]] while a male spouse is called a [[husband]]. 

==Married==
{{Further|Coverture|Marital power}}
The legal status of a spouse, and the specific rights and obligations associated with that status,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Marriage and Family Code Chapter 5: Rights and Obligations of the Spouses |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/women-and-justice/resource/marriage_and_family_code_chapter_5_rights_and_obligations_of_the_spouses |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute |language=en}}</ref> vary significantly among the jurisdictions of the world. These regulations are usually described in [[family law]] statutes. However, in many parts of the world, where [[civil marriage]] is not that prevalent, there is instead customary marriage, which is usually regulated informally by the community. In many parts of the world, spousal rights and obligations are related to the payment of [[bride price]], [[dowry]] or [[dower]]. Historically, many societies have given sets of rights and obligations to male marital partners that have been very different from the sets of rights and obligations given to female marital partners. In particular, the control of [[Matrimonial regime|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 a spouse without reference to gender.<ref>In 1983, legislation was passed guaranteeing equality between spouses, abolishing [[dowry]], and ending legal discrimination against illegitimate children [https://www.nytimes.com/1983/01/26/world/around-the-world-greece-approves-family-law-changes.html# ''Demos, Vasilikie. (2007) “The Intersection of Gender, Class and Nationality and the Agency of Kytherian Greek Women.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association. August 11''.]</ref><ref>In 1981, Spain abolished the requirement that married women must have their husbands’ permission to initiate judicial proceedings {{cite web |title=Archived copy |url=http://wbl.worldbank.org/~/media/FPDKM/WBL/Documents/Reports/2014/Women-Business-and-the-Law-2014-Key-Findings.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824032832/http://wbl.worldbank.org/~/media/FPDKM/WBL/Documents/Reports/2014/Women-Business-and-the-Law-2014-Key-Findings.pdf |archive-date=2014-08-24 |access-date=2014-08-25}}</ref>  Among the last European countries to establish full [[gender equality]] in marriage were Switzerland. In 1985, a referendum guaranteed women legal equality with men within marriage.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17988450|title=Switzerland profile - Timeline|work=BBC News|date=May 22, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://history-switzerland.geschichte-schweiz.ch/chronology-womens-right-vote-switzerland.html|title=The Long Way to Women's Right to Vote in Switzerland: a Chronology|website=history-switzerland.geschichte-schweiz.ch}}</ref> The new reforms came into force in January 1988.<ref>{{cite book| editor-last=Shreir |editor-first=Sally |title=Women's Movements of the World : an international directory and reference guide |date=1988 |publisher=Longman Group UK |isbn=978-0-89774-508-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/womensmovementso0000unse_f7f1/page/254/mode/1up|page=254}}</ref>  Although married women in France obtained the right to work without their husbands' permission in 1965,<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/explore/cmcf-vsi-women-in-france.pdf | title=Women in France | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304092212/http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/explore/cmcf-vsi-women-in-france.pdf | archive-date=2016-03-04 }}</ref> and the paternal authority of a man over his family was ended in 1970 (before that parental responsibilities belonged solely to the father who made all legal decisions concerning the children), it was only in 1985 that a legal reform abolished the stipulation that the husband had the sole power to administer the children's property.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://terapiadeparejaweb.com/|title=Los 7 mejores ejercicios para la TERAPIA DE PAREJA ¡Descúbrelos!|website=Terapia de Pareja Web}}</ref> 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 at Article 1105: "In relations between husband and wife; the position of the head of the family is the exclusive right of the husband".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.alaviandassociates.com/documents/civilcode.pdf |title=The civil code of the islamic Republic of Iran |access-date=2017-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311161504/http://www.alaviandassociates.com/documents/civilcode.pdf |archive-date=2017-03-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Depending on jurisdiction, the refusal or inability of a spouse to perform the marital obligations may constitute a [[ground for divorce]], [[legal separation]] or [[annulment]]. The latter two options are more prevalent in countries where the dominant religion is [[Roman Catholicism]], some of which introduced divorce only recently (i.e. [[Italy]] in 1970, [[Portugal]] in 1975, [[Brazil]] in 1977,  [[Spain]] in 1981, [[Argentina]] in 1987,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-07-12-mn-3473-story.html|title=Divorce Is Now Legal in Argentina but, So Far, Few Couples Have Taken the Break|work=Los Angeles Times|date=12 July 1987 }}</ref> [[Paraguay]] in 1991,<ref name="auto">''Sex and the State: Abortion, Divorce, and the Family Under Latin. American Dictatorships and Democracies'', by [[Mala Htun]], pp 102</ref> [[Colombia]] in 1991,<ref name="auto"/><ref>'''note''': divorce between 1976-1991 was allowed for non-Catholics</ref> [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]] in 1996, [[Chile]] in 2004<ref>{{cite news | title = Chile introduces right to divorce | date = November 18, 2004 | publisher = [[BBC]] | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4021427.stm | work = BBC News | access-date = 2013-11-01}}</ref> and [[Malta]] in 2011). In recent years, many Western countries have adopted [[no fault divorce|no-fault divorce]]. In some parts of the world, the formal dissolution of a marriage is complicated by the payments and goods which have been exchanged between families (this is common where [[arranged marriage|marriages are arranged]]). This often makes it difficult to leave a marriage, especially for the woman: in some parts of Africa, once the bride price has been paid, the wife is seen as belonging to the husband and his family; and if she wants to leave, the husband may demand back the bride price that he had paid to the girl's family. The girl's family often cannot or does not want to pay it back.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.equalitynow.org/sites/default/files/Protecting_the_Girl_Child.pdf |title=Protecting the Girl Child: Using the Law to End Child, Early and Forced Marriage and Related Human Rights Violations |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2018-05-29 |website=equalitynow.org |access-date=2015-03-03 |archive-date=2015-05-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528120452/http://www.equalitynow.org/sites/default/files/Protecting_the_Girl_Child.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/docs/FINALChild_Protection_in_the_Somali_Region_30511.pdf |title=Child Protection in the Somali Region of Ethiopia |access-date=2015-03-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924095119/http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/docs/FINALChild_Protection_in_the_Somali_Region_30511.pdf |archive-date=2015-09-24 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Stange, Mary Zeiss, and Carol K. Oyster, Jane E. Sloan|title=Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World, Volume 1|year=2011|publisher=SAGE|isbn=9781412976855|pages=496}}</ref>

Regardless of legislation, personal relations between spouses may also be influenced by local [[culture]] and [[religion]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bizymoms.com/relationships/marriage-and-culture.html|title=Marriage and Cultures:marriage and culture|website=www.bizymoms.com|access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref>

==Minimum age==
There is often a minimum legal [[marriageable age]]. The [[United Nations Population Fund]] stated the following:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/MarryingTooYoung.pdf |title=Marrying Too Young - End Child Marriage |author=United Nations Population Fund UNFPA |date=2012 |website=www.unfpa.org }}</ref>

:"In 2010, 158 countries reported that 18 years was the minimum legal age for marriage for women without parental consent or approval by a pertinent authority. However, in 146 countries, state or customary law allows girls younger than 18 to marry with the consent of parents or other authorities; in 52 countries, girls under age 15 can marry with parental consent. In contrast, 18 is the legal age for marriage without consent among males in 180 countries. Additionally, in 105 countries, boys can marry with the consent of a parent or a pertinent authority, and in 23 countries, boys under age 15 can marry with parental consent."

==Procreation==
In Western countries, spouses sometimes [[Childfree|choose not to have children]]. In some parts of the world, there is greater expectations that heterosexual couples will procreate, such is the case in [[northern Ghana]]. For example, the payment of  the bride signifies a woman's requirement to bear children, and women using [[birth control]] are at risks of threats and coercion.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Bawah | first1 = Ayaga Agula | last2 = Akweongo | first2 = Patricia | last3 = Simmons | first3 = Ruth | last4 = Phillips | first4 = James F. | title = Women's fears and men's anxieties: the impact of family planning on gender relations in Northern Ghana | journal = [[Studies in Family Planning]] | volume = 30 | issue = 1 | pages = 54&ndash;66 | publisher = [[Wiley-Blackwell|Wiley]] on behalf of the [[Population Council]] | date = 1999 | doi = 10.1111/j.1728-4465.1999.00054.x | pmid = 10216896 | hdl = 2027.42/73927 | url = https://www.popcouncil.org/research/womens-fears-and-mens-anxieties-the-impact-of-family-planning-on-gender-rel | hdl-access = free | access-date = 2017-12-23 | archive-date = 2019-11-23 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191123123341/https://www.popcouncil.org/research/womens-fears-and-mens-anxieties-the-impact-of-family-planning-on-gender-rel | url-status = dead }} [http://www.popcouncil.org/uploads/pdfs/councilarticles/sfp/SFP301Bawah.pdf Pdf.]</ref>

==Selection==
There are many ways in which a spouse is chosen, which vary across the world, and include [[love marriage]], [[arranged marriage]], and [[forced marriage]]. The latter is in some jurisdictions a [[void marriage]] or a [[voidable marriage]]. Forcing someone to marry is also a criminal offense in some countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/12/part/10/enacted|title=Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014|work=legislation.gov.uk}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Bride]]
* [[Spousal privilege]]
* [[Work spouse]]s, a pair of co-workers sharing emotional bonds similar to those in a marriage

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|spouse}}
*{{commons category-inline}}

{{Family}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Society|Law}}

[[Category:Family]]
[[Category:Spouses| ]]