The Undergraduate Law Review at UC San Diego

This paper conducts a comparative analysis of California and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), focusing on the economic consequences of divorce for
individual spouses. Both countries impose financial obligations in cases of significant financial imbalance between spouses. However, these obligations are based on different legal philosophies and beliefs surrounding marriage. California’s secular statutory law views marriage as an economic partnership, focusing on rehabilitative spousal support. The Sharia-based system governing Muslim families in the UAE prioritizes financial protection during marriage through structures such as Nafaqah and Mahr. However, the Sharia systems are not designed to address long-term post-divorce economic reintegration in contemporary labor markets, producing economic dependencies for wives specializing in unpaid domestic work. As a result, post-divorce financial assistance in the UAE terminates after a fixed period, producing a “cliff effect” as financial support ends abruptly. While California’s spousal support leads to broad judicial discretion in determining the amount and duration of maintenance under Family Code Sections 4320 and 4330, the UAE’s current system does not address long-term economic rehabilitation for women. Drawing inspiration from California’s rehabilitative model, this paper argues that the UAE should adopt a time-bound, criteria-based system of post-divorce support to address economic vulnerability.