Women are more likely to make financial concessions within relationships, which can have long-term consequences. Financial experts warn that many women remain vulnerable after the dissolution of a relationship, especially if they have sacrificed earnings, career growth, or retirement savings.
Cohabitation is often viewed as an important stage in a relationship, but financial specialists point out that without proper planning, it can become one of the biggest risks for women in case of a breakup.
Sharon Hamman, Senior Counsel at Momentum, warned that women often make financial sacrifices in relationships that can have lasting effects. These sacrifices may include career breaks to raise children, reduced working hours, supporting a partner's career, or contributing to the household, which does not always provide financial security upon the end of the relationship, according to a desktop study.
This warning comes against the backdrop of a continued decline in marriage rates both globally and in South Africa. A study by the National Research Foundation showed that fewer people are choosing to marry, with many postponing it or preferring to live together.
NRF noted that 'South Africa has shown a particularly sharp decline in formal marriages,' stating that the number of registered civil unions decreased from approximately 186,522 in 2008 to only 99,289 in 2023. Furthermore, NRF reported that South Africans are marrying later: in 2023, the median age of grooms was around 37–38 years, and brides around 33–34 years, significantly higher than about 30 years for men and 27 years for women two decades ago.
The financial risks women face in relationships are also shaped by broader inequality. A study by Stellenbosch Business School showed that the gender pay gap in South Africa persists despite legislation requiring equal pay for work of equal value.
This gap is caused by factors such as occupational segregation, career breaks, unconscious bias, and unequal distribution of caregiving responsibilities, which can lead to women earning less and accumulating less wealth throughout their working lives. According to the study, 'There are several legislative acts in South Africa aimed at preventing gender discrimination in the workplace. Nevertheless, the country experiences a stagnant median gender pay gap ranging from 23% to 35%. According to the International Labour Organization, the average global gap is around 20%.'
These disadvantages are often amplified in the home. A study published in SN Social Sciences in 2026 showed that women in South Africa continue to bear a disproportionately large share of unpaid care work. Researchers emphasized that childcare responsibilities, limited support, and established gender norms continue to interrupt women's careers, reduce lifetime earnings, and limit their ability to achieve long-term financial independence.
The consequences can be particularly severe for women who have stepped away from their careers or made other financial compromises for the sake of the relationship if those relationships end. Rene Munsami, Director of National Debt Advisors, stated that many women make significant economic contributions to relationships through unpaid care, household management, and supporting a partner's career, sacrificing time they could have dedicated to work.
She added: 'These contributions are real and valuable, but they do not automatically translate into property ownership or financial security when the relationship ends.' Experts note the common misconception that couples who have lived together for many years receive the same legal rights as married couples. This is not the case—partners living together do not automatically acquire rights to assets, maintenance, or inheritance just because they lived together.
However, Munsami clarified that 'the law now recognizes certain inheritance and maintenance rights when a permanent life union involving mutual obligations of support ceases by death.' She added that this does not create universal protection in the event of a couple's separation during life.
Both experts agree that financial planning should be part of any serious long-term relationship. This includes openly discussing finances before cohabiting, keeping records of significant financial contributions, maintaining independent savings and pension investments, updating wills and beneficiary nominations, and considering a cohabitation agreement that clearly defines asset ownership and financial responsibilities.
Charise Bueks, a financial planner at Brenthurst Wealth Management, believes that a cohabitation agreement should specify who paid what, what will happen in case of a breakup, and what will happen in the event of one partner's death. She warned: 'Without this, you rely on expensive litigation and unpredictable outcomes, neither of which is a good strategy for retirement.'
Bueks also stressed that a cohabitation agreement does not mean the relationship is doomed to fail. 'It is not a prenuptial agreement for pessimists; it is a safety belt that can help prevent disputes if the relationship ends.'
A woman whose opinion was once authoritative in the village council, resolving disputes and making agreements between families, is now spending her final days in a nursing home, far from her own family. This elderly resident of the village in Haryana, known as Virmati, served as the village elder for many years, taking on responsibilities in managing the panchayat, resolving residents' conflicts, and listening to their problems.
However, over time, her life changed in a way she may never have imagined. She had to leave her own home and go to a nursing home. When asked why the woman, who once led the village, had to end up in such an institution, she replied that she left the house herself, and the village remains her home; she has not forgotten it.
Nevertheless, she said that her children betrayed her. According to the elderly woman, her children beat her. The first time this happened, she forgave them, believing it was a mistake and that family conflict could be resolved within the family. But after that incident, they started using violence against her again.
The victim claims that this time her children, along with their daughters-in-law, attacked her. After this trauma, she could not cope with the situation. She noted that while she managed the entire village and resolved disputes, she could not even take care of two daughters-in-law in her own home. Eventually, she decided to leave the house. After leaving the residence, she went four days without food or water, and none of her children came to her—neither son nor daughter called.
Speaking about this, pain was evident on her face. She received such treatment from the family she trusted the most, which forced her to leave her home. The woman mentioned that she has brothers and sisters, as well as relatives in the village. Her brother visits her, and her sister also comes. They offer her to go with them and live together, but she refuses.
She believes that her children 'have lost their minds.' She hopes that one day God will hear her words. She cares for the age of her brothers and sisters, noting that they are also aging. She fears that if something happens to them, the responsibility will fall on her children. Furthermore, she is afraid that any disgrace might fall upon her brothers and sisters. Therefore, she decided to spend her remaining life in a nursing home.
She feels it is better to spend her life there because at least they provide services there. When asked about the nursing home, she said that the service there is good. However, she admits that a person has to convince themselves of the necessity of living in such an institution and must think about themselves.
The story of this elderly woman emerged at a time when the death of 74-year-old textile merchant Shivacharan Ramratna Gupta from Mumbai raised questions about the lives of the elderly in nursing homes. Shivacharan Gupta had lived in a nursing home for the last three years. His death occurred on August 4, and his wife passed away in the same ashram about two years ago.
The lack of water, sanitation, and hygiene constitutes a serious challenge in various countries; however, the Sahel region—a semi-arid belt crossing the African continent—is where the highest number of deaths, school dropouts, illnesses, and migrations are concentrated.
Data compiled by UNICEF and the World Health Organization, although not yet released, reveals that approximately 28% of children in Africa do not have access to safe drinking water, according to a specialist and manager of the UN's WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) program.
This specialist warned that there are nearly 200 million African children without access to running water, emphasizing that this number almost doubles when inadequate sanitation is considered. Martina Rama detailed that up to five years of age, the child's immune system is more vulnerable, and the lack of access to water and sanitation causes various diseases, with diarrhea being the most common, alongside respiratory infections, malnutrition, and parasites.
Previous reports, dating back to 2019, already indicated that 264,000 children in this age group died in a single year due to health problems linked to water and sanitation scarcity.
Girls are the most affected group by this situation. Martina Rama explained that they often assume the responsibility of fetching water when taps are unavailable at home or in the yard. This involves walking for one or two hours daily to a well, waiting in line, and then returning home.
This routine hinders the school attendance of many girls, leading to early school abandonment. Even when they manage to continue their education for a few years, they face practical obstacles during adolescence, such as menstrual hygiene, which is directly linked to sanitation, especially in the absence of sanitary facilities at school. The specialist observed that this difficulty, combined with the shame inherent to the age, causes several young women to miss classes once a month, often culminating in complete dropout.
The problem transcends the youngest, presenting enough severity to affect entire communities and generate conflicts between neighbors, which the specialist predicts as one of the most urgent issues in the near future.
In the Sahel region, where drought is severe and water resources are scarce, disputes are emerging between settled communities, farmers, and nomadic pastoralist communities. She admitted that there were historical balances between these two groups, but that this is no longer the case.
When one community has water, for example, through a well, and another tries to use it, the well custodians may deny access, claiming exclusive ownership, which triggers numerous conflicts. These confrontations tend to escalate, and, according to Martina Rama, the only way out is often migration, either to other areas of the continent or to more developed countries.
The responsible party also warned that climate change exacerbates the scenario, as reduced rainfall prevents water sources, such as rivers and lakes, from filling sufficiently to meet needs during dry periods.
The Arab-American businesswoman Elissa Freiha argues that the perception of Arab women is still shaped by stereotypes. She states that presenting a strong, confident, empowered woman who is not a victim can replace this stereotype with a representation more faithful to reality.
Freiha, who was born and raised in Paris, France, and currently resides in Geneva, Switzerland, spoke with the Lusa agency about her work. She founded Womena with the goal of allowing Arab women to speak for themselves and have their voices amplified.
This feminist digital platform has been operating for 15 years and is dedicated to giving visibility to the narratives and voices of these women through various formats, including articles, podcasts, films, art exhibitions, and projects.
Freiha clarifies that Womena does not cover conventional news, but rather attempts to address their perspective on major events. She summarizes the work by saying they facilitate a platform for women who have already achieved remarkable feats, possessing specific worldviews, offering them a wider public reach.
She highlights that Womena's audience extends beyond Arab borders, reaching across Europe, North America, and South America. The businesswoman points out that in the last 15 years, the space to hear female stories has grown exponentially, contrasting with the initial period of Womena, when it was almost the only similar platform.
Elissa Freiha felt the lack of a specific feminist perspective for Arab women, criticizing the imposition of an overly Westernized view. Womena confronts the fetishization of Arab women, which she believes exists only in people's imaginations, by presenting the nuances of reality.
Commenting on the condition of women in the Middle East, she disagrees with the idea that it is harder to be a woman in that region, stating that it is difficult to be a woman in the current world. She observes that social media allows one to see that women in Portugal, Germany, Brazil, Canada, and Iraq share similar frustrations, indicating that the threat to female safety is a global problem.
Freiha criticizes the false narrative that it is harder to be a woman in certain parts of the world, as this serves the purpose of portraying Arab women as victims dependent on Western aid, ignoring the deep suffering of Western women.
Like other women, Arab women have achieved both successes and challenges, registering significant advances in human rights, such as in the fields of health and parenthood. In fact, the perception that Arab women's rights are inferior resulted in increased funding, both national and international, leading local governments to focus on improvements.
Although she acknowledges that there is still much to be done, she points out that in Western Europe, feminism seems to have reached a point where it is not possible to observe where human rights violations occur under one's own roofs. When discussing regional conflicts, Freiha shows emotion, given that she has relatives in several affected countries.
According to the ashram administration, all three of his daughters were informed of Shivacharan Gupta's death. One of the daughters viewed her father's farewell via video call and sent ₹5100 online for funeral rites. The ashram administration states that it has no information about the other two daughters. According to the management, none of the three daughters attended their mother's funeral.
Despite authorities' efforts to build more infrastructure, they lack the capacity to solve the problem, and humanitarian organizations, such as the UN, face increasingly limited budgets to provide aid.
The World Bank estimates that to meet the Sustainable Development Goals related to global water and sanitation, annual investments should range between 130 and 140 billion dollars (approximately 112 to 120 billion euros), although it recognizes that this amount is unlikely to be reached.
Although the water crisis is more critical in Africa, the issue has also become vital in Latin America, as pointed out by Franck Bouvet, UNICEF coordinator for this area. In this region, in addition to poverty and droughts, intense rainfall and subsequent floods have damaged the few existing structures in certain localities.
Franck Bouvet emphasized the enormous scale of the crisis, classifying investment in this sector as a matter of survival. He mentioned that the humanitarian community considers it essential to provide a minimum of five liters of water per person to survive, but that 20 liters are needed for a normal condition that includes hygiene and environmental cleanliness.
In contrast, in developed countries, daily consumption ranges between 250 and 350 liters per person, reaching 500 liters in New York. The coordinator highlighted that this disparity generates real impacts on health, survival, and child development, as well as on the economic growth capacity of communities.
According to the latest published data, in 2024, 2.1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water, and 3.4 billion lack access to safe sanitation. More than 106 million depend on rivers, lakes, or canals for drinking, and 1.7 billion have never had access to a household toilet.
She recalls that women and children are historically and globally the most affected by armed conflicts, as no war fails to impact civilians. She cites a US attack on a girls' school in Minab, southern Iran, during the US and Israeli offensive against Iran late last February.
The activist warns that those who commit acts of violence in the region show great disdain for civilian life, predicting negative impacts on future generations. Current conflicts are driven by brutal armies that contaminate the land and openly attack women and children with the intent of preventing reproduction.
In this scenario, it is women who strive to rebuild homes and care for the next generation. Freiha, with an assertively feminist stance, sees war as the peak of patriarchal colonial toxicity. Therefore, she argues that conflicts cannot be addressed without addressing the system that makes them possible and protects them.
Womena seeks to offer a counterpoint to this toxicity, based on the belief that the patriarchal system affects not only women but everyone, everywhere. After difficult periods, Freiha projects an optimistic future, believing that feminism will be recognized in the fight against a system that harms everyone, benefiting only a small elite at the top of the power chain.
