Say ma and pa split (6)
I believe the answer is:
parent
'say ma' is the definition.
(I know that ma is a type of female parent)
'pa split' is the wordplay.
'split' becomes 'rent' (past tense of 'rend' meaning to split).
'pa'+'rent'='PARENT'
'and' is the link.
(Other definitions for parent that I've seen before include "governor, for example" , "Pa or Ma" , "person responsible for children" , "Raise" , "E.g. father" .)