Saudi Divorce Rate Growing

Monday, 16 April 2007
By Suzan Zawawi
The Saudi Gazette

ALTHOUGH yet to attain the heights of Western divorce rates, Saudi Arabia has seen a divorce rate of some 20 percent in the last couple of years. Translated into real numbers, this means that 33 Saudi women get divorced daily.

"This frightening rise in the divorce rate," said Nora Al-Shamlan, head of the Research Center at King Saud Girls College, "is the result of couples' ill-preparedness for marriage and its responsibilities."


The answer, claimed Al Shamlan, who organized a three-day seminar to discuss the reasons behind the sudden rise in divorce, is to offer marriage preparation courses. And there are many others who support that view.
"We can reduce the divorce rate by 30-60 percent by conducting such courses," according to Sheikh Salman Al-Oda, a prominent and popular Islamic scholar. "Take Malaysia, for example. They started pre-marriage counseling and seminars and the divorce rate plummeted."

Without frank talk about marriage and sexuality in the home and at school, Saudi youth resort to the media for pertinent information.

"They have no choice but to learn from the media," said Ghada Al-Tureef.

Al-Tureef also cited a study that showed that a full 78 percent of Saudi youth not only learn about marital relations from the media, but they are also basing their expectations for their own lives from the media.

There are a variety of problems that stem from youth basing their lives on media images, the most obvious being that so much of the media to which Saudi youth are exposed is Western in origin and not relevant in the supposed reality it portrays.

In another study conducted by Al-Jawaher Al-Zamil, Professor of Social Studies at King Saud University, two out of 3 of the males interviewed said that the media plays a big role in defining what an Arab family means.

"If the media has been changing the perception of what marriage and a family mean then we have a big problem. Just look at the many different channels and programs that are being transmitted into our living rooms."

In order to counteract the negative aspects of the media, Tureef called on the individual elements of a young person's world to unite in preparing Saudi youth for adulthood.

"The mosque, Friday sermons, the school curriculum and the family can become more active," she said.

After all is said and done, it does take a village.

Better preparation for adult life and marriage could, indeed, stem the spiraling divorce rate in the Kingdom. In her presentation to the conference, Al Zamil cited her study that showed 43 percent of Saudi marriages suffering from neglect, violence, constant arguments and/or one spouse dominating the other.

"This is a result of many couples being emotionally detached but remaining married for the sake of their children, or social prestige and social pressure," according to Al-Zamil.

On the other hand, Al-Zamil said, all is not lost for Saudi couples as a number of indicators show Saudi marriages and childrearing in a reasonably healthy state.

A full 57 percent of Saudi couples polled by Al-Zamil indicated that they were living a good marriage with love and understanding prevailing. Al Zamil also said that th e majority of families give their children greater leeway in choosing a future spouse.

"This is a positive social change, probably the result of lessons learned from previous forced marriages," she concluded.

STATISTICS

65% of divorcees aged 18-35.
46% of divorces took place during the first three years of marriage.
41% of divorced women were house wives
25% of divorced couples lived with husband's family.
75% of husbands believed they acted too hastily.
45% of divorced men would return to their wife.
40% of divorcees hold BA's, 23% high school graduates 4% higher education
44% marital problems started at the end of the first year of marriage.
Ministry of Justice statistics:

With 60% divorce rate, the Eastern Province witnessed 60% divorce rate in 2005, the highest.

King Fahd Bridge to Bahrain was attributed to be the reason for the highest divorce rate in the Eastern Province (60%). Husbands go to Bahrain for the nightlife, where alcohol is served legally and men and women mingle freely.

Riyadh came second place with 50% divorce rate

Tabuk 29% divorce

Madinah 16%

Makkah 15%

Baha the lowest with 9 % divorce rate

Reasons for divorce

He Said:

1-Family interference.
2-Wife unable or unwilling to take up her share of the responsibilities.
3-Wife's employment.
4- Wife not staying at home, visiting her family, going out with friends too often.
5- Constant criticism by wife.
6- Wife's stubbornness.
She Said:

1- Physical or mental abuse.
2- Another women, a second wife, an affair, or the maid.
3- Husband's weak religious beliefs and practices.
4- Husband not taking up financial and family obligations.
5- The influence of satellite channels, Internet chatting and pornography.
6- Husbands stingy and gold-diggers
Marriage comes in different forms

Thinking of marriage?

You first need to decide what type of marriage suits you the most.

Besides traditional marriage, there are different types of marriages to chose from.

Misyar

A marriage of convenience. It is a legal marriage but both the bride and groom place pre-marriage conditions which mostly consist of the woman relinquishing her right to be financially supported by the husband and her right for him to reside with her in her home.

Other popular conditions consist of not bearing children and keeping the marriage a secret usually from the groom's family and first wife and kids.

Orfi

This type of marriage comes in three forms: undocumented marriage, a woman marries without the consent of her legal guardian.

Misfar

This new type of marriage was in news last month when the Deputy Minister of Higher Education Abdullah Al-Mojel announced that all female scholarship students must travel with a male relative.

This is a legal marriage, the only condition is that the wife will be traveling to continue her education and that the husband would be traveling with her as per the ministry's new regulations.