10,000 marriages and 5,000 divorces in Saudi Arabia in a month

A recent monthly report of the Saudi Justice Ministry revealed that there had been 10 thousand marriages in the past month of Shawwal, against more than 5 thousand divorce cases.

Experts and specialists attributed the high rate of divorce to many different factors and explained that this had become a severe and thorny issue because of its significant repercussion on the stability of the families’ composition and cohesion and its destruction of the communities’ structure, according to Al-Hayat newspaper.

The Family Coach and Consultant, Mohammed Dhaifullah Al-Qurani, explained that there are many reasons for a large number of divorce cases, including the underestimation of the marriage, the negligence of trusteeships and responsibilities, and the husbands’ spending the night at late hours away.

He added: “Divorce has increased when women have become loose-tongued, they get in and out the house whenever they wish, spend long hours on their mobile phones neglecting their household, husband, and family duties, in addition to the interference of relatives and the surrounding people in the private life of the couple.

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In contrast, one of the Faculty Members in the Sociology and Social Service Department at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud University, Khaled Al-Naqiah, denied the existence of an alarming divorce phenomenon in the Saudi society. He stressed that the divorce rate ranged between 29 and 35 per cent of marriages and considered that what has been published about exaggerated divorce rates “undermines and disrespects the Saudi society,”

Regarding the way to prevent divorce cases, Al-Naqiah said: “We need a sense of community awareness and special coaching for those who are intending to get married, emphasising the agreement between spouses, not forcing people to get married, and preventing the family’s interference between the spouses.”

Al-Naqiah attributed the reasons for the divorce to the “immaturity of the couple, their lack of awareness of the marriage responsibilities and how to bear them, as well as the intellectual differences between them.” He stressed that women are more likely to ask for a divorce than men for various reasons.

He continued: “Also, we should not forget about the husband or wife’s negligence of the partner due to the extensive use of social media websites, which leads to problems between spouses and then divorce. The divorce can also be caused by the prior misconception of the institution of marriage, which revolves around the dreamy vision.

In turn, the preacher who is concerned with child education, Hani Al-Abdel Qader, attributed the reasons for the spread of divorce cases to the “avoidance and reluctance to the early marriage.” He called to make sure that marriage would be at the age of physical and mental maturity, considering that this is the main reason to reach marital happiness and family stability.