JEDDAH, 14 December 2003 — The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs want to open free marriage counseling offices in an effort to combat the high rates of divorce in the country.
Sources at the Ministry of Justice said that a number of judges would supervise the offices with the cooperation of Saudi experts in sociology and psychology in addition to imams and marriage officials.
The goals of the offices will be to reconcile couples and propose solutions other than divorce. All proceedings will be completely confidential and aim at the satisfaction of all sides, including children, who are usually the worst sufferers in a divorce.
“There are now reconciling committees at the municipality and the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Justice, but what is needed is a higher committee or umbrella under which a unified and better managed approach to the issue is implemented,” said Nora Al-Ash-Sheikh of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
“My opinion is that before establishing these marriage counseling offices in the ministries, we should first provide family counseling and guidance centers, whether private or public,” she told Arab News. “In the old days, the parents and extended family or tribe reconciled the couple, but today there has been so much disintegration in the family structure that newly-married couples who face problems need someone to listen and guide them.”
Divorce is a steadily worsening social problem in Saudi Arabia. Courts are registering 25 to 35 divorce cases daily — which is an average of 16,000 divorces annually out of a total of 66,000 marriages.
Some Saudi women have taken the initiative in addressing the issue of divorce and how it affects women. A conference called “Communication Between the Generations” is being organized for March 2004 in Jeddah under the auspices of Princess Sarah Al-Angari, wife of Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed. A group of professional women from such disciplines as sociology, psychology and Islamic law will discuss the consequences and problems faced by divorced women.
“We want women’s voices to reach the decision-makers because sometimes in a divorce a woman loses her rights and is burdened with psychological and financial problems,” said Dr. Sana Al-Jabr, one of the conference’s organizers.
Other goals of the conference include establishing a women’s council to support divorced women, a call for businessmen and women to sponsor this initiative and provide job opportunities to divorced women and to raise awareness of the problem.
“As part of society, we are interested in all the issues that affect it, and the problem of divorce has many consequences, especially on future generations,” said Dr. Sana Al-Jabr.
