RIYADH, 18 April 2006 — As many as 33 women in the Kingdom get divorced every day which raises the rate of divorce to 20 percent, according to a study conducted by two Saudi academics.
In their study, whose findings were presented at the Saudi society forum held at King Saud University Study Center for Women in Riyadh recently, Dr. Zainab Abduljaleel and Haneyah Al-Sebaey from the housing management department of King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, point out that the Eastern Province has recorded the highest divorce rate in the Kingdom with a tally of 60 cases a day last year.
Citing statistics from a Ministry of Justice report, the study states that after the Eastern Province, Riyadh comes next where the divorce rate reaches 50 cases daily followed by Tabuk (29 cases), Hail (34), Asir (16), Makkah (15) and Al-Baha (9) daily. The findings of the study were published in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
The study cites many causes for divorce, such as the lack of understanding among couples of their rights and family obligations; wives taking up jobs; the level of education of the married couple; lack of mutual respect between the couple; husbands taking a second wife or ogling women on the street, and husbands taking away the salary of their wives if they are employed.
A study presented by Dr. Al-Jawhara bint Fahd Al-Saud, vice manager of educational affairs in the Ministry of Education, at the same forum concluded that chat rooms and forbidden sites on the Internet were the main cause for raising the rate of divorce in the Kingdom. Another report by the Ministry of Planning and National Economy claimed that 65 percent of marriages arranged by matchmakers failed.
According to Anas Zarah, a specialist from Al-Mowadah Center in Jeddah, the latest statistics from Jeddah courts showed that last year alone 4,814 couples got married, while 3,264 got divorced.
Asked about a solution to check the rising rate of divorce in Saudi society, he said, “We should have a national program to train the youth to prepare them for the responsibilities of marriage.”
Dr. Layla Al-Ahdab, a social welfare consultant, said that the solution should be found by revamping the curricula to be in line with the challenges confronting the modern era. The Ministry of Education should play its role in trying to change the attitude toward women as inferior beings. She said that the Islamic curricula should teach the sanctity of married life.
Nasser Hammad said the Misyar marriages prevalent in the Kingdom could be considered within the framework of efforts to rein in the escalating rate of divorce.
A Misyar marriage allows the couple to be legally married without the usual responsibilities of marriage. Here, the husband can see his wife under certain terms and conditions.
