The King Saud University (KSU) has signed a cooperation agreement aimed at reducing the rate of divorce and associated social consequences with the Mawada Association, a civil organization involved in Muslim matrimonial services.
The document was signed recently by association President Princess Sarah bint Musaad bin Abdul Aziz and the dean of the King Saud University’s Olaysha Center for Girls, Benayeh M. S. Al-Rasheed, to encourage marriages based on the Islamic morals and manners in an effort to curtail divorce.
Al-Rasheed highlighted the importance of cooperation between the university and the civil organization to strengthen the association’s work and help offer concrete solutions to save marriages. Princess Sarah said the KSU will contribute in helping the association realize the agreement’s objectives, which is raising awareness of the importance of a cohesive family.
KSU officials said it can’t be denied that divorce is disruptive to family members, especially women and children. Divorce can have detrimental effects on children’s emotional, mental and even physical health.
Studies show that children may become aggressive, hyperactive and anxious, which can lead to sleep disturbances and loss of appetite.
Such a major turn in their lives can no doubt have a damaging impact on their academic performance at school.
The rate of divorce in the Kingdom has increased dramatically in recent years, with government officials putting it at 40 percent in early 2012.
In 2010, there was one divorce per hour with 18,765 divorces occurring out of 90,983 marriages in Saudi Arabia, according to a local Arabic daily.
The newspaper also said that last year Saudi Arabia’s divorce rate increased by 35 percent, making the country’s figure higher than the world average of between 18 and 22 percent.
With divorce in Saudi Arabia as well as other GCC countries rising at an alarming rate, drastic measures are needed to prevent the so-called spinster population ballooning to an estimated 5 million in the Kingdom in the next there years, KSU officials said.
Family consultants claim divorce rates tend to spike during the Eid holidays.
According to experts, two divergent forces have been at the forefront in most GCC countries: modernization and tradition.
Advances in modernization, including urbanization, an easier accessibility to feminist awareness and even higher attainability academically have allowed both men and women alike to re-access their position in society and therefore the family structure.
KSU, Mawada to help reduce divorce rate
