Financial burden is leading cause of divorce

Divorce has been increasing in the Kingdom, and social researchers have found out that the majority of divorce cases occur within the first year of marriage.

April 23, 2013

Amal Al-Sibai

 


Amal Al-Sibai

Saudi Gazette

 


 


JEDDAH — Divorce has been increasing in the Kingdom, and social researchers have found out that the majority of divorce cases occur within the first year of marriage. In the Kingdom, the highest risk for a couple to split lies in the first year that they actually became a married couple. This year alone, the courts from different regions in the Kingdom have registered 25,000 divorce cases out of the 120,000 recorded marriage licenses.



A charitable organization in Madinah called Osraty (My Family), offers marriage and family counseling and organizes several educational and awareness activities to curb the increasing incidences of divorce in the community. Osraty also aims to assist young men with low income jobs in covering the financial expenses for the wedding and other preparations necessary for settling down and tying the knot. Classes are also provided to educate both men and women on their rights and duties in marriage in Islam.



A study was conducted in Madinah by social workers Dr. Muhammad Al-Dhabyani and Adel Al-Oufi for Osraty to determine the main reasons that lead to divorce, specifically in the first year after the wedding. One of the goals of the study was to help design and develop the pre-marital courses for young men and women, according to their needs and to the marital problems that they are most likely to face. “The idea for conducting this study came as a result of the dramatic increase in divorce in the Kingdom in general, and in Madinah in particular,” said Dr. Abdulbari Al-Thubaiti, the Imam of the Prophet’s Holy Mosque and the chairman of Osraty. 



The study revealed that the No. 1 cause behind marital dispute is financial burdens and inadequate wages earned by the husband. The researchers noted that the root of the problem was not simply the husband’s low income, but more importantly the lack of the couple’s knowledge on how to manage and budget their spending wisely. Part of the educational programs targeting prospective newlyweds should include tips on spending and saving money and a basic introduction to economics.



The study reported that 60% of the divorce cases that occur early on in marital life are traced back to financial problems.



Delving deeper into the problem, one realizes that there are other factors that have led to the husband’s precarious financial situation in the first place. Sawsan, a concerned mother whose daughter is currently engaged, provided some eye-opening insight and placed part of the blame for the man’s financial troubles on the bride and the bride’s family. “When the bride and her family demand an unreasonably high dowry and insist on an ostentatious wedding and a luxurious apartment, no doubt the groom is going to drown in debt and run into financial troubles. In the first year after the wedding the groom struggles to pay up for the extravagant wedding expenses and to sustain the marriage. This creates friction and tension. It is their relationship that suffers and then they feel the brunt of negative but common and traditional practices in Saudi society,” said Sawsan.



The study also showed that many marriages end up in divorce because the criteria used for selecting a spouse depended on cultural and traditional mandates such as family name or physical appearance, rather than on education, knowledge, and adherence to the correct Islamic teachings. Differences in personality or character were not taken into consideration, making it extremely difficult for the couple to get along.



In some cases, Osraty has been successful in bridging understanding between the spouses once they begin to understand their significant other’s personality traits and many problems have been allayed. 



Many marriages fail because parents have neglected instilling in these young men and women the values necessary for guaranteeing happy family life, such as mutual respect, understanding, and sacrificing for the sake of the other.


April 23, 2013
HIGHLIGHTS
World
6 hours ago

Trump, Putin to meet in Alaska on Aug. 15 for talks on ending Ukraine war

World
6 hours ago

Armenia, Azerbaijan sign US-brokered peace roadmap to end decades of conflict

SAUDI ARABIA
8 hours ago

Over 60 million visit the Two Holy Mosques in Muharram