By Laila Azzeh
AMMAN – Around 79 per cent of divorces that occurred last year took place before consummation of the marriage, a study has found.
The survey by sociologist Hussein Khazaali, based on official statistics, showed that there are nearly 60,000 marriages registered in the Kingdom each year in average, compared with 13,000 divorces.
“This means that one in every five marriages end up in divorce, or 21 per cent of the total number of registered marriages, which is quite a lot,” Khazaali told The Jordan Times over the phone on Tuesday.
He attributed the “growing” number of divorces to several reasons, including a lack of sense of responsibility among the youth, explaining that such a value is essential to protect the marriage bonds and families.
“It was uncommon to hear about a divorce case in the recent past, but divorces have become common nowadays,” noted the researcher, stressing that parents should play a bigger role in the lives of newlyweds to ensure they maintain a successful marriage.
“I also don’t encourage signing the marriage contract too early. The engagement period should be long enough to make sure that couples understand each other and are ready to tolerate the hardships life might bring,” Khazaali said.
The study also showed that the average age of marriage in Jordan has increased for both sexes, standing at around 30 years for men and 27 for women. read more
Categories: Asia, Family values, Jordan, Law, Law and Religion, Middle East
As you can read from the first sentence “Around 79 per cent of divorces that occurred last year took place before consummation of the marriage” these statistics cannot just be compared to those of other countries. It refers to the ‘habit’ of registrating a marriage as a sort of ‘engagement’ and then finally deciding not to go through with it. Consequently personally I am against such long engagements, it is only trouble. The relatively late age of marriage is another sign of wrong social habits. Couples wait to get married ‘because the house is not yet fully furnished’, well, a newly married couples does not need all the little spoons and forks and other details from its first day. May everyone study the wisdom of the Prophets (peace be on him) teachings on the family life!
Letter Dear Sir,
Thank you very much for publishing a very interesting article about divorce in Jordan. I however disagree with the conclusion of sociologist Hussein Khazaali, that the engagement period should be longer to ensure that the partners understand each other better. The contrary seems to be true: The first sentence of the article states that “Around 79 per cent of divorces that occurred last year took place before consummation of the marriage, a study has found.” This would show the contrary to what Mr. Khazaali concludes: The marriage contract was signed and then a too long ‘engagement period’ followed. The problem therefore is the too long engagement period and not the too short engagement period. In any case for a successful marriage we need a positive ‘Niyyat’ (intention). And we have to realize that we cannot expect a 200% perfect partner when we ourselves are only 20% perfect. Furthermore the rising age of marriage is also not a good sign. It is not necessary that a couple can only get married when a house is complete and absolutely perfectly furnished. Let them get married earlier and then furnish the house together. Consequently these are all social and societal ills that could be corrected – with some good intentions. Happy life to all!
Rafiq A. Tschannen, Amman
Well said.