Over 50 percent of marriages celebrated at a wedding hall in Al-Madina in 2008 have ended in divorce, the hall administration said. The hall had been arranging a wedding anniversary for all the couples who had their weddings at the hall, but to the surprise of the organizers, over 50 percent of the couples said that their marriages had ended. Some said that their marriages had ended even before their first anniversary, an administration staffer said. A family counselor at a Madina social committee for marriage and family protection said the high rate of divorce could be attributed to a number of factors including “surprise marriages” in which the couple only see each other on the night of the wedding. They may never be able to establish a good chemistry and healthy marriage afterwards, said Adnan Al-Khudairi. Married life could create a pile of problems that go unresolved, which would eventually end in divorce, he added. Al-Khudairi also cited social and educational incompatibility and family interference in marriages, as reasons for divorce in Saudi society. “Some wives are so high maintenance that their husbands may not be able to make them happy,” he said. The divorce rate in the Kingdom has reached alarming proportions over the past few years with 38 percent of marriages ending in divorce and 33 percent of these divorces taking place within the first three years of the marriage, according to available statistics. Laila Al-Hilali, who owns and runs a family counseling center, has reportedly said that the reason behind the increase in the divorce rate in Saudi Arabia is a result of a lack of understanding between couples, and the fact that they do not fully comprehend the proper foundations of a marriage.
