Divorce rates in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have risen dramatically in recent years and continue to rise. Recent statistics show that the total divorce rate as percentage of all marriages in Gulf countries has reached 20% (2008) in Saudi Arabia, 24% (2007) in Bahrain, 25,62% (2008) in the UAE, 34.76% (2009) in Qatar and 37.13% (2007) in Kuwait. Statistical data indicate that divorce rates are almost equal to marriage rates within the age group 20–29, reaching a ceiling in the 30–39 age group suggesting that young couples are more likely to divorce often in the first years of marriage and soon after marrying. There is an urgent need to understand why the rate of divorce is increasing in the GCC countries, as a step towards helping policymakers identify new patterns that may affect the future social development of GCC countries and finding ways to slow the rising divorce rate. There is also a need to understand the repercussions of divorce on society, in order to develop programs to deal with their harmful impact. Today, divorce appears to be a factor in a variety of emerging social problems negatively affecting the sanctity of the family and the well-being of its members. The end of a marriage is disruptive to family members, and its adverse effects fall especially hard on children and women. Parental conflict and divorce have a damaging impact on children's emotional and mental development, and even on their health. Studies show that as a result of divorce, children may become aggressive, hyperactive and anxious, with sleep disturbances and no appetite. They may also develop psychosomatic diseases and perform badly at school and may even take refuge in drugs and crime. They also feel guilty that they may be the reason for the parents' divorce. Divorce may be liberating, even life-saving, for women caught in physically or emotionally abusive relationships. But for many, it is a traumatic experience. Some divorced women suffer physical and psychological abuse at the hands of ex-husbands who refuse to pay alimony or to allow them custody of their children. Others may face social and economic discrimination. These problems particularly affect women in lower income classes: ill-equipped to enter the labor market, they cannot support themselves financially. And those who do find jobs often suffer from the social stigma of being a single mother. Many women face also the dilemma of either staying in an unhappy marriage in order to continue living with their children, or abandoning them in order to escape marital discord or abuse. The causes of accelerating divorce rates in GCC countries lie in two seemingly divergent forces: modernization and tradition. Evidence suggests that modernization including urbanization, could be subverting some of the traditional values and practices that once held families together, and imposing new demands on married couples. At the same time, some long-held traditions and social practices may be undermining marriages in the Gulf's modernizing environment. The period since the first discovery of oil 78 years ago has seen accumulation of vast wealth, industrialization, accelerated transition from a nomadic to a sedentary and urbanized existence, infrastructure development, the expansion of education, and the appearance of satellite television and the Internet, all of which have contributed to a major transformation of the region that is affecting both societal and personal norms of behavior. Exposure to new ideas and life-styles from foreign cultures has sparked major changes in the expectations of Gulf residents, including what they expect from marriage. Some analysts in different GCC countries contend that materialism and consumerism are crowding out traditional attitudes that valued relationships over possessions. For some young couples, social status is defined by multiple cars, showy houses, designer clothing, and many domestic servants—luxuries obtained only by going into debt and ultimately into the type of discord that sometimes results in divorce. Alongside modernization's potential challenges to marital harmony, some traditional values and practices that are still widespread in the Gulf's patriarchal societies may also be contributing to the rise in divorce as they come into conflict with new societal roles. Some young people are still not able to choose their partners freely and the family, especially the father, remains the authority in determining the marital choice of sons, and even more so of daughters. This could make the selection of a marriage partner in some ways a social proposition favoring family interests at the expense of individual rights. There are also social influences on young people to marry early. Such pressures are most intense on young women, many of whom are raised to believe that their most cherished dream should be to have a husband and children. In addition, young people have limited opportunities to become acquainted before marriage, which may lead to miscommunications after they are married. Many boys and girls may lack the communications skills they need to interact with the opposite sex, as their upbringing and schooling has in most instances been strictly gender-segregated. Other social traditions may be contributing to the high failure rate of marriages. One issue is interference by in-laws in a married couple's affairs. Another is the tendency to raise children to be overly dependent on families to repair a difficult situation rather than to take individual responsibility for fixing it themselves. Often, immature couples do not know the meaning of compromise and see divorce as the first answer when things go wrong, rather than as a last resort after all other channels have been exhausted. Women's education and economic participation in the GCC region's workforce are also among the greatest catalysts of change in Gulf societies. As a result of their advanced education and labor market participation, many women today have a mobility they did not have in the past and greater social, financial and psychological independence. They may also have higher expectations of what they want in marriage. In Kuwait, 2007 official data indicates a direct correlation between an increase in divorce rates and the level of the wife's educational status. When the husband holds a university degree, the divorce rate increases from 1 percent, if the wife has only primary education, to 10 percent if the wife has an intermediate education, to 18 percent if the wife has a secondary education and to 47 percent when the wife has a university degree. The increasing participation of women in the workforce is matched with corresponding increases in their earned income. As a result, two different social trends are affecting marriage and divorce rates. On one hand, a working woman's financial independence increases her power vis-à-vis her husband, whose role as sole provider for the family is weakened. Her new status gives her greater independence and a desire to share in family decision-making. It also allows her more freedom for making personal decisions. As a result, a power struggle may develop between the marriage partners. On the other hand, the economic demands of modern life mean that more men are looking to marry working women who will contribute financially to the family income. In Kuwait, 2007 official data shows that whereas 46 percent of divorce declarations occur between Kuwaiti couples who are both working, this percentage increases to 54 percent when the husband works and the wife is jobless. In Saudi Arabia, research shows that most men prefer a wife who works, especially if she holds a secure job as teacher or in the government. Today, there is increasing awareness in the GCC region of how divorce is spreading and the negative impact it has on the family. Individual GCC countries have taken various legal and social steps to halt the rising divorce statistics and to mitigate the damage caused by divorce. In Saudi Arabia, the Shoura' Council is considering the implementation of a new law that would prevent husbands from recklessly pronouncing talaq, the words of divorce, in the absence of their wives. To be valid, the divorce would have to be registered in a courtroom in the presence of both spouses. The Ministry of Social Affairs is considering making pre-marriage training courses, focusing on how to maintain family stability, compulsory for those planning marriage. Another initiative has been the establishment in Riyadh of the Charity Center for Social Guidance and Family Consultations, which provides preventive and therapeutic social services for family problems related to marital abuse and divorce. Also, a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah Al-Mukarramah and Al-Madina Al- Munawarah provide awareness campaigns for women about the negative impact of divorce on the family and courses for young brides-to-be on how to be good housewives and for recent divorcees on how to cope with their new status. For example, the Mawadda Philanthropy for Divorce Issues, established in 2009 in Riyadh, is the first association specializing in divorce issues. In Kuwait, the government has organized programs through mosques and schools to promote awareness of divorce's disruptive impacts and the responsibilities of married partners. The Center of Social Services at Kuwait University has held a seminar for students addressing common misperceptions about marriage and the importance of understanding common challenges in relationships. In the United Arab Emirates, the judicial system established a Family Guidance Division to resolve family problems amicably and reconcile spouses without going to court. Imams of mosques are also raising awareness of the divorce problem in their Friday sermons. In Dubai, the Marriage Fund is developing a database on marriage and divorce and collaborates with specialized government agencies to reduce the rates of divorce. Additionally the non-governmental Dubai Women Association has launched a program that focuses on family stability through proactive counseling. Other initiatives are aimed at ameliorating the detrimental side effects of divorce for women and children by strengthening their rights in the divorce process. For example, the Muscat Document on the Unified Personal Laws in the GCC states, approved by the GCC Supreme Council in December 1996 set up a groundbreaking model for codifying Shariah-based family laws in the Gulf. Five GCC members followed with codifications of these national laws that govern issues such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and child custody; Saudi Arabia is now considering codifying a family law document. However, women in the GCC countries are still subject to discrimination due to the lack of legal enforcement mechanisms for ensuring implementation of women's legal rights. The appointment of female judges and lawyers makes it more likely that the interpretation of family law will give more consideration to women: In 2006, Bahrain appointed the first female judge in Bahrain, Mona Jassem Al-Kawari, at the Grand Civil Court. In 2008, the United Arab Emirates appointed UAE lawyer and Shariah specialist, Kholoud Ahmad Al Daheri, as primary judge at the Abu Dhabi Judiciary Department. In 2003, Qatar appointed Mariam Abdullah Al-Jaber as the first District Attorney in Qatar and the Gulf region, and in March 2010, it appointed Sheikha Maha Mansour Salman Jassem Al-Thani as the first female judge in the court. In Bahrain, some of the law firms employ female attorneys who specialize in divorce, making it easier for women seeking to end their marriages to discuss their situation. In Saudi Arabia, it was announced in February 2010, that the government is planning to allow female lawyers to begin appearing in court to represent women in matters related to divorce, child custody, and other family issues Kuwait has shown support for the victims of divorce, as its Public Authority for Housing Welfare has decided to pay a housing allowance to divorced Kuwaiti mothers who have been granted custody of their children. In Qatar, the codification of family laws enhanced women's custodial rights, granting Qatari women custody of their sons up to age 13 and daughters up to 15. In Saudi Arabia, Haifa'a Khalid, Saudi journalist and women's rights activist launched, the Saudi Divorce Initiative Website to examine the plight of Saudi divorced women and bring public attention to their problem. The National Human Rights Society, a semi-official organization, plans to launch its own website as a reference source to deal with problems of divorced women with the help of law experts and social consultants. And Sheikh Salman Al-Audah, an influential Muslim scholar, called for the launching of a “Divorce Document in Saudi Arabia” to safeguard the rights of divorced women who endure the social, financial and psychological problems of divorce. He also insisted on the implementation and enforcement of legal regulations that guarantee the Shariah rights of divorced women. In a show of financial assistance for divorced women, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al- Saud ordered the payment in 2009 of a significant amount of money in emergency aid for the poor registered for social insurance, including divorced women. Policy recommendations These initiatives are a good start, but more can be done not just by governments but also by all of society. The first step in formulating responses is to get a better understanding of the issue. Governments should increase research on the divorce phenomenon in the Gulf to answer questions such as: Why are so many young people divorcing so soon after getting married? What is the impact of working wives on the marital home? Would more flexible schedules help? It would also be beneficial to investigate potential tools for prevention. This effort should include, in each of the GCC countries, the establishment of statistical databases on different social groups, as well as surveys of judges, divorced men and women, schoolteachers, mental health professionals, and social workers on relevant themes. Some of these tools might include courses on family relationships and social bonds in secondary schools, and government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) awareness campaigns to foster a better understanding of equality between the sexes, the importance of family life, and reciprocal rights and duties of husbands and wives. They could also establish advisory centers for couples to seek counseling before and after marriage and divorce. These centers would encourage family dialogue and organize pre-marriage training sessions for couples to make them aware of women's legal rights and the mutual requirements and responsibilities of married life. When divorce has already occurred or cannot be prevented, other steps are needed to make sure that families do not suffer from negative attitudes and financial deprivation. One emphasis may be to strengthen legal protections for women and children and enforce the implementation of laws preserving the rights of divorced women. GCC states should bring their national laws into conformity with their international commitment to gender equality. An independent commission for family affairs should be established in each country to work with the courts, the police, relevant ministries, and with the private sector and NGOs, to promote awareness and monitor implementation and enforcement of women's legal rights. Policymakers could also improve women's access to justice in divorce by encouraging women to join the legal profession and by appointing female lawyers to judicial positions. Also, governments could set up specialized offices for women within the official courts so as to identify and deal with the problems of divorced women. To address one frequent problem, governments could ensure that every divorced woman receives her post-divorce support by putting in place mechanisms for deducting those amounts from her ex-husband's salary. Governments and the medical profession could also cooperate in setting up special clinics with mental health experts to help divorced partners and their children cope with the psychological and emotional fall-out. Mona Al-Munajjed, a senior advisor at Booz & Company's Ideation Centre, is a Saudi woman who holds PhD in Sociology from George Washington University, Washington D.C. and author of three published books: Women in Saudi Arabia Today, Significance of Arabic Names for Girls in the Arab World, and Saudi Women Speak. __
