Saudis Hold Divorce Symposium

Naomi Dunne — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:00:00 -0500

The other day, Rachel Small wrote about the tragedy of a couple in Saudi Arabia, where a husband and wife were forcibly divorced by the police at her family's request. The police showed up at their door, handed them a divorce decree and promptly carted the wife and kids off to jail. Apparently, though, the Saudi Arabian government is concerned about the rising rate of divorce.

So concerned, in fact, that they've decided to hold a symposium to figure out what they can do about it. My first thought is to stop divorcing perfectly happy married couples against their will, but maybe that's just me.

Sociologists, religious leaders, politicians and a number of other smart people will be attending the symposium and they will be considering all the angles. 18,000 Saudi couples divorced in 2006, a number that has been on the rise for over 25 years, and the government wants to put a stop to it.

Apparently, therapy in Saudi Arabia isn't much of an option. Dr. Ahmad Al Hariri, one of the speakers and an expert in forensic psychotherapy, said, "As long as the man feels he is the stronger link in a relationship and that his social status is at risk, he finds it difficult to face his errors or even admits them and to reveal details of his domestic life." This puts everyone in the relationship in a bind, one that's hard to get out of.

I'm the first one to say that divorce is extremely unpleasant and not something to be embarked upon for frivolous reasons. But in a country like Saudi Arabia, where womens' rights are completely nonexistent, I think they might want to work on that before they start telling people they shouldn't get divorced.

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Saudis Hold Divorce Symposium