Fears of family disintegration due to high divorce rates in Iraq
Witness Iraq Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the divorce rate nationwide, with more than 43,000 divorces recorded during the first six months of 2024.
More than 357,000 divorce cases were recorded in four years in all of Iraq, excluding the Kurdistan Region, according to the head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights, Fadhel Al-Gharawi.
Al-Gharawi added to Akhbar Alaan that the number of divorce cases during these years, which is specifically 357,887 cases, represents “a frightening increase that threatens the stability of the family and society.”
According to statistics Iraqi Judicial Council“The year 2021 witnessed the registration of (73,155) divorce cases, while the year 2022 witnessed the registration of (68,410) cases, and the year 2023 (71,016) cases, and (45,306) divorce cases during the first seven months of the current year 2024.”
During the decade between 2004 and 2014, according to Al-Gharawi, “one in five marriages ended in divorce, and during the same period, 516,784 divorces were recorded out of 2.6 million marriages, excluding the Kurdistan Region.”
Reasons
As for the reasons for the increase in divorce rates, Al-Gharawi told Akhbar Alaan that the increase in divorce rates is:
- Lack of understanding and closeness between spouses in terms of intellectual, cultural and age levels.
- Interference from the husband’s or wife’s family or friends.
- Increase in family problems, domestic violence, rates of marital infidelity, and misuse of communications and social media.
- Weak religious restraint
- Economic problems
Al-Gharawi called for launching an “awareness campaign on the dangers of divorce and its impact on the family and society, and preparing a national study in which all stakeholders contribute to identify the causes of divorce and address them.”
High percentages
Iraqi reports indicate that divorce numbers in the country have reached more than 70,000 divorce cases annually, at a rate of nearly 200 cases per day, according to 2022 records in Iraq.
Statistics for last May indicate that the number of divorce cases in the country exceeded 300 cases per day, according to data from the Legal Committee in the Iraqi Parliament.
A judge in the Personal Status Court explained that social media and the economic situation are the main reasons for the unprecedented rise in divorce cases in the country.
