Study: Early Marriage Likely Cause of Divorce in UAE

Early marriage is probably the main cause of divorce in the UAE; some 31. 5 percent of divorced women of all nationalities in the Gulf state were married before age 14, according to a recent ministry of labor and social affairs study. The study said that 23. 7 percent of the divorced men married between the ages of 20 and 24. â€Å"This and other statistics feature in a recent study on divorce carried out by the ministry of labor and social affairs which found, for instance, that 43 percent of the time it was the woman who sought divorce,† said the study, cited by the Gulf News. With men, the figure stood at 39 percent. Twelve percent of divorce cases were arrived at on mutual agreement. † The study stressed that in many cases couples were divorced after they chose to share accommodation with their families. Thirty-four percent of divorced women lived with their husbands' families, and 8. 7 percent of divorced men lived with their wives' relatives. Financial reasons were another key reason for divorce, said the study: 45 percent of divorced people demanded independent budgets and allegedly refused to render any financial help to the other partner.According to the paper, the study warned that the ease in obtaining divorce papers from Sharia Courts was another reason for the UAE's rising divorce rate. Some 67 percent of divorced people said they found it very easy to obtain divorce papers and process their separation without any requirements or conditions. The study said the cultural and intellectual level of divorced couples played no role in the divorce. It found that 78 percent of divorced people had virtually equivalent cultural standards.But a similar study on divorce conducted by the UAE Center for Strategic Studies and Research found that the educational level of women and divorce rates were linked, with 70 percent of divorced women holding only preparatory certificates or less, the paper said. The study pointed out that 35 percent of divorced women held no certificates, and said that these women faced great difficulty in life after separation.The study pointed out that the divorce rate was 40 percent in the UAE, but the rate in the rural areas was less than that in cities. It added that the children of divorced parents were the main victims and that the rate of juvenile delinquency among these children was high. This could create a major social problem, it warned. The study urged parents to stand by their marriage agreements under any circumstance even if they did not like it, for the sake of the children – Albawaba. com