Divorce on rise in capital

The number of divorces is on the rise in the capital, with more women than double the men serving notices for break-up, according to official statistics.

The major reasons cited for seeking split include poverty, physical and mental torture, drug addiction, dowry, maladjustment, extramarital affairs, Covid-induced stress and social media use, said  functionaries of the Dhaka North City Corporation and the Dhaka South City Corporation involved in preparing the official data.   

According to the data, the number of divorces saw a steep increase in 2021 after the Covid outbreak in 2020, they said.    

Experts, however, cited a range of reasons that have impact on rising marriage break-ups, including social disparity, corruption, poverty, crony capitalism, liquid love, Covid-induced stress, unemployment, premarital and extramarital affairs, the rise of social media and women empowerment.    

Dhaka University psychology professor Mahfuza Khanam said that many people faced financial crisis  due to the Covid outbreak as they lost their job and did not find alternative earning sources, taking a toll on their mental health.

‘We have witnessed a time when people were living in uncertainty, including of getting hospital seats at times of serious need. Both men and women were thrust into intolerance and stress by the Covid situation, which in turn adversely affected their adjustment capability,’ she added.

In the DSCC area, a total of 6,345 divorce notices were served in 2020, among which 4,428 were served by wives and 1,917 served by husbands.

The number of notices rose to 7,245 in 2021 in the DSCC area, more than 14 per cent increase compared with 2020.

Among the divorce notices served in 2021, 5,183 were served by wives and 2,062 by husbands.

DSCC spokesperson and public relations officer Abu Nasher said that 98 per cent of the notices served by either side resulted in divorces and nearly 2 per cent saw reunion.

The DNCC saw 6,168 divorce notices served in 2020, among which 2,115 came from men and 4,053 from women.

Of them, 3,442 divorces materialised, 145 couples went back into union and 2,581 petitions are now under legal process. 

In 2021, 4,674 marriages were terminated, an increase of 35.80 per cent over the 2020 figure, while 187 couples reunited and the remaining notices were under legal proceedings.

Of the total applications for break-up in the year, 4,081 were submitted by wives and 1,762 by husbands. 

DU professor Mahfuza also said that husbands and wives sometimes might misunderstand each other over silly matters, a problem which was earlier resolved through discussion between the two sides. 

Asked about why the number of women seeking marital split has more than doubled than men, she replied, ‘Husbands and wives need to make sacrifices or compromise to keep the relationship alive. As women were earlier financially dependent on men it was women who made sacrifices or compromise in most of the cases and accepted all.’ 

‘Now the attitude among women towards sacrifice is on the decline as they are gradually becoming financially independent and gaining the ability to take decisions on their own. They, as earlier, hardly want to sacrifice anymore, resulting in separation or divorce,’ she added.      

Dhaka University supernumerary sociology professor AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed pointed out that businesspeople of this country make profit by corruption, looting, plundering and even murder while their counterpart in the west earn money through rational enterprise, abiding by law and through hard, sincere, honest and dedicated labour.

‘In our country, crony capitalism is also on the rise in which business people and politicians work together for making money through corruption. We consider unethical or immoral profit making as a norm. Capitalism also creates unemployment and underemployment,’ he added.

He believes that due to the rise in such capitalism homosexuality and extramarital relationship are also contributing to high divorce rates in urban areas in the contemporary time along with rise in these sorts of sexual relationships.

‘Earlier, men and women generally believed in romantic relationship but now this kind of ties has given rise to plastic sexuality and liquid love because of the changes in capitalism, especially in societies like ours,’ he said.

Besides, he went on to say, many women these days work alongside men while men still tend to expect that their wives will serve them like the traditional wife and become a domestic worker as well.

‘But,’ he observed, ‘many working women now refuse to fit themselves in such roles, resulting in conflicts in the conjugal life. If such independent working women still prefer the marital security, they will continue to be in the marriage even after being beaten or humiliated by their husbands. But if they want liberty, they will go for divorce.’

According to Bangladesh Muslim Marriage Registrar Samity joint secretary general Md Salim Ullah, most divorce seekers mention lack of adjustment with their spouses as the reason for their wanting marriage split. 

‘Many women complain about sexual dysfunction of their male partners too,’ he added.

He said that some men and women also complain about spending more time on social media and giving less time to partners. 


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