Marriages are no longer for better or worse in Gaza

A study in Gaza confirms the increase of divorce percent there The continuous deterioration in political and economic conditions in the Gaza strip has considerably affected people's social life, official statistics have shown. Head of the Judicial Administration for Social Issues in Gaza Hassan Jojo revealed that his administration has recorded 16161 marriages in 2011, against 2761 divorce cases, an unusually high ratio in Gaza.
An independent research stated that the most important number of divorces in Gaza in 2011 was in Rafah, where 19% percent of marriages ended up in divorce, while the divorce rate was 16% in Gaza city.
Arabstoday spoke to some of the recently divorced women in Gaza about the main reasons behind this considerable rise. They wish to remain anonymous.
Mrs M’s divorce was caused by a political argument in her family.
"My mother argued with my husband's aunt because of politics. My husband felt that my mother has insulted his family. He decided that getting a divorce was the best possible revenge” she said.
MRS K suffered a lot in her marriage, yet she was not the one who requested a divorce.
"Since the beginning of our marriage we’ve had a lot of money problems because he’s been unemployed most the time. We depended mainly on financial aids from my family. I never complained, but he was the one who always got very angry, he was beating and insulting me. I suffered his temper because I wanted my children to have their two parents around, but eventually he worked out that it would be cheaper for him to divorce than supporting a family, so he divorced me.”
On the other hand, Mrs M. fought in court to divorce her husband because of his drug addiction.
"I spent such a long time in court because the judges were convinced that his addiction only affected him, and that it had nothing to do with me. It took them seven years to realise that I have really suffered."
However, the social relations specialist Suhaila Sarhan gave two new reasons behind the recent rise in divorce cases in Gaza. She said:
"A lot of men don't really realise the true value of marriage. They think it only means that they will have a pretty woman in their house. So when they have kids, and life begins to be more serious, they decide to end the whole thing and search for another pretty woman to start again" said Sarhan.
"The social traditions have also changed in a considerable way. Divorce is now more acceptable in society, so the decision to get divorced is not as tough as it used to be. A divorced woman now can easily start a new life without having to face society’s judgemental stare.”
The Palestinian researcher Zainab al-Ghuneimi studied a similar issue which might support Sarhan's theory. According to her study, 50% of the divorce cases in Gaza could be attributed to the fact that people married too young. The other 50% are equally divided between money problems and domestic violence, the latter being mainly because of drug addiction.