Divorce is becoming an increasingly impulsive choice today
In 2015 (figures for 2016-17 unavailable), the Dubai Courts saw proceedings of 1,481 divorce cases, which went up from 1,237 case in 2014, as Khaleej Times reported.
Experts even warned that the Internet and mobile apps, which easily facilitate online flirting, accounted for over 50 per cent of marital disputes in that period. Many of these disputes, at times, even get aggravated to the level that they turn into a physical assault, verbal abuse or even end up with couples seeking divorce.
If the dispute develops into a physical or verbal abuse then it becomes a crime and the police are very often called before the case is referred to the prosecution.
Based on the cases examined, men are usually more careful than women when it comes to chatting with the opposite sex online.
In 15 per cent of the cases, men were to be blamed for being addicted to social media (online flirting), while women were to blame in 50 per cent of such cases, it was found.
Men usually prefer to go out into the real world to meet women, it was noted.
In one particular case, a Dubai (Arab) resident lured a European teenager into sending her photos to him after fooling her that he was a woman. Once he obtained her private photographs, he started blackmailing her and tried to extort money. She complained against him and he was eventually tried in court and convicted with a deportation order.
In a large number of cases, wives were seeking divorce on discovering that their husbands were having a secret affair. The discovery of unfaithful women by men also exists, but it is less common in a society that still sticks to customs and traditions.
Most of the couples facing this ‘modern problem’ fall within the age group of 25 to 35.
But divorce cases are on the rise not just in Dubai, the UAE and the Arab world, but also in many countries around the world as well. But here, the factors causing the split can be blamed on many factors: social, religious, personal, medical and hygienic, scam for benefits, financial and psychological.
Social factors can vary from lack of harmony, disparity in culture, domestic violence and parental intervention. Back in 2015, Dr Abdulaziz Mohammed Al Hammadi, head of the family reconciliation section at the Dubai Courts, told Khaleej Times that: “Divorce is a legitimate exit for any major family or marital dispute, but in the last few years, we have been seeing more rush and impulsiveness from people to get a divorce. They take marriage and family responsibilities for granted. Some marriages last (just a) few days and others barely two or three months.”
In one case, a couple applied for divorce after a disagreement over what to name their first child. In another, a man filed for divorce four days after signing the marriage contract. “The couple had a quarrel on the phone over some issues, the details of which were not known. They got divorced shortly after the reconciliation sessions failed,” Dr Al Hammadi said.
In yet another case, a couple filed for divorce after they had a disagreement over who the designer of the newlyweds’ seats and other decorations would be at their reception. The marriage document was signed and was shortly followed by divorce with no actual sexual relation.
According to article 16 of the Federal Law Number 28 issued on November 23, 2005, “the (divorce) case shall not be taken before the competent court unless it is already presented to the Family Guidance and Reconciliation Committee”.