‘Compulsory training for marriage hopefuls planned to reduce divorce rates’

AMMAN — The Chief Islamic Justice Department has decided to conduct free obligatory courses for spouses-to-be starting from 2017 in an attempt to reduce divorce rates, an official said  on Tuesday. 

The initiative is the second phase of a project to address the rising divorce rate in the Kingdom, Ashraf Omari the director of the family reconciliation and mediation department at the Chief Islamic Justice Department told The Jordan Times. 

The first phase of the project was aimed at offering mediation in cases of domestic conflicts, Omari noted. 

The planned courses will focus on the spouses’ duties and rights in Sharia (Islamic law) and under the civil law. 

Marriage hopefuls will be trained on communication skills, according to Omari. 

The training, delivered by experts and professionals, will also raise awareness on reproductive health.

Those who take the one-day course will receive a certificate which will enable them to continue with the marriage procedures. 

Omari said he expects that the initiative will be accepted by society, citing the adherence to premarital medical tests that were imposed in 2005.

“There were fears of society’s acceptance of the medical tests 10 years ago, but we applied them and things went well,” he said.

Every year around 20,000 divorces occur in Jordan out of 100,000 marriages.

Seventy-five per cent of the divorces occur in the first year of marriage, Omari noted. 

Divorces are usually caused by problems in choosing the partner, conditions in the marriage contract, or developments such as the woman’s work or education.

Hussein Khozai, a full-time professor of sociology at Balqa Applied University, said that the planned training could be vital in decreasing divorce rates, ensuring that the partners understand their rights and duties before they start their own family.

“The training can present a roadmap for the spouses as they start a new life together,” Khozai told The Jordan Times. 

He said he believes Jordanians will accept the courses because they will have a positive impact on society.