New programme aims to reduce divorce cases

DAILY NEWS Reporter in Dodoma

THE Office of the Mufti of Zanzibar has raised concern over an increase in divorce cases, forcing it to introduce a special pre-marital counselling to individuals expecting to get into marriage.

According to information from Zanzibar’s Mufti’s office, the pre-marital programme will help strengthen the marriages, given the rise in unnecessary divorce cases in the isles. Speaking to the ‘Daily News’ yesterday, a senior officer in the Zanzibar’s Mufti’s Office, Sheikh Norman Jongo, said the process to start the programme was going on and that it was in the final stages.

He said the spiralling of divorce cases has brought about an increase of divorcees, widows and destitute children. According to Sheikh Jongo, the programme will be administered for three months to the prospective couples. He said failure by entities in the community, including religious leaders to introduce pre-marital education to individuals expecting to get into marriage has resulted into poor relations among family members.

As a result of lack of premarital education, he said, individuals expecting to get into marriages have been violating some ethics and procedures in making decisions to become couples, including failing to involve parents. He said it was sad to learn that apart from the increase in the number of divorcees, some of the divorced women were young with ages ranging between 19 and 24 years.

He said most of them were divorced after spending only two years in marriage. “We intend to introduce the pre-marital course to the prospective couples to save marriages that are breaking up every day. We want to address the increasing number of divorce cases,” he insisted.

Kadhi of Mwanakwerekwe Unguja regional Kadhi Court, Sheikh Shamim Khamis Makame acknowledged about the surge in divorce cases, adding that one of their tasks was to resolve marital conflicts. A research conducted by activists fighting against gender-based violence in Zanzibar has established that a total of 546 divorces have been endorsed this year.

Information from Zanzibar’s Mufti’s Office about the surge in divorce cases has come only two days after Dodoma regional mental health experts issued a new report that links mental illness among young women and men in marriage.

According to a specialist from the Department of Psychiatric at Dodoma General Referral Hospital, marriage was blamed for being a potential source of stress among tens of thousands of victims admitted for psychiatric problems.