Divorce rates of the world
Posted on April 4, 2007 by Nita
A reader, Axinia, was keen to know about the divorce rate in India and so I looked it up and found something in the Wiki. In fact I found the divorce rates of the whole world. I am reproducing it all here. While I knew that divorce rates in India were low, I had no idea that they were the lowest in the world.
Its too complex and difficult to enumerate why India has such low rates of divorce. I can only give my own take on it. For one thing, we are a traditional society and therefore divorce is frowned upon. Secondly, most people think of marraige as permanent and give it their best shot. All they have in fact.
However, divorce rates in India were even lower some years ago, less than 1 per cent. If they have increased, it is believed that the reasons are that many educated earning women are walking out of marriages where they are abused.
However, even today it is rare to find couples splitting up if they do not ‘get along’. Generally we Indians have a fairly practical view of marriage. No one really expects to get along at all times, and overall I have seen in the marriages around me that both men and women tend to compromise.
Also, it is a fact that gender roles are more clearly defined here. This results in less conflict on a day to day basis.
I am little curious about the other countries though. For example, I am not sure why there are so many divorces in the United States. Is it because people have an idealistic romanticized view of marriage?
Divorce is on the rise. Whether it’s Delhi or Lucknow, Kerala or Punjab, Kolkata or Chennai, the upper classes or the middle classes, metros or semi-urban areas…the specter of divorce is now here to haunt us all. Why, just in Delhi the figures go thus:
1960’s – 1-2 cases per year
1980 - 100-200 cases per year
1990s - 1,000 cases per year
This decade…a jump to 9,000 cases per year
About Mumbai (update):
So far nearly 7,000 divorce cases have already been filed at the family court this year, and the number is expected to reach 7,200 by year-end — 60 per cent more than the 4,500 cases filed in 2005. Couples in the 25-35 age group accounted for 70 per cent of the cases, and 85 per cent of them were filed in the first three years of marriage.
A lot of us have tried to understand why the divorce rate in India has been low for so many years (post on divorce rates of the world) and why it was slated to increase. In this post I shall concentrate on the latter question…divorce rates in the context of modern society. Here are some pointers as to why divorce rates are increasing (not in order of importance) and you will find that some points are connected:
Greater societal acceptance of divorcees in urban areas and also a gradual acceptance of divorced daughters by families (not in rural areas) because families have started to believe that perhaps their daughter can have a life after marriage and without a husband.
The anonymity of big cities has helped divorced people avoid the glare of judgmental friends and relatives.
Financial freedom to walk away from an abusive relationships.
The sanctity of marriage is taking a beating. People’s attitudes towards marriage itself are changing…and as a result they do not work hard at it as before.
More DINKS couples (double income no kids) who are not held back by the fear of how the divorce will impact children.
Stress of modern life. Today’s working environment has changed drastically. The economy having opened up, most companies are facing intense competition and this leads to tremendous pressure on employees. Working late, 6 days a week, without holidays and with a boss who breathes down your throat can create a lot of frustration and tension. This can destroy a marriage, whether it’s just one partner
Answered by
Yoga
at
1:10 PM on July 13, 2008
