Traditions, rituals, and societal and cultural barriers have made it exceptionally hard for married couples in the Arab world to file for >divorce. Despite the obstacles, divorce rates in the region are incredibly high.
The United Arab Emirates is no exception. A recent report - published by Abu Dhabi Statistics Center (ADSC) - documented the number of marriages and divorces that took place in Abu Dhabi in 2017.
That year, a total of 5,703 marriage contracts and 1,859 divorces were registered in the emirate.
The report also highlighted that 28.5 percent of divorce cases came from couples who had not been married for one year whereas 52.2 percent of divorces took place in the first three years.
The number of registered divorces increased 4.6 percent annually since 1975. This includes divorces from Emiratis as well as expats.
When zooming in on local divorces, 981 divorces took place among Emirati couples, a 52.8 percent of overall divorces in the UAE capital.
Earlier this year, an Emirati man divorced his wife after 15 minutes of marriage
In May, an Emirati groom >divorced his bride 15 minutes into the couple's marriage because he felt he had been insulted by her father.
The two men had previously agreed that the bride's dowry would be 100,000 dirhams ($30,000) with half the amount expected to be paid upon signing the marriage contract.
The groom paid the first installment of the money right after the marriage ceremony ended. As he left the court, the bride's father told him he expected the second half to also be paid right then and there. The newlywed then asked his father-in-law to wait a few minutes so he could get the cash, but the latter refused, ultimately resulting in divorce between the couple.
A look at Arab countries: Jordan's divorce rate is actually among the highest in the world
In 2017, The Telegraph mapped out the world's highest and lowest rates for divorce across the globe, and Jordan ranked among the highest on the list.
According to Jordan Times, divorce rates among Jordanians dropped in 2015, reversing the rising trend in the number of divorce cases recorded in previous years.
A spokesperson for the Civil Status and Passports Department (CSPD,) Malek Khasawneh, said that 53,666 marriages and 9,991 divorces were registered in 2015.
In 2014, the number of recorded divorce cases amounted to 11,229 - up from 11,111 in 2013, 10,263 in 2012, and 9,456 in 2011.
Jordan is >followed by Kuwait, Egypt, Lebanon, and Algeria.