A recent survey by Gallup and Gilani Pakistan has revealed that the divorce rate in Pakistan is at an all-time high.
According to it, 58 percent of Pakistanis think that the divorce rate has increased in the country, and two out of every five Pakistanis believe that in-laws are responsible for most of them.
Amongst other reasons, the COVID-19 pandemic is also believed to be a leading cause for the rising number of divorce cases, especially in 2020 and 2021. Many couples experienced depression, anxiety, and privacy issues during the pandemic, and this is thought to have contributed to an increase in domestic violence.
Police reports revealed that 3,800 divorce cases were filed in Karachi alone during the first quarter of 2020. Similarly, 10,312 divorces, khulas, guardianships, and maintenance cases were reported by the District Judiciary of Rawalpindi between January and November 2021.
Additionally, adjudication is pending in 13,000 more cases in the family courts in Rawalpindi.
The survey found that another reason for the growing number of divorces is forced marriages. Criminal and family lawyer, Advocate Hamid Rashid Gondal, stated that divorce cases have surged in the rural areas mainly because of such marriages.
