Rising divorce and extra-marital affairs

LOOKING at Dhaka City Corporations' records we can safely conclude that incidents of divorce have been rising. Women in this case are in the lead as they are filing more divorce cases than their male counterparts. In a patriarchal society like ours, women are held primarily responsible to keep their families together. According to Dhaka City Corporation data, around 67 per cent of the divorce notices from 2011 to 2016 were issued by women. It is well known that women seek divorce due mainly to problems like physical abuse, extramarital affairs, personality clash etc.

Technological development is one of the main contributors to such social aberrations. For a moment of madness, husband and wife are killing each other and sometimes their innocent children also fall victims to immoral activities of their parents.

Newspaper reports every day highlight unfortunate incidents arising out of extra-marital affairs. Unfortunately we do not see steps being taken to stem the rot. There is a growing necessity of creating awareness among people of the importance of family bonds and their effects on children. We should not forget the wise saying of Desmond Tutu, a South African Cleric and human rights activist, "You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."

Roksana Sultana

Uttara, Dhaka