Divorce rates in Bahrain have dropped by a third, said a senior government official, adding that a total of 6,311 marriages took place last year and 335 divorces (5 per cent).

Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa was quoted as saying by our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News.

It compares with 4,600 marriages and 702 divorces (15 per cent) in 2008.

“We also have a breakdown of statistics that show the pattern of marriages and divorces over the past five years and our efforts to help couples resolve their problems without going to the final step of getting divorced and this is reflected in relative percentages,” said Shaikh Khalid.

“There were 4,815 marriages and 717 divorces in 2009 (15 per cent), 4,755 marriages and 608 divorces in 2010 (13 per cent) and 5,784 marriages and 533 divorces in 2011 (10 per cent).”

Shaikh Khalid said the ministry was working hard to raise awareness about the negative effects of divorce through its family guidance offices and places of worship.

“This has helped reduce percentages over the years, but there are more efforts to have more judiciary involvement to resolve divorce cases and these are now under process as articles in the Sunni Family Law get implemented.”

Shaikh Khalid said statistics showed the number of men and women under the age of 18 who got married in the last five years ranged from 6 per cent to 7 per cent.

He revealed these included 389 in 2008 (7.17 per cent), 380 (7.25 per cent) in 2009, 306 (6.44 per cent) in 2010, 354 (6.57 per cent) in 2011 and 330 (6.17 per cent) last year. – TradeArabia News Service