Mutual Divorce Among the Top 10 Requests in Iranian Courts

A judiciary official has announced that 'mutual divorce' ranks as one of the 'top 10 requests' processed in Iranian courts. Simultaneously, the spokesperson for the Civil Registration Organization has stated that the divorce rate in the country has increased. In an interview with IRNA, Ali-Asghar Rafahi, the Director General for Crime Prevention at the Judiciary, revealed that among the top 10 requests in courts, 'mutual divorce' ranks eighth nationwide, while the demand for dowry ranks ninth. He mentioned that in South Khorasan, the statistics show mutual divorce at sixth place and dowry claims at tenth, adding that this issue 'requires jihad-like actions regarding social harms.' The spokesperson for the Civil Registration Organization also reported an increase in the divorce rate in Iran, stating that 'the divorce rate has risen from 1.9 to 2.1 over the past five years.' Seyfollah Abutalebi, speaking at a press conference on National Civil Registration Day, added that '133,366 cases of divorce have been registered in the Civil Registration database.' He reported that the average duration of marriage for separated couples in the first nine months of 2017 was '9 years.' According to the spokesperson, '67% of divorces occurred in marriages lasting less than 10 years, and in 45% of divorces, the marriage lasted less than 5 years.' Abutalebi also noted that '11% of divorces' occurred among couples with less than one year of cohabitation. He reported the average age of men at the time of divorce registration as 36 years and women as 31 years. Young Journalists Club reported on Sunday, January 3, criticizing what it termed a 'demographic crisis' in Iran, attributing the decline in birth rates to 'decreased marriages and increased divorces.' In August of this year, the head of Iran's Welfare Organization announced a rise in the divorce rate among female heads of households, stating that in 2016, for every four marriages, one divorce was registered. According to IRNA, Anoushiravan Mohseni Bandpay added that divorces among female heads of households grew by 57% from 2006 to 2012. In December 2016, Mehr News Agency reported an increase in divorces and a decrease in marriages, stating that 20 divorces are registered in Iran every hour. The statistics from this organization indicate a significant increase in the divorce rate over the past decade compared to marriage rates. Iranian news agencies report that some experts identify economic factors as the primary reason for the decline in marriages and the increase in divorce rates, while others attribute it to changes in lifestyle. Habibollah Hassani, head of the Association of Marriage and Divorce Registrars in Iran, on April 15 of this year, noted that in addition to economic and employment issues, factors such as hastiness in marriage, addiction, and family interference have also contributed to the rise in divorce rates in Iran.