Al-Azhar forms unit to combat increasing divorce rate

CAIRO – 16 April 2018: Al-Azhar International Center for Electronic Fatwa formed a “Reunification” entity to combat the increasing divorce rate among Egyptian families.

The entity aims at visiting towns and villages to raise awareness among families on the consequences of divorce, and to reunify families.

The divorce rate in Egypt is witnessing a noticeable increase compared to the marriage rate, according to a report issued on February 18 by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS).

It was stated that the divorce rate increased by 6.5 percent from December 2016 to December 2017. The number of divorce forms issued in December 2017 reached 14,000, compared to 13,000 during the same month in 2016.

The marriage rate witnessed a relative increase as well, but the rate of separations was much more than any other measured by CAPMAS. The marriage rate increased by 4.3 percent in December 2017, compared to the rate measured in December 2016.

The report concluded its statistics by mentioning the exact numbers of divorce and marriage papers issued during 2016 (from January to December). The marriage papers amounted to 983,000 forms, while divorce forms reached 192,000.

As a Middle Eastern country, divorce was never an easy option, especially for women who are usually subject to social pressure after divorce, as their families start imposing a lot of restrictions on their behaviors and activities. However, as some women started to disregard the traditional constraints, the divorce rate has become higher than ever in Egypt.

In a speech delivered on Police Day on January 25, 2017, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi mentioned that 40 percent of divorces end within the first five years, suggesting the issuance of a law to ban men from verbal divorce.



Under the current law, Muslim men can divorce their wives without having to resort to legal justification or consult a court, while Muslim women can only seek a divorce in a court of law.

However, Al-Azhar's Council of Senior Clerics unanimously voted on February 5, 2017 that verbal divorce remains a necessary component in Islam, as it is an undisputed practice of the Prophet Muhammad.