Manal divorced after only a year of marriage, joining the tens of thousands of other Iraqis who do so annually in this very traditional country.
Like many other women, Manal understood the reason for it to be because her husband “couldn’t take any decisions of his own” due to his financial dependence on the family business.
The 33-year-ex-husband, old’s who is also her cousin and worked for his father’s appliance store, was divorced from her eight years ago.
He was not only financially dependent on his family, but the pair also lived with her in-laws.She said that his lack of financial independence led to family issues.
Her justification is similar to that of tens of thousands of Iraqis, based on information released by the nation’s Supreme Judicial Council.
Other significant contributors to divorce rates, according to Iraqi officials, include broader economic challenges, early marriages, and adultery fostered by new technologies.
The 42 million-person nation’s courts granted more over 73,000 divorces in 2021, around the same number as in 2018.
According to a study by the Supreme Judicial Council, “the spouse’s financial dependency on his family” and “living with the spouse’s family, leading in many cases to negative interference in the relationship” are two factors that contribute to divorce.
Additionally, it mentions “infidelities owing to the internet” and troubles finding employment.
Another cause of divorce is premature marriage, frequently involving minors. In the two years leading up to the end of 2021, 4,092 teenage girls divorced.
Hanaa Edwar, a seasoned feminist, also cited “financial hardship on families” as a contributing factor.
This causes complications and a psychological strain, she claimed.
Additionally, the coronavirus pandemic’s spike in domestic abuse did not spare Iraq; yet, Edwar applauds women for increasingly finding the strength to flee.
Women are aware that it is preferable to divorce if violence continues in their relationships with their partners and their children.
But a divorced man and a divorced woman are not on equal footing in a profoundly patriarchal nation like Iraq.
Women frequently experience “sexual harassment” by men who feel they have the right to make sexual approaches towards divorced women, on top of the often laborious battle to get custody of their children.
Some families even refuse to allow divorced women to work or go out freely, for fear of the “stigma” and what people will say.
“As for men — socially, everything is acceptable. Today, he divorces, tomorrow he remarries.”
