ABSTRACT

Today the world is experiencing such generation

where the concept of marriage is not a big factor. But
marriage & family are perhaps society’s oldest & most
resilient institution. From the beginning of human life
people have grouped themselves into families to find
emotional, physical & communal support. But
sometimes because of some circumstances familial
life become just a hell. It’s true that it is better to be
alone than being with someone who makes you alone.
Here comes divorce! It might sound simple, but it's not
easy for a husband and wife to decide to end a
marriage. Often they spend a long time trying to solve
problems before deciding to divorce. But sometimes
they just can't fix the problems and decide that a
divorce is the best solution. Change is a natural part of
life, but when it happens to your family, it is
sometimes really hard to deal with. With the help of
the secondary data this paper will discuss the concept
& religious aspects of marriage & divorce in terms of
the world & Bangladesh context with analyzing the
causes of increasing divorce rate.

Causes of increasing divorce

rate: In the context of World &
MD.Mahir Faysal
Bangladesh Dept. of Population Sciences
University of Dhaka
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Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………………………..…2

The concept of marriage & divorce: Defining marriage & its importance …..……2

Religious aspects of Marriage & divorce …………………………………….…....3

Marriage & divorce rate: key scenario of the world situation…………………..... 5

Divorce situation in Bangladesh: policy, laws & procedures……………….….… 8

Causes of increasing divorce rate………………………………………….….…..10

Reasons for divorce in modern days………………………………………….…. 12

Comparison of divorce rate between love marriage & arrange marriage…….….. 13

Consequences of divorce…………………………………………………….….... 14

Differences by age and sex in children’s adjustment to divorce………….……... 15

Consequences of parental remarriage on children……………………….….…… 15

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..… 16

References ……………………………..………………………………………….17
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Introduction
Today the world is experiencing such generation where the concept of marriage is not a big factor.
But marriage & family are perhaps society’s oldest & most resilient institution. From the beginning
of human life people have grouped themselves into families to find emotional, physical &
communal support. The family is the most important unit of society. This is a fact that everyone
must learn. The family is not only the basic societal unit. It is also the basic sexual unit, the basic
child-raising unit, the basic communication unit, and the basic all-around fun and friendship
unit. It is okay if one is not in a family at this time, but it is important to understand that the family
is the basic unit of society. It is easy to get engage in a marital life but it is pretty tuff to continue
that life & use to it. Nearly half of all first marriages end in divorce sounds a lot like saying
marriage is just a game of chance. A lot of research has identified various factors that are associated
with a higher risk for divorce. So some people actually have a low risk of divorce while others
have a high risk.

The concept of marriage & divorce: Defining marriage & its importance
Marriage is a unique relationship different from all others. An essential characteristic of marriage
is the biological fact that a man and a woman can join together as male and female in a union that
is orientated to the generation of new life. The union of marriage provides for the continuation of
the human race and the development of human society. It is precisely the difference between man
and woman that makes possible this unique communion of persons, the unique partnership of life
and love which is marriage.
Macedo (1995) claims there are two competing views of marriage:
Conjugal View: Marriage is the union of a man and a woman who make a permanent and
exclusive commitment to each other of the type that is naturally (inherently) fulfilled by bearing
and rearing children together. The spouses seal (consummate) and renew their union by conjugal
acts that constitute the behavioral part of the process of reproduction, thus uniting them as a
reproductive unit. Marriage is valuable in itself, but its inherent orientation to the bearing and
rearing of children contributes to its distinctive structure, including norms of monogamy and
fidelity. This link to the welfare of children also helps explain why marriage is important to the
common good and why the state should recognize and regulate it.
Revisionist View: Marriage is the union of two people (whether of the same sex or of
opposite sexes) who commit to romantically loving and caring for each other and to sharing the
burdens and benefits of domestic life. It is essentially a union of hearts and minds, enhanced by
whatever forms of sexual intimacy both partners find agreeable. The state should recognize and
regulate marriage because it has an interest in stable romantic partnerships and in the concrete
needs of spouses and any children they may choose to rear. It has sometimes been suggested that
the conjugal understanding of marriage is based only on religious beliefs. This is false. Although
the world’s major religious traditions have historically understood marriage as a union of man and
woman that is by nature apt for procreation and childrearing, this suggests merely that no one
religion invented marriage. Instead, the demands of our common human nature have shaped
(however imperfectly) all of our religious traditions to recognize this natural institution. As such,
marriage is the type of social practice whose basic contours can be discerned by our common
human reason, whatever our religious background.
Whatever it is Male–female complementarity is intrinsic to marriage. It is naturally ordered
toward sexual union in a faithful, committed relationship as the basis for the generation of new
life. The true nature of marriage, lived in openness to life, bears witness to how precious is the gift
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of a child and to the unique roles of a mother and father. A man and woman united in marriage, as
husband and wife, witness to God’s plan for both life and love in a way that no other relationship
of human persons can. Marriage is not merely a private institution. The well-being of the family
and its place in society is not simply a matter for the husband and wife but for society as a whole.
It is given special recognition by society because it is the place where children learn what it means
to be members of their family and of society.

Concept of divorce:
Divorce (or the dissolution of marriage) is the termination of a marital union, the canceling and/or
reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the bonds of
matrimony between a married couple under the rule of law of the particular country and/or state.
Divorce should not be confused with annulment, which declares the marriage null and void;
with legal separation or de jure separation which is a legal process by which a married couple may
formalize a de facto separation while remaining legally married) or with de facto separation, a
process where the spouses informally stop cohabiting.(Wikipedia)

Religious aspects of Marriage & divorce:

Christianity:
Olson et al. (2011) stated that Christian marriages are based upon the teachings of jesus Christ and
the Apostle paul Today many Christian denominations regard marriage as a sacrament, a sacred
institution, or a covenant, but this wasn't the case before marriage was officially recognized as a
sacrament at the 1184 Council of Verona. Before then, no specific ritual was prescribed for
celebrating a marriage: "Marriage vows did not have to be exchanged in a church, nor was a priest's
presence required. A couple could exchange consent anywhere, anytime." Christians often marry
for religious reasons ranging from following the biblical injunction for a "man to leave his father
and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one,” to obeying Canon Law stating
marriage between baptized persons is a sacrament.
Divorce & remarriage while generally not encouraged are regarded differently by each
Christian denomination. Most Protestant Churches allow people to marry again after a divorce.
The Eastern Orthodox Church allows divorce for a limited number of reasons, and in theory, but
usually not in practice, requires that a marriage after divorce be celebrated with a penitential
overtone. In the Roman Catholic Church, marriage can be ended by an annulment where the
Church for special reasons regards it as never having taken place. According to bible, "'Then the
Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, '
for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united
to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” "'...So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore
what God has joined together, let man not separate."
In Christianity the concept of divorce was taken as an unacceptable idea from the beginning of the
time it was just because the people were more concerned to their religious values but with the
passage of time people get started to become indulged in their social and economic activities they
started to take their relations as machines; in them whenever they found a malfunction they used
to throw out it into the dustbin. Not only because of their too much busiest lives are responsible
for the breakdown of their marriage ties but also their loose temper and non-forebear nature. Now
in the West the concept of marriage has become very weak and it has become a temporary relation
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The social acceptance of divorce – including various religious and cultural conventions –
in a nation may in part contribute to this, as indeed may the ease and expense with which a divorce
may be carried out. We’ve taken a look at the nations where significantly more couples are getting
divorced than staying together to see what it is that’s leaving so many marriages in pieces in these
countries. The United States is one of the world’s countries with the best known statistics around
marriage and divorce and the statistic that over half of all marriages in the United States end in
divorce is well reported. With such a high population however, there are still an awful lot of
marriage break-ups happening one every six seconds, in fact. And, perhaps predictably, the more
often you marry, the more likely you are to then divorce: 73% of third marriages in the United
States end in divorce, with Nevada boasting the highest divorce rate of any state.1

Islam:
Islam also commends marriage, with the age of marriage being whenever the individuals feel
ready, financially and emotionally. In Islam, polygyny is allowed while polyandry is not, with
the specific limitation that a man can have no more than four legal wives at any one time and an
unlimited number of female slaves a concubines with the requirement that the man is able and
willing to partition his time and wealth equally among the respective wives.
For a Muslim wedding to take place, the bridegroom and the guardian of the bride must both agree
on the marriage. Should the guardian disagree on the marriage, it may not legally take place. If
the bride of the girl her father or paternal grandfather, he has the right to force her into marriage
even against her proclaimed will, if it is her first marriage.
From an Islamic law perspective, the minimum requirements and responsibilities in a Muslim
marriage are that the groom provides living expenses (housing, clothing, food, maintenance) to the
bride, and in return, the bride's main responsibility is raising children to be proper Muslims. All
other rights and responsibilities are to be decided between the husband and wife, and may even be
included as stipulations in the marriage contract before the marriage actually takes place, so long
as they do not go against the minimum requirements of the marriage.On the other hand, although
the idea of the divorce exists in the Islamic law but it is regarded as the second most hateful and
disgraceful act to Allah Almighty. The laws about divorce are given in the book of Allah the Quran
and are explained in surah such as An Nisa, Al Baqarah and At Talak etc. There are complete
rulings in the Holy Book about Talak, the polygamy and there is permission for the woman also
to enter into a second contract of the marriage. The Holy Quran says:
The divorce is twice, after that, either you retain her on reasonable terms or release her with
kindness. And it is not lawful for you (men) to take back (from your wives) any of your Mahr (bridal
- money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage) which you have given them,
except when both parties fear that they would be unable to keep the limits ordained by Allah (e.g.
to deal with each other on a fair basis). (Al-Baqara-229)
The Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
Allah did not make anything lawful more abominable to Him than Divorce. Of all the lawful acts
the most detestable to Allah is Divorce. (Sunan Abu dawud: Book #12, Hadith #2172-2173)

Hinduism
Hinduism sees marriage as a sacred duty that entails both religious and social obligations. Old
Hindu literature in Sanskrit gives many different types of marriages and their categorization
ranging from "Gandharva Vivaha" (instant marriage by mutual consent of participants only,
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without any need for even a single third person as witness) to normal (present day) marriages, to
"Rakshasa Vivaha" ("demoniac" marriage, performed by abduction of one participant by the other
participant, usually, but not always, with the help of other persons). In India and generally in South
Asia,arranged marriaged the spouse's parents or an older family member choose the partner, are
still predominant in comparison with so called love marriage until nowadays. The Hindu Widow's
Remarriage Act 1856 empowers a Hindu widow to remarry.
The idea of the divorce was totally rejected by this religion. There was not any place for this
concept in Hinduism as the institution of the marriage was regarded as permanent. Once the couple
had been entered into this contract it would be considered that they will be partners forever. But
with the Changing trends of the world the idea of the divorce has been started to be developed
among the people of this religion. Now there is not only the existence of the concept of the divorce
in Hinduism but the idea of Punar vivah of the woman also existed means a woman is also allowed
to enter into a second contract of marriage. The media is playing and important role in conveying
this new trend and is transferring the awareness among people of this religion that there is no need
to bind you to any kind of weak relation. The idea can be seen in the dramas like Dusri shadi (punar
vivah), Doli armano ki etc

Buddhism
According to Buddhist Study and Practice Group the Buddhist view of marriage considers
marriage a secular affair and thus not a sacrament. Buddhists are expected to follow the civil laws
regarding marriage laid out by their respective governments. Gautama Buddha, being a kshakrita
was required by Shakyan tradition to pass a series of tests to prove himself as a warrior, before he
was allowed to marry. Again Separation or divorce is not prohibited in Buddhism though the
necessity would scarcely arise if the Buddha's injunctions were strictly followed. Men and women
must have the liberty to separate if they really cannot agree with each other. Separation is
preferable to avoid miserable family life for a long period of time. The Buddha further advises old
men not to have young wives as the old and young are unlikely to be compatible, which can create
undue problems, disharmony and downfall (Parabhava Sutta).

Marriage & divorce rate: key scenario of the world situation

The Marriage Index was constructed By Institute of American Values in 2009. The Marriage Index
was created to illustrate the state of marriage and it is based on five indicators. Marriage Index in
2008 is 60% from a high of 76% in 1970. The five indicators and there decline is indicated below
• The percentage of people 20-54 who are married has steadily declined. In 1970, 78% of adults
were married; 1n 1980 69%; in 1990, 62%; and about 61% in 2000 and 57% in 2008.
• The percentage of married person that are “very happy” has dropped to 57%. In 1970 and 1980
it was 67% and it dropped to 62% for 2000 and 2008.
• The percentage of intact first marriages has dropped to 61%. In 1970, 77% of the marriages were
intact, dropped to 71% in 1980 and 60% in 2000.
• The percentage of births to married couples dropped to 60%. In 1970, 89% of all births were to
married couples; in 1980 it dropped to 82%, in 1990 to 72% and 67% in 2000.
• The percentage of children living with their own married parents also dropped to 61%. In 1970,
the percentage of children living with their biological parents was 69% and it dropped to 61% in
2000.
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Benefits of Marriage
• Married people live longer than unmarried or divorced people. Nonmarried women have 50%
higher mortality rates than married women and nonmarried men have a 250% higher rate than
married men. (Waite & Gallagher, 2000)
• Married individuals are significantly less likely to be problem drinkers than those who are
divorced, separated or single. (Waite & Gallagher, 2000)
• Married people are happier than single, widowed, or cohabiting people. About 40% of married
people report being very happy with their lives, whereas only 18% of divorced people, 15% of
separated people, and only 22% of widowed and 22% of cohabiting people report being very
happy. (Waite & Gallagher, 2000)
• Married people have more sex and a better quality sexual relationship than do single, divorced
or cohabiting individuals. (Waite & Gallagher, 2000)
• Married people are more successful in their careers, earn more, and have more wealth than single,
divorced or cohabiting individuals. (Waite & Gallagher, 2000; Antonovics & Town, 2004)
• Children from homes where the parents are married tend to be more academically successful,
more emotionally stable, and more often assume leadership roles. (Waite & Gallagher, 2000;
Manning & Lamb, 2003)
• Adolescents living with their biological parents are less likely to have sexual intercourse.
(Pearson, Frisco, 2006)
• Two-parent households protect children from the negative effects of poverty. In the U.S., nearly
60% of the children from single-parent households live in poverty, as compared to only 11% of
children from two-parent families. (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2007)
• Adolescents living with both biological parents exhibit lower levels of problem behavior than
peers from any other family type. (Carlson, 2006)
• Males whose parents never married are significantly less likely to marry and more likely to cheat
on their romantic partners. (Colman & Widon, 2004)
• Teens in intact families are less likely to become pregnant compared to peers in other family
structures (Painter & Levine, 2004)

Divorce

• In 2008, there were 2.1 million marriages and approximately 1 million divorces. (U.S. Bureau
of the Census, 2008)
• 23.2 million Americans—about 9.8% of the U.S. population—are currently divorced. ( U.S.
Bureau of the Census, 2009)
• People marrying today have a 40-50% chance of divorcing. Statistically, 40% of first marriages,
60% of second, and 73% of third marriages end in divorce. (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2006,
Popenoe & Whitehead, 2010)
• About 75% of those who divorce will eventually remarry. (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2008) •
Of the marriages that survive divorce, the quality of some of those may be poor. (Popenoe &
Whitehead, 2010)
• After 10 years of marriage, it is predicted that only 25% of couples will still be happily married
(Popenoe & Whitehead, 2010)
• Most divorces involve children, and more than 1 million children are affected by divorce each
year. (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2008)
• Approximately 40% of children will experience divorce before adulthood (Amato, 2007)
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• Women are more likely than men to file for divorce.

• Most adults adjust well to divorce over time. 30% feel their lives were negatively impacted
(Popenoe & Whitehead, 2010)
World map on divorce

Top twenty Countries with Highest Divorce Rates per Capita

1. Belarus 68%
2. Russian 65%
3. Sweden 64%
4. Latvia 63%
5. Ukraine 63%
6. Czech 61%
7. Belgium 56%
8. Finland 56%
9. Lithuania 55%
10. UK 53%
11. Moldova 52%
12. USA 49%
13. Hungary 46%
14. Canada 45%
15. Norway 43%
16. France 43%
17. Germany 41%
18. Netherlands 41%
19. Switzerland 40%
20. Iceland 39%

Data source: http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-top-ten/countries-with-highest-divorce-rate-map.html

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Although divorce is the worst encouraged issue in Islam. But the new generation of the Islamic
states experiencing higher divorce cases than previous year.

Divorce situation in Bangladesh: policy, laws & procedures

According to BBS (2011) the divorce rate of male of Bangladesh in 2011 was 0.06%where it is
lower than women 0.49%.The process of divorce is very simple in Bangladesh just in three steps
to divorce for both Husband and Wife wanting separation; i) Giving Notice in written, ii) Facing
the Arbitration Board, iii) After expiry of 90 days, taking a registration certificate from Registrar.
The said three steps are also applicable in case of wife. The wife can file a suit under the Muslim
Family Law Ordinance 1961 for dower money and maintenance for herself and the children living
with her in a family court which is called civil suit. And section 6 of the Marriages and Divorces
(Registration) Act, 1974 provides that a Nikah registrar may register divorce affected under
Muslim law within his jurisdiction on application being made to him for such registration. If a
notice was served and Talaq was registered in accordance with law stated above a legal Divorce
or Talaq will be executed. Hindu family laws do not permit divorce under any circumstance
although the decision to divorce is mutual. By contrast, in India, by virtue of the Hindu Marriage
Act, 1955, both the husband as well as the wife has the right to go to court and seek dissolution of
the marriage. Section 13 of the said Act, the accepted grounds for seeking divorce includes cruelty,
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adultery, desertion, insanity or incurable disease and so forth. Section 12 provides the additional
ground available to a wife, that being impotency of the husband and section 13(2)(4) provides that
a Hindu wife can seek divorce on the ground that her marriage was solemnized before she attained
the age of 15 years and she has repudiated the marriage after attaining that age but before attaining
the age of 18 years. Thus, it is quite clear that compared to India, the law regarding divorce for a
Hindu woman in Bangladesh is rife with unfairness and it requires modernization. Bangladesh
Government should enact divorce law for Hindu husband and woman.
There exists another law of divorce in Bangladesh which is called the Special Marriage Act,
1872. It also covers some marriages. Section 17 of this Act has mentioned that the Divorce Act,
1869 shall apply to all marriages contracted under this Act, and any such marriage may be declared
null or dissolved in the manner therein provided, and for the causes therein mentioned, or on the
ground that it contravenes some one or more of the conditions prescribed in clauses (1), (2), (3) or
(4) of section 2 of this Act.The Divorce Act, 1869 contains the dissolution of marriage in chapter
III, nullity of marriage in chapter IV and judicial separation in chapter V. These laws are applicable
for all citizens of Bangladesh. (Bangla News 24, 2011)
Again in Bangladesh divorce and separation are still negative practices. Media reports say
there is a dramatic increase in divorce rate in Bangladesh. Several reasons exist for this
phenomenon, including extramarital relationship, economic growth, 'marriage migrants', familial
influence, and the wider area of education. Women have become better educated, and begun
enjoying the same opportunities as men, in terms of career development. In addition, a great
number of abused wives decide to leave their husbands, feeling that they no longer need someone
'stronger' to watch over them. Thus the newer generation sees things differently. Dr. Mehtab
Khanam of the psychology department at Dhaka University comments, "Women are much more
educated than before and are aware of their rights, so they don't tolerate anything which can affect
their self-respect and dignity." Bangladesh Mohila Parishad president, Advocate Elina Khan, says,
"The divorce rate is increasing as a result of violence against women." She added, "Women are
now educated and self-reliant. They are aware of their rights. If they find anything going wrong,
such as extramarital relationship, they immediately seek relief. This is true even when it comes to
trivial matters. Sociologists and psychologists also express concern over the rising divorce rate.
Professor Moniruzzaman of the Sociology Department at Dhaka University says it has also been
found from newspaper reports that administration officials of Dhaka City Corporation's 10 zonal
offices said that 80 per cent of the divorce petitions recorded with marriage registrars' offices and
courts in the city had been filed by women alleging extramarital affairs on the part of their
husbands, torture by them and their intolerable behavior. A stunning spectacle can be made out
from a report on Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) Zone-4 between November 2009 and December
2010. During this period, 371 divorce cases were filed, of which 110 were filed by husbands and
261 by wives. In the same zone in January 2012, the number of divorce cases was 172, of which
59 were filed by men and the rest 113 by women. In the current year, from January to May, a total
of 135 divorce cases were filed, of which 30 were filed by men and 105 by women. But DCC zone-
1 shows a different picture. From January 2012 to December 2012, a total of 16,453 divorce cases
were filed. Of these, 11,203 were filed by women and the rest 4,759 by men, according to media
reports.
Kazi Iqbal Hossain, general secretary of the Bangladesh Muslim Legal Registration, pointed out
that it was the women, more than men, who are filing divorce notices. He attributed this mainly to
torture by their husbands. He added that a remarkable number of divorce notices have been issued
as a result of extramarital relationship. After being exposed to Western culture for years,
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individualism is viewed as 'superior' to the age-old, traditional family values of the East. In the old
days, the husbands may have had extra-marital affairs. In such cases, the wife not only questioned
herself about her own competence as a wife and a mother, but also felt obliged to keep the matter
secret to save her husband's reputation and for fear that her intolerance would threaten the
marriage. But now women have become more assertive, straightforward and aware of their self-
esteem. (Billah 2013)

Causes of increasing divorce rate:

Divorce is a complex event that can be viewed from multiple perspectives. For example,
sociological research has focused primarily on structural and life course predictors of marital
disruption, such as social class, race, and age at first marriage (Bumpass, Martin, & Sweet, 1991;
White, 1991).Psychological research, in contrast, has focused on dimensions of marital interaction,
such as conflict management (Gottman, 1994), or on person-ality characteristics, such as antisocial
behavior or chronic negative affect (Leonard & Roberts, 1998).

People’s reasons for divorcing: Gender, socio-economic status based on research

1. Gender
Compared with men, women tend to monitor their relationships more closely, become aware of
relationship problems sooner, and are more likely to initiate discussions of relationship problems
with their partners(Thompson & Walker, 1991).Men, in contrast, are more likely than women to
withdraw from discussions of relationship problems (Gottman,1994). Perhaps for these reasons,
wives are more likely than husbands to initiate divorce (Albrecht, Bahr, & Goodman, 1983). Given
that marital discord and divorce are gendered experiences, it is not surprising that researchers have
documented differences between men’s and women’s accounts of divorce. For example, several
studies have shown that former wives provide longer and more complex explanations for their
divorces than do former husbands (Levinger, 1966). With respect to perceived causes of divorce,
women appear to be morelikely than men to refer to relational or emotional issues, such as basic
unhappiness and incompatibility former spouses ‘personalities, and a general lack of love Former
wives also are more likely than former husbands to refer to a cluster of negative partner behaviors,
including physical abuse, emotional abuse, substance use, going out with “the boys,” and neglect
of home and children. In contrast, men, more often than women, blamethe divorce on external
factors, such as work or problems with in-laws(Levinger, 1966). Former husbands also are more
likely to report that they do not know what caused the divorce (Kitson, 1992).

2.Socio economic status

In addition to gender, SES, usually measured by education and income, has been a focus of divorce
research. Prior studies indicate that education and income facilitate marital success (Voydanoff,
1991). Education promotes more effective communication between couples, thus helping them to
resolve differences. In contrast, the stress generated by economic hardship increases disagreements
over finances, makes spouses irritable, and decreases expressions of emotional support. Partly or
these reasons, SES is inversely associated with the risk of divorce (White, 1991). Nevertheless,
well-educated individuals may hold especially high standards for marriage and expect a substantial
level of emotional support, companionship, and personal fulfillment from their spouses. Because
of these high standards, relationship problems may trigger thoughts of divorce relatively quickly
among well-educated individuals. Several studies suggest that SES is correlated with people’s
reasons for divorce. Kitson (1992) found that high-SES individuals, following divorce, were more
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likely to complain about lack of communication, changes in interests or values, incompatibility,

and their ex-spouses ‘self- centeredness. In contrast, low-SES individuals were more likely to
complain about physical abuse, going out with the boys/girls, neglect of household duties,
gambling, criminal activities, financial problems, and employment problems. Similarly, Levinger
(1966) found that low-SES divorced individuals complained about financial problems, physical
abuse, and drinking, whereas high-SES\ divorced individuals complained about lack of love and
excessive demands from their spouses. Goode (1956) found that high status divorcees tended to
report personality problems and conflict over values as reasons for divorce, whereas low status
divorcees tended to report lack of economic support from their former husbands. These results
suggest that as SES increases, individuals are less likely to report instrumental reasons and more
likely to report expressive and relationship-centered reasons.

3. Life course variables

The life course perspective (Elder, 1994), with its emphasis on the timing and duration of events,
incorporates factors such as age at marriage, duration of marriage, and the presence of children.
With respect to age at marriage, individuals who marry at younger ages tend to report more marital
problems and experience a greater risk of divorce than individuals who marry at older ages
(Bumpass et al., 1991). The negative consequences of marrying at an early age may be due to
psychological immaturity, unstable employment, and a truncated spousal-search process. With
respect to du- ration of marriage, divorces occur more often in the early rather than the later years
of marriage (White, 1991). Becker (1991) argued that people generally have imperfect information
about their partners during courtship but learn substantially more about their spouses after
marriage. Consequently early divorces are disproportionately due to the discovery of basic
incompatibility, conflict in values, and personality clashes. Nevertheless, couples in marriages of
long duration face challenges (such as raising children, boredom with the relationship, and
gradually diverging interests and attitudes) that differ from those of individuals in marriages of
short duration. Indeed, studies have shown that marital duration is associated with long-term
declines in marital happiness. Are life course variables associated with the perceived causes of
divorce? Kitson (1992) found that individuals who married at a young age were more likely to
report difficulties in “settling down,” such as going out with the boys/girls and infidelity. In
addition, Kitson (1992) noted that people married for a longer time were more likely to mention
changes in interests or having “no sense of family,” whereas people married for a shorter time
were more likely to mention in-laws or sexual problems. Goode’s (1956) research revealed that
complaints of infidelity, drinking, and the general quality of home life increased with duration of
marriage, whereas complaints about personality and value conflict decreased. Bloom et al. (1985)
found a positive correlation between length of marriage and infidelity. Although the underlying
pattern is not entirely clear, it appears that long-term marriages are especially likely to be disrupted
when people seek out new sexual partners (perhaps out of boredom) or become aware of changes
in themselves or their partners due to the passage of time.

Reasons for divorce in modern days:

Relationships have become complex in the modern days. ‘Marriage’ which once said that ‘made
in heaven ‘failed to bring heavenly joy among modern couples. Compatibility and mutual
understanding is the major problem which modern couples are facing in these days. Shift in the
role and responsibility of the parents bringing lot of tensions in the family system.
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Children who grow up in such negative atmosphere have lot of effects. Heated tensions, unfulfilled
desires and misunderstandings will lead the couples to end their relationships. Break ups have
become so common and the divorce rate has been increasing tremendously. What are the reasons
for divorce? Why relationships are falling apart?
1. Infidelity:
Mutual trust is the base of most of the relationships. Relationships do break up when either of the
partners deceive to other. Infidelity is the important reason for divorce. When partners become
unfaithful to one another the relationship will end up and divorce become the solution to enjoy
legal freedom.
2. Young age:
Marriage at a very young age increases the likelihood of divorce, especially in the early years of
marriage. Those who marry in their teens have much higher divorce rates. By about age 21 or 22,
however, that risk goes down dramatically
3. Less education:
Researchers have estimated that individuals who have some college education (vs. not finishing
high school) have a lower chance of divorce.
4. Less income:
Closely related to education is income. Researchers have estimated that individuals with annual
incomes of more than $50,000 have a lower chance of divorce (compared to individuals with
annual incomes less than $25,000). (Roberts 2000)
5. Communication breakdown:
Lack of communication creates lot of gaps among couples. Such gaps lead to lot of
misunderstandings between them. Communication problem is not because they can’t express their
feelings to one another. The ‘ego’ stops them to be open up to one other. If they don’t speak for a
longer time that stops two ways communication then there is a danger of ending their relationship.
6. Physical, emotional & psychological abuse:
Any abuse brings lot of pain in all the relationships. Marriage is the bond which is completely
made up of mutual dependencies and expectations. Physical, including bullying, manhandling, or
violence is quite unbearable and has clear grounds for divorce. Emotional or psychological abuse
hurts the emotions of a partner and the chances are very less to stay back with an abusive person.
7. Sexual Incompatibility:
Sexual act contributes a lot to the successful marital life. Physical bond is necessary to build a
strong emotional bond with the respective partner. Feel of satisfaction brings each other’s closer
and avoids lot of complexities. Sexual often leads to frustration leading to separation and divorce.
Sexual and reproductive incompatibility could be the top of the reasons for divorce. But if the
sexual drives of both partners are totally out of synchronization then it is better take any
psychological or medical help.

8. Boredom:
Couples often get bored off from their monotonous lifestyle. While compatible couples stay
together at such times, some couples get disinterested, grow distantly and eventually fall apart.
Trying new things, like eating out, watching movie, traveling to exotic places can shift their life to
the right track. Keeping the spirit of life is not an easy thing at all. Active participation in different
activities makes them to understand each others interests in better terms. When partner respect
others interest that automatically brings lot of joy at the two ends
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9. Religious and Cultural Strains:

Marriage between different religion, culture and ethnicity is a common trend in these days. Living
with a different cultural background is not an easy thing at all. There has to be lot of adjustments
and sacrifices from both the sides. The Couples of a different religion, culture or ethnicity
sometimes do not take up the expectations of their partner’s religion and often cause resentment
among them. The differences are mainly due to the several taboos posed by a culture. Mutual
compromise can only solve this issue and save partners too.
10.Child Rearing:
Child rearing is one of the sensitive issues causing rifts in the marriages and contributing as one
of the major reasons for splitting or divorce. If one of the partners is totally reluctant towards child-
rearing issues, then the reason can be enough to provoke the petition of divorce by the parent. It’s
not fair to blame only the mother since her role has been extending and responsibility should be
felt equally from both the parents.
11. Addiction:
Over use of alcohol, drug or gambling are usually all forms of addiction, which can ruin
relationships. The problem becomes worst when combined with physical or verbal abuse, and can
leave devastating emotional scars on the whole family, including children also. Addiction will
definitely make you to lose your interests in the family affairs. It’s better to be conscious about our
habits before getting addict.
12. Differences in Expectations and Priorities:
It’s difficult to get reflexive partner in the life. Each person thinks differently since each one have
unique backgrounds. As everyone has got different personality traits, the different priorities,
perceptions and expectations towards life are also found to be alike. Sometimes the couples are so
drastically different that they cannot cope up living together and wish their marriage to an end.
One can avoid it by understanding each other’s differences over a course of time and there will be
ways to solve such differences.

Comparison of divorce rate between love marriage & arrange marriage:

In arranged marriage both are unknown to each other , they don’t know what are his and her like
/dislikes, they never been together and entered into a new life, hence their love grow slowly and
exist lifetime. But in some cases both of them cannot cope with each other may be due to his / her
character, cheating, family reasons, understanding, etc which leads to divorce.
In love marriage the couples come to know all their likes and dislikes before marriage itself. But
many choose a wrong person looking merely the good characters of their loved ones. When they
come to a situation where they have to live together they will find faults over one another. Mostly
women blame men that they don’t show the love which they showed before marriage. This leads
to conflicts between them which may result in divorce.
In our point of view love marriage will be successful if someone has found true love, if they both
have mutual understanding and cope with each other and will give most value to their relation than
anything else. Whether it is love marriage or arranged marriage, to build a happy life without any
situation like divorce one should try to give much time to improve the love, maintain family
relation, and mutual understanding between wife and husband.
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Consequences of divorce:
Increased risk of poverty
We have already seen that poverty increases the risk of divorce. In turn, divorce also
increases the risk of poverty for a large proportion of women and their children (Finnie,
1993).Rotermann (2007) found that, within two years after a separation/divorce, 43% of women
had experienced a decrease in household income compared to 15% of men. In contrast, 29% of
men and only 9% of women had experienced an increase. Even three years after divorce, women’s
household income remains far below what it had been during marriage and far below their ex-
husbands’ current income. However, as more women are employed and earn better salaries, this
income decline is less painful than before, even though it is still evident. Ex-husbands, compared
to ex-wives, are less likely to be poor because their income is generally higher, they do not have
full care of their children with all the attendant expenses, and their child support payments
are usually not crippling. Nevertheless, in a decade when most families have two breadwinners,
men who divorce lose far more economically than in the past, especially those married to a high-
earning wife. As child support payments become better enforced, economic factors may contribute
in the long run to dissuade some men from ending their marriage. For families already burdened
by poverty, once separation takes place, the mother and child unit often becomes even poorer. The
younger the children are at the time of parental divorce or common-law dissolution, the more likely
they are to be poor, as they have younger parents who typically earn less. On average, single
parents who are poor have an income that is 40% below the poverty line. This is dire poverty.
Another way of looking at this is to consider single-mother families. According to the Vanier
Institute of the Family (2004), 35% of all female lone-parent families lived in poverty while many
more hovered just one precarious step above. Canada, the U.S., and England are the three western
countries in which single-parent families experience elevated poverty rates and where a vast
difference exists between the incomes of single- and two-parent families.

Increased risk of problems for children of divorced parents

In a nutshell, although most children do not experience serious developmental problems as
a result of divorce or separation, divorce is certainly a strong risk factor and a source of stressors.
Divorce is, above all, an emotionally painful transition and, as Kelly and Emery (2003:359) point
out, it can “create lingering feelings of sadness, longing, worry, and regret that coexist with
competent psychological and social functioning.”
Although average differences are not huge (Furstenberg and Kiernan, 2001), children whose
parents are divorced (and even after they are remarried or re-partnered) are more likely than
children whose parents remain together to:
• suffer from depression, anxiety, and other emotional disorders;
• Exhibit behavioral problems including hyperactivity, aggressiveness, fighting, and hostility;
• become young offenders;
• do less well in school and remain in school for a shorter period of time;
• experience more relationship problems, in part due to their behavioral problems.
Finally, adults whose parents divorced during their childhood and teen years, compared to adults
from intact two-parent families (Martin et al., 2005), tend to:
• have a child out of wedlock more often, particularly during adolescence;
• achieve lower educational levels;
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• be more often unemployed and do less well economically;

• have more marital problems and divorce more;
• are more likely to have lost contact with their father and to report a less happy childhood

Differences by age and sex in children’s adjustment to divorce:

Research results are not entirely consistent. Girls adapt generally better to divorce although
not necessarily to the remarriage or re-partnering of a custodial mother. There is, however, a wide
diversity of adaptation levels depending on the child’s personality and family circumstances. The
same applies in terms of age. On the one hand, very small children may not note the absence of a
parent they have rarely seen; if the mother who has always been their primary caretaker functions
well, they will not be significantly affected. They will also adapt better to a parental remarriage.
On the other hand, children between 4 and 10 years of age may be the most negatively affected
because they are not mature enough to understand their loss and their changing family
circumstances. They may even blame themselves for the divorce. Moreover, when poverty is
present, these young children are likely to be even more affected than adolescents, particularly in
terms of their intellectual development (Strohschein et al., 2009). Indeed, the research clearly
indicates that poverty during the early childhood years hinders cognitive and verbal development
and consequently delays small children’s adaptation into kindergarten.Many of these children
arrive in Grade 1 unprepared to learn and a cycle of educational failure begins. In contrast, a child
who becomes poor during adolescence may already have a solid foundation on which to build
success in the educational system. Even so, older children can also be significantly affected by the
five main sources of negative outcomes discussed earlier. For adolescents, a particularly difficult
situation arises when the custodial parent loses the opportunity of communicating with and
supervising them. Adolescence is already an age when opportunities to engage in risk behaviours
abound and a youth who is bereft of parental support may more easily succumb to detrimental peer
pressures. School work may suffer accordingly. Adolescent girls, whose parents have separated,
are at higher risk than others of becoming sexually active and pregnant (Wu, 1996). This risk is
further elevated when their custodial mother is openly active sexually.

Consequences of parental remarriage on children:

1. A custodial mother’s remarriage helps the family financially and may be very good for her in
terms of happiness (Morrison and Ritualo, 2000). In turn, improved finances and maternal well-
being may benefit children.
2. Children benefit when their non-resident parent, generally their father, remains involved in
their lives as an active parent and not just a “Sunday daddy” .
3. Younger children usually adapt better, especially when they have always known the
stepparent.
Many children and adolescents have a close relationship with their resident stepfather and this
relates to better outcomes, especially when they also maintain a supportive relationship with their
non-resident father (King, 2006). Many boys are advantaged by the addition of an authoritative
(not to be confused with authoritarian) adult male role model in the family. Even small children
benefit when a resident step father is involved with them Yet, on some measures,
young stepchildren still fare less well than other children
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4. Results are mixed regarding gender-based outcomes among stepchildren (Kirby, 2006). For
instance, girls who had a close relationship with their mother may resent what they consider to be
“the intruder.” In my research, some women students admitted having purposely destroyed their
mother’s remarriage by becoming horrendous and behaving badly toward the new husband Girls
are also more likely to be sexually abused by their stepfathers or mothers’ boyfriends than by their
own fathers (Giles-Sims, 1997). For their part, boys tend, in adolescence, to spend less time at
home which may in itself lead to risk-taking behavior and even delinquency.
5. We have already mentioned that older adolescents and young adults tend to leave home earlier
once their custodial parent remarries. This may be a result of conflict with the stepparent, or
because the new couple makes them feel like intruders, or because they are subtly or not so subtly
encouraged to leave.
6. Studies of young adults whose custodial parent’s remarriage has endured have shown that these
Offspring were strongly attached to their reconstituted family and benefited emotionally from it.
It is thus possible that some of the positive effects of a parent’s good remarriage do not appear
until later in adulthood
7. Recent research indicates that new children born to blended families may have more problems
than children living with their still-married parents (Halpern-Meekin and Tach, 2008).
8. Children in a remarriage, whether they are stepchildren or a new child born to the remarriage,
have on average less positive outcomes than children whose parents have never divorced (Halpern-
Meekin and Tach, 2008)

Conclusion
There have been steady rises in divorce rates in the whole world as well as in Bangladesh
throughout recent decades. The causes of marital breakdown in the form of divorce or separation
in Bangladesh are different from that of the Western countries. However, many factors are
associated with the rise in divorce rate in here. It might sound simple, but it's not easy for a husband
and wife to decide to end a marriage. Often they spend a long time trying to solve problems before
deciding to divorce. But sometimes they just can't fix the problems and decide that a divorce is the
best solution. Change is a natural part of life, but when it happens to a family, it is sometimes
really hard to deal with. Whatever the changing attitudes towards divorce have been
institutionalized by various changes in laws which have made room for divorce. But Women in
Bangladesh are still fighting for one of their basic rights to divorce. Changes in the law are opposed
by Islamic parties. The child custody & the right of economic support from the husband is still a
big issue for the mothers in Bangladesh. The bad impact of divorce not only affect the parents but
also their children & their future. Although not supporting divorce it can be stated that “It is better
to be alone than being with someone who makes you alone.”

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