Rwanda: Surge in divorce case
A recently released report by National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda shows that nationwide divorce cases filed to court increased by 1900% from 69 in 2017 to 1311 in 2018; 8,941 divorces cases were decided by courts in 2019, up from 1311 that were recorded in 2018 as it was reported by Supreme court that year.
It is an alarming news as experts warn more divorce cases in the coming years due to coronavirus impacts and from children who were born from separated families.
Umutoni Aline, in charge of Family Promotion and Child Protection of the Ministry of Gender and Family Promotion (MIGEPROF), said that the main causes of the increase in divorces are fornication, drunkenness, lack of responsibility, poverty, misunderstanding of the principle of gender equality and sexual violence.
She added that the government is working on reformed family policies and putting more effort into preparing couples that are to be wed, in an attempt to see the reduction of these numbers.
“We have to reevaluate the preparation given to the couple about to get married; the local leaders should work hand in hand with religious leaders in order to create a longer period of counseling to the newlyweds, helping them to really see if they are meant to be together and if not separate beforehand", She appealed.
Rev. KANANA, on the other hand, points out that the divorce is due to the desire to have a family based on modern times where everyone has become independent (his or her own) while previously one belonged to the family, and also thinks of doing something for the benefit of the extended family.
He added that the law has now replaced the culture and that the lawmakers are the ones who have been disappointed in the family and so they have also set the rules based on their experiences and emotions.
Ildephonse and Goretti said that it is better to build families from family members than to build things (houses, roads, ...) because if the family is not built these other things will collapse,
They argued every society actor, whether government, non-governmental organizations, religions, and parents to contribute to the well-being of the family from home to extended family
The audience commented via phone calls and text messages raising the other reasons for the divorce included family members working in different places which makes them less likely to meet. They cited examples of armed forces personnel who often stay away from their families for long time, suggesting that the government should facilitate public servants to work near their families.