Divorces, marital feuds, domestic violence at all-time high in Valley

‘Wrong use of internet, drug abuse among youth reason for high divorce rate in J&K, in-laws must treat brides as their daughters, Moral degradation rotting Kashmir’s society’

Kashmir’s Grand Mufti Nasir-ul-Islam Saturday said that divorces, marital feuds and domestic violence related cases are all time high in Kashmir and the situation going from bad to worse with a series of reasons responsible for the “growing menace.”

In an exclusive interview with the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), he said the surge in domestic violence, marital feuds, and divorces first surfaced six years ago when the court—“Muslim Personal Law Board or Islamic Shariah Court” registered a series of cases pertaining to these issues.

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“It was in 2016, when our office received record complaints. Then numbers continued to increase and today, situation is grim, infact situation is going from bad to worse,” he said.

He said wrong use of internet including social media, ill-treatment to new brides by their inlaws, and husbands, and  also the drug abuse is also a major reason,” he said.

Six years ago, the Grand Mufti said that he used to resolve or issue divorce decrees to at least two or three cases a month. “Today, at least 100 divorces take place in my court on regular bases within one to two months,” Mufti Nasir said.

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He said that youth are hooked to drug abuse and that also becomes the reason for marital feud which ultimately leads to divorce between the couples. “Love affairs or flirting by both women and men on social media and internet is also leading to the growing rates of divorces and marital feuds,” he said, “first women talk to strangers, then chat regularly, then meet and then enter into an extra-marital affairs, which leads to big feuds and then to divorces.”

He said domestic violence is also another reason for rising divorce cases in Kashmir. “I urge the in-laws or brides to treat the new member (bride) as their own daughter. Unless this happens, domestic violence at the hands of mother-in-law, father in law, at times brother in and most of the times husbands beaeting their wives within just a month after marriage or a year after their marriages,” he said.

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The Grand Mufti also said that moral degradation is touching new heights in Kashmir he also received cases in the past few years where in father had raped his own daughter and in another few cases, where parents had send their daughters for “flesh trade” with an aim to earn money.

“This doesn’t suit a place like Kashmir, but I am sorry to say that this is happening. Our society is rotting and rotting fast,” he said.

He said every divorce pains him but he is left with no option as husband and wife doesn’t to live together because of reasons “I mentioned already.”

Asked about the solution to the growing problems in Kashmir society, the Grand Mufti said that it is the primary responsibility of the parents of the girl to be married and the boy to be married to allow both “boy and the girl to talk to each other and seek their opinions before marriage.”

He also advocated mass awareness about marriages including the rights of a bride and duties of grooms post marriage. “Here, local Imams can help. I urge Imam’s to make aware young women and youth about post marital responsibilities through their Friday sermons,” he said.

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