Spotlight: Two divorces for every 5 weddings

Mumbai: For every five weddings registered in Mumbai and Thane since 2002, family courts have received two divorce applications.

Between January 2002 and October 2007, some 104,287 marriages were registered in Mumbai and Thane. In the same time, the family courts received 44,922 divorce applications. And 2007 figures bear out the trend. Mumbai and Thane registered 17,221 marriages between January and October 2007; there were 7,813 applications for divorce in the same period.

The statistics have alarmed psychiatrists and sociologists. Mumbai, say sociologists, is increasingly in a rush with many couples doing about 80 km of commuting every day in addition to 8-10-hour workdays. “Even longstanding, stable matrimonial relationships are under a lot of stress and may eventually crack under severe pressure,’’ Anjali Dabe, a sociologist with Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ family cell, said. “There is no shame or stigma attached to a divorce now and even parents often back their daughters who want to separate if things do not fall in place,’’ psychiatrist Harish Shetty said.

Lawyers practising at family courts say 20% of divorce-seekers are 50-plus. “These elderly people feel enough is enough and look out for another option even in the sunset of their lives,’’ Dabe said. “Matrimonial disharmony is no longer restricted to big cities, but has slowly become a major problem in smaller towns and cities where women have become economically independent and have realised they can walk out of a bad marriage instead of leading an unhappy life,’’ Bandra family court senior counsel Tara Hegde said.