Syrian government publishes film in effort to prevent couples getting divorced

Syrian justice minister Hisham al-Shaar has announced government plans to deter couples from getting divorced by playing them a warning film about the outcome of their decision.

The video contains distressing scenes of broken marriages directly leading to children being abandoned on the street and in some cases imprisoned.

The story was reported on Syrian news platform Damascus Now’s Facebook page, with the caption: “Minister Al-Sha’ar said that… the Shari’a courts in Damascus (will) present films related to the effects of divorce, which will be presented to every couple who want to secede…The experiment will be applied first in Damascus within days, and will be transferred successively to the rest of the Syrian provinces.“

This news comes after a Damascus court reported that divorce cases in the capital city reached 31 per cent in 2017, a four per cent increase from the previous year. The court attributed rising divorce rates to an influx of absent spouses. Due to conflict, many Syrians have fled the country or gone missing, often leaving behind their families and partners. 

According to Syrian law, a woman cannot obtain a divorce without her husband’s written consent. However, the law was modified on February 5, 2019 stipulating that if the husband abandons his wife for over one year, she may request a divorce. If a man wants to separate from a a woman, he can go to court and orally demand a divorce three times.

Damascus Now’s Facebook post has garnered over 3.5K comments so far with mixed reactions – many of them sarcastic.

“Can we watch the movie online? Or is it a secret that we need to get married and start to enjoy watching?” asked one user.

Another joked: “Can I ask to watch Titanic before I get divorced?”

Although, some users took a more serious tone: “Most cases of divorce and family disintegration are caused by physical destitution and the inability of the head of the family to meet the requirements of life, in addition to the responsibilities placed on the wife of the helpless…” one user wrote earnestly.

“An excellent step on the road to reducing the growing phenomenon of divorce in Syria,” wrote another.