DIVORCE CASES UP 70% IN 1 YEAR

EZULWINI – In just one year, registered divorce cases increased by 70 per cent, says a report.
The divorce cases are said to have hiked by 163, as in 2022, 232 couples discarded their marriages, while in 2023, the Annual Vital Statistics Report 2023, reported that 395 matrimonial unions were registered for the purposes of being discarded.The Annual Vital Statistics Report 2023 was presented by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) yesterday, at the Royal Villas in Ezulwini. It was reported that among both sexes, divorces occurred between the age groups of 30 and 34 and 40 and 44 years. According to the report, most brides get divorced between the ages of 35 and 39, while grooms retire from their matrimonial unions between 40 and 44 years.Regional Civil Registrar Andile Dlamini, under the CSO, said 117 married women between the ages of 35 and 39 divorced in 2023. She said the figure was high as compared to men, where 98 of them did the same. She then pondered why most married women of this age category were divorcing.

The report also presented a section presenting the lifespan of marriages that were registered for divorce and nullification. On average, most civil rite marriages lasted between five and nine years, whereas Eswatini law and custom lasted 10 to 14 years.According to the report, the longest marriage lasted between 45 and 50 years and it was from Eswatini law and custom, while for civil rites, it was between 35 and 40 years. There were no nullifications with a Eswatini law and Custom  marriage with less than one year.

On another note, Dlamini also noted that marriage nullification declined by 19 per cent, from 112 to 91 in 2023. She said most of them occurred between the ages of 35 and 39 and 45 and 49 years in both sexes.Dlamini said 26 married women between the ages of 35 and 39 nullified their marriages in 2023. The number is said to be higher compared to married men of the same category, as only 16 of them nullified their marriages.Men between 40 and 49 years of age are said to be nullifying their marriages for various reasons. The report shows that 23 marriages were nullified by men between 40 and 44 years, compared to women of the same age, as only 17 of them approached the Ministry of Home Affairs for their marriages nullification.

nullification

Another 23 married men between 45 and 49 years of age also dominated in terms of marriage nullification compared to women of the same age, where 15 of them did.Dlamini, while unpacking the report, said a lot needed to be done in finding out the possible causes for married women pulling out of their marriages.On the other hand, Dlamini indicated a decrease in the number of marriage registrations observed between 2021 and 2023. Conversely, an increase in the registration of Eswatini law and custom marriages was noted between 2022 and 2023.A number of registered marriages (civil rites and a Eswatini law and custom) by average age of groom and bride when getting married. Between 2021 and 2023, the average age at marriage for males remained between 36 and 40 years, while for females the average age at marriage was between 31 and 32 years.

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