Crisis prompts rise in divorce

Crisis prompts rise in divorce

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: Divorces in the Purwokerto and
Banyumas areas have shown a marked increase since the country was
hit by the economic crisis last year.

Officials of the two religious courts told The Jakarta Post
that 70 percent of divorces in the area had been attributed to
financial reasons due to the turmoil in the economy. Prior to the
crisis, the issues of responsibility and moral obligations were
the most frequently cited reasons.

A. Nug Muslim, head of the Banyumas religious court, said
there had been a steady increase in the number of divorces filed
by the court.

He said that in 1996, there was an average of 61 divorces
filed each month, while in 1997 the average was 68. In February
of this year, 105 divorces were filed and last month's figure
totaled 79.

Similarly, Djamhuri, head of the Purwokerto religious court,
said divorces filed in the past three months in his area averaged
a staggering 125 cases per month. During the same period last
year, the average was "just" 60 to 70 cases.

They both said close to 90 percent of the cases were filed by
women who complained that their husbands were no longer able to
materially provide for them or that they had been left by their
spouses for too long under the excuse of going off to find work.
(45)