Divorce cases up in Purwokerto

Divorce cases up in Purwokerto

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: The Idul Fitri holiday not only gave
rise to the usual tradition of bringing families together here,
but it also brought about the odd phenomenon of breaking couples
apart in the Purwokerto area.

A religious court official here revealed that in the week
prior to and after Idul Fitri on Jan. 8, more than 90 couples
filed for divorce.

"About 70 percent of them are young couples who had just
returned for Idul Fitri," head of the local religious court
Djamhuri Romadhon told The Jakarta Post here on Saturday.

It is expected that this number will top the average number of
divorces filed per month of about 100.

Djamhuri pointed out that during previous year's Idul Fitri
holidays the number of divorces reached between 150 to 200.

The couples have usually lived apart for sometime. Either the
husband or the wife works in the city, mostly Jakarta, and when
they return they find they have a multitude of unresolved marital
problems.

The most common cause is one of the spouses suspects the other
has been unfaithful while the other was away. (45)