Mon, 05 Jun 2000

Divorce on the rise in Gorontalo

MANADO, North Sulawesi: The number of divorce cases in Gorontalo, a regency southwest of here, is rising; 128 couples got divorced last year compared to 106 cases the previous year.

Iskandar Paputungan, head of the Gorontalo religious court, said on Saturday that the divorces were mostly filed by the wife. He said 92 cases were filed by the wife compared to the previous year's number of 75.

Iskandar was quoted by Antara as saying that the divorces were usually caused by irreconcilable differences, often brought about by the young age at which the couples married.

He also said that the presence of a third party was also a frequent reason for divorce.(10)