Married couples have been advised to enhance communication in their marriages to reduce cases of divorce.
Shufaa Foundation today organized a sensitization conference in Mombasa on the importance of marriage that brought together Muslim married couples and unmarried youths from 13 counties.
Couples were sensitized to how the family can remain united to ensure children are raised with one mother and father.
According to the State of the Judiciary and the Administration of Justice Annual Report (SOJAR) for the Financial Year 2022/23 some 11,852 cases were filed in the Kadhis’ Courts that handle Muslim-related issues on personal status, marriage, divorce, and inheritance.
Shufaa Foundation Founder Sheikh Omar Buya said unmarried youths were educated on fundamental marriage issues saying the initiative is meant to augment the works of the Kadhis courts.
“The genesis of marital conflicts in the country stems from the lack of marriage knowledge. They have been given knowledge by experts,” said Sheikh Buya.
On his part, Sheikh Khalifa Secondary School, Principal Sheikh Rishard Rajab cited poor communication, and failure to understand each other likes and dislikes as the main causes of divorces.
He advised married couples to enhance their communication skills as doing so will assist in managing their marital differences.
“Failure in communication is the root of all problems because someone may say it is a lack of compatibility but as Muslims, we are not supposed to date before marriage. We will know each other once we are married, we don’t propagate courtship,” said Sheikh Rajab.
He further advised couples not to shy away from seeking marriage counselling services for fear of stigmatization. “Solutions will be reached when people dialogue,” stated Sheikh Rajab.
He added that Mobile phones and addiction to social media platforms have exacerbated conflicts in marriages.
“You’ll find in our houses the wife and husband busy on their phones. We are supposed set aside our phones once we step into our houses to improve communication. Our fathers and mothers stayed in marriage for over 40 years because there were no distractions,” explained Sheikh Rajab.
He added that unrealistic demands copied from social media platforms have also led to the deterioration of relationships.
“We need to have self-control, our children need our attention. We need to go back to the drawing board to look for the best way forward despite the challenges that we have,” he said.
A Nairobi University Lecturer Dr Hassan Kinyua concurred that modernization had brought numerous challenges in marriage. “Most of the divorces in the Kadhis Courts are as a result of mobile phone usage. You’ll find couples having secret lovers. We advise couples to shun posting their attractive photos on social media,” stated Dr Kinyua.
Sheikh Zubeir Noor noted that in the past arranged marriages were the panacea of successful marriages as families had strong connections.
He advised couples to consult the elders when faced with challenges for an amicable solution to be reached.
“Muslims should respect the institution of marriage and contribute to sensitizing others in their areas. Let’s use the available communication channels to revamp our marriages following the teachings of Islam. We are now more educated than before,” said Sheikh Noor.
By Sadik Hassan
