An Anthropological Perspective on Annulment of Family Ties

The Explorer Islamabad: Journal of Social Sciences ISSN: 2411-0132(E), 2411-5487(P) Vol-1, Issue (8):286-289 www.theexplorerpak.org AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE ON ANNULMENT OF FAMILY TIES Aniqa Rukhsar, Hira Rehman Department of Anthropology, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi Corresponding Author: Aniqa Rukhsar PMAS Arid-Agriculture University, Rawalpindi aniqarukhsar.annie@gmail.com Abstract: Divorce or separation characterizes an unstable marriage. Our society which previously demonstrated strong familial institution has now become visibly weak showing an increase in the divorce rates. The rise in divorces cannot be and should not be, attributed to a single factor but rather be seen as a multifaceted issue. The research type was qualitative which used structured questionnaire and in-depth interviews for data collection. The study was conducted in Amar Pura, Murree Road, Rawalpindi, to identify the major variables associated with marital discord. The results strengthen the hypothesis that divorce does not occur for a single reason and that frequently there are number of factors like infidelity, mental harassment, lack of compatibility as well as economic and social issues. Key Words: Divorce, Psychosocial variables, Family adjustment INTRODUCTION Family is a fundamental social group; which consists of one or two parents and their children. “Marriage is a union between man and woman such that the children born to the woman are recognized as legitimate offspring of both partners” (Kottak 2011). Social changes and changing social values include the emergence of new family configurations and rising divorce rates. During this critical time maintaining a healthy family relationship is significant. A legal procedure which cancels a marriage between man and woman is known as annulment. While the separation between things that were or ought to be connected is known as divorce generally. Varieties of factors are known to affect the process of adjustment in marriage. Several factors contribute to poor adjustment including social, economic, psychological and cultural reasons. Moreover, it is a fact that there is always a probability of certain amount of conflicts in family life. Recently, there has been a sharp increase in the divorce rates and number of cases pending in family courts. Stable marriages have visibly decreased and the success rate has declined. A weak relationship is due to lack of interaction and understanding. Some of major reasons are poor communication, economic issues, infidelity, woman independence, family and social adjustment, as well as economic factors following a breakup (McKeever and Wolfinger 2001). Divorce is not a single event rather it is a process that influences people’s entire lives. The problems include life course variables like age of marriage, race, religiosity, class and parental divorce (Amato and Roger 1997).It is rare for a single cause to lead to divorce. Successful marriages depend upon both partners clarifying and agreeing upon the expectations and goals. Marital discordance is a situation in which one of the partner is not satisfied from the relationship causing family breaking and conflicts, early marriage, poor intellectual, sexual factors, difference between the partners leading to acrimony (Lowenstein 2005). Family plays a significant role structurally as well. Separation is more likely to occur in troubled families affecting the whole family structure. Family adjustment is one of the most difficult adjustments to make (Thomas and Ravindranadan 2006). Type of family also plays its part when it comes to divorce. A survey show that 67 percent of Pakistanis prefer to live in extended family system. Divorce effects are not without problems either, as it becomes difficult to derive substantial meaning from causal estimates that have been purged of all types of selection effects (Sigle‐Rushton, et al. 2014). Since divorce brings an end to the husband and wife relationship; the children from the union thus are also highly affected both psychologically and socially. Have low measures of social development, self-concept and physical health (Furstenberg and Kiernan 2001). Hence a change in family configurations negatively affects the children mentally, socially and emotionally. Most divorced parents quickly enter into post-divorce 286 relationships that lead the children into new lives as stepfamilies (Goldscheider and Sassler 2006). The separation of parents for wellbeing of children has consistently shown that the children of divorced parents face worse on different measures of wellbeing than children living in intact families (Paul 2001). Following divorce, approximately 20 to 25 percent of children in divorced families experience long term adjustment problems (Hetherington and Stanley-Hagan 2000). Type of marriage is also the indicator of changing family configurations. Though the reason that leads to separation is often unique to the couple, most of the problems in the family as well as society stem from problems in marital relationship (Mahoney, et al. 1997). For many couples the process of divorce leads to remarriage (Peterson and Zill 1986). Sometimes serious allegations and mental harassment leads to the breakage of family ties. Most of the family members undergo distress and disrupted functioning following divorce (Hetherington 1989). It is irrational to focus on a single reason behind separation. Type of marriage also plays a vital role in the maintaining the family structure. Marriage in and out of family (endogamy & exogamy) also contributes to the level of divorce rates in society. The following study focuses on the variables which are likely to lead to discord among married couples. MATERIALS AND METHODS The locale of the study is Amar pura, Murree Road, Rawalpindi (Punjab Pakistan).To gather primary data, structured questionnaire and an intensive interview schedule method was used for the case studies of divorced respondents. The secondary information was collected by books, articles and internet. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Marriage is really about attachments, and such as, is governed by a curious strict set of relationship rules. Failed attempts to restore or reestablish bonds in any relationship lead to the loss of connection, which cause emotional disconnection and finally separation. Public discussion treats divorce as an undifferentiated and uniform occurrence resulting in similar outcomes. There will be many shifts in a relationship that are not within control. A variety of marital problems predicted divorce up to 12 years in the future. A parsimonious set of marital problems involve infidelity (Amato and Rogers 1997). Case study.1 A male respondent of 25 years was interviewed. He got married at the age of 30 and got divorced at the age of 40.The type of marriage was exogamy. He had no child during his 10 years of married life. According to him, due to infidelity of his wife he took the decision of divorce. In his nuclear family system, the decision was planned without the involvement of any family member. Divorce was registered and all allowances were given. The respondent is now satisfied with his present married life. He shared that due to infidelity the martial quality deteriorates, as one remains discontent, depressed and isolated all the time. Compatibility between partners plays a vital role in the stability of marital relationship. High or persistent conflicts in intact family also related to behavior problems (Peterson and Zill 1986). Case Study .2 A female of 26 years was interviewed who got married at the age of 24 and divorced at the age of 25. During her one year of married life the respondent faced serious allegations, regarding her character from her in laws. There was lack of compatibility between the partners and thus she faced serious mental harassment from her male counterpart. The type of marriage was exogamy and she did not want to live with her extended family or in-laws. She took the decision of separation and her family fully supported her. She has no child and thus also faced the allegation of infidelity and character assassination. Multiple reasons are behind the separation in this case. Her case is pending in court. She is hopeful for justice from court. Socio-economic variables are also taken as a factor behind breaking of family ties. Case Study. 3 Another female of 28 was interviewed who got married at the age of 22 and divorced at the age of 26 with two girls. The type of marriage was exogamous and she was living in a neo-local setup. The respondent was working a full time job for the betterment of her daughters, while her husband was a drug addict. The respondent faced constant physical and mental harassment so she took the decision of separation. Apparently economic issues were reason behind the separation while the empowerment of woman through education, knowledge and awareness is also an important variable due to which the respondent took the decision of divorce which is known as “Khula”. Now she is married again and satisfied with her personal decision. The children in this case suffered the most, yet as the children of divorce family show remarkable resilience in the face of multiple life stressors (Hetherington 1989) it all worked out in the end. The major reason here for the divorce is seen to be addiction to drugs and domestic 287 violence. As, high risk of divorce is also related to drug use and smoking (Lowenstein 2005) Case Study. 4 Mutual understanding among the partners has always been a central point in maintaining smooth marriage ties. A female respondent of 35 years reported that she got married at the age of 24 while got separation at the age of 29. At the time of divorce she had one male child whose age was 9. According to the respondent from the very beginning of marriage, the couple lacked mutual understanding. In her nuclear family, the misunderstandings extended and turned to serious conflicts and allegations. Her ex-husband took the decision of divorce in aggression. Now the respondent has re-married for the better future of her only son. In this case the woman takes the responsibility of her kid and second marriage is conducted. She was not satisfied with judicial system because she is neither getting maintenance allowance for her son nor received her Mehr. Her only child still suffers from the trauma of her divorce and remarriage. Thus divorce alters certain children’s developmental trajectories (Furstenberg and Kiernen 2001). CONCLUSION The case studies indicate the major causes of termination of marital relationships by divorce that has always been preceded by different factors. It was found that the maximum divorces were due to accused infidelity while mental and emotional harassment were common in all cases. The type of family and marriage also plays a vital role in the stability of marital relationship. From the above case studies it was concluded that the woman today are empowered and brave enough to take decisions for her safety by demanding Khula (separation right given by Islam to the Muslim women). However breaking family ties affected their children badly. Family plays an integral role in the unification of the community; breaking of family ties negatively affects the community over all. 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