DOHA: Most in the Qatari community are happy about a recent proposal by the government to make pre-marriage counselling mandatory to help check rising divorce cases.
They say making pre-marriage counselling compulsory is a welcome idea, while there are others who say the idea is good but should not be made compulsory.
There are still others and they are in a minority who say official interference in marriages is not advisable.
Those opposed to the proposal argue that the personal law should be removed and replaced with the Islamic law.
Many Qataris have commented on the issue on local social networking sites and most said they are in support of the idea of pre-marriage counselling to help check soaring divorce rates.
A commentator, Mohammad Abdullah Al Emadi, who said he was a researcher in sociology, said pre-marital medical test and social awareness have been made mandatory in several countries, including Malaysia and have achieved remarkable success in reducing divorce rate.
He urged the authorities concerned to implement the proposal as soon as possible and asked people to support it.
Earlier, elderly women in families taught girls about the responsibilities of marriage and older men gave such lessons to boys.
But now, such initiatives do not exist anymore, so the proposal is a welcome move, said Al Emadi.
Pre-marriage counselling would include courses on how to behave with spouses, issues of raising children, dealing with the families of husbands and wives and some necessary information about sex.
Extensive awareness drive should be launched in collaboration with media and mosques to make youth accept such proposals, said Amal Abdul Malik from Childhood Cultural Centre.
The idea is excellent but it should be implemented properly by making attractive programmes for youth so they are ready to join the courses, she said.
Qualified trainers should be hired so they can interact with the youths. Critics commenting on the networking sites say personal law and Islamic laws should not be mixed up.
“Doing so is destroying families. People’s privacy is being breached,” said a commentator opposing the proposal. Another critic said the role of parents is of utmost important as they can help save a marriage which is on the verge of collapse. “The proposal is not a good idea. Don’t interfere in marriages,” said the commentator.
The Peninsula
