Divorce rate is rising in Islamabad especially in its elite class. More women in Pakistan are seeking divorce after an amendment to the Civil and Family Court Act 1964 took away the courts’ discretion to push for reconciliation over long periods.

The court has to decide the case after the three-month reconciliation period prescribed under the Muslim Family Law.

Now it is not compulsory on the part of women to appear in the court, this too has made women easier to furnish divorce.

Statistics showed that 3,900 family cases were pending in 28 courts of civil judges in the eight towns of Rawalpindi district in December 2006 and nearly, 50% of these cases were related to women seeking divorce. Official sources said last year 393 divorce cases were reported to the Conciliation Court of Islamabad (CCI), the highest in any district of the country. This is more than one divorce a day.

Iftikharun Nisa Hassan, director of the Women’s Research and Resource Center, says,

‘Today women are getting educated and securing jobs and are less inclined to put up with inhuman treatment by their husbands. They are financially viable and seek second marriages for a comfortable life.’

It seems that native women have finally decided to step outside the bounds created by their chauvinistic society. They are realizing that self-dignity and self-respect is the only way of a happy and satisfied life.

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