Mandatory marriage counselling sessions for young couples see large attendance

AMMAN — A total of 1,712 male and female participants attended a counselling programme designed to provide education on building a family for couples who are under the age of 18 and planning to marry, the Chief Islamic Justice Department (CIJD) said on Monday.

The counselling programme, which was launched in September, is mandatory for couples under the age of 18 who will receive a “marriage licence” upon completion indicating their “readiness” to get married.

The programme included one class per week tackling the legislative, legal, psychological, social, financial and healthcare aspects of building a family, and courses took place in Amman, Zarqa, Irbid and Rusaifa governorates, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

President of the Higher Sharia Court Kamal Smadi said that the “large turnout” indicated the “success” of the counselling programme, expressing the department's intention to expand the programme to target older couples across the Kingdom.

The participation of family members accompanying the young engaged females, who were usually married women, “enriched” the sessions, Smadi said.

Director of the Judicial Institute of Jordan Judge Mansour Tawalbeh said that the trainings organised by the CIJD aim at educating young engaged couples before they commit to marriage and helping them overcome family conflicts and disagreements.

The counselling programme covers several aspects related to marriage, including marriage-related rights and duties in line with civil law and Sharia (Islamic law), health aspects of spousal relations, personal communication, psychological aspects, economic aspects and managing household finances, Petra added.

In July 2018, the Chief Islamic Justice Department made counselling mandatory for couples under 18 planning to marry in the Kingdom. 

“The decision targets all people on the Jordanian land including refugees and residents of other nationalities as we believe this service should be offered to everyone,” Tawalbeh told The Jordan Times back then.

The department’s official statistics showed that 77,700 marriage contracts were issued in 2017, of which 10,434 involved marriages in which the wife was under the age of 18.

Meanwhile, the report showed that the divorce cases in 2017 amounted to 5,335, in which 413 cases involved wives under age of 18, marking “the lowest divorce percentage among other age groups”, Tawalbeh said.