to-be in the Kingdom are now turning to family counseling to gain a better understanding of the challenges involved in marriage. Of late, many centers, psychologists and activists have been providing such training sessions in order to reduce the spiraling divorce rate. The International Muslim Organization for Women and Family (IMOWF) has initiated one such Arabic family counseling program under the title “Family Engineering”. Dr. Khalid Bahaziq, in charge of IMOWF and director of the Rapport Center, along with Dr. Mohammed Al-Sulaiman, a psychologist, is conducting a six-week free program divided into five levels. The program, now at the second level, has 30 couples and couples-to-be participating. Others can also enroll for the ensuing levels, said Dr. Bahaziq. Talking about the program to Saudi Gazette, he said the five levels of the program, namely “Happy Hearts,” “Innovative Hearts,” Getting Together/Rapport Hearts,” “Closest Hearts,” and “Hearts without Problems” enable the couples and couples-to-be to understand each other, thus increasing their chance of leading a happily married life. “It also enables them to discover the needs of a family and understand the rights and duties of a couple toward each other to eliminate the complications that can cause divorces,” Dr. Bahaziq said. Dr. Bahaziq has hosted family training sessions, namely “Wild women, passive men” in the Kingdom as well as in 50 other countries including Gulf nations, Pakistan, India, Iran and Malaysia. Tarateeb Center for pre-marital training for females has conducted more than 13 one-month programs in the past two years. “Girls now are very interested in such programs as it enables them to understand marital responsibilities, health related complications of marriage, the psychology of men and society as well as the importance of good communications and domestic management,” said Affaf Al-Maghrabi, a Tarateeb representative. “Our mission is to spread awareness and inculcate Islamic values in the brides-to-be so that they might understand their duties and rights as good wives as many in our generation lack such training,” she added. Dr. Bahaziq said that such programs have become the need of the hour as the divorce rate has been soaring. The divorce rate in the Kingdom reported by the Ministry of Justice is 32 percent while the average divorce rate in the world is 20 percent. He also claimed that his personal research with some colleagues revealed that in Jeddah for every 100 marriage contacts issued, there are 89 divorce documents. He strongly advocated the concept of family counseling before and after marriage. “In Malaysia the divorce rate reduced by 10 percent after the introduction of pre and post marriage counseling. So, I think that it is imperative for both men and women to have counseling,” he said. He said that the right age and mental maturity are necessary for a successful marriage. “For girls, they should be 20 plus and boys should be over 25, and they must be aware of each other's rights and duties,” he said.
