Since January 1, more than 10,000 divorce cases among 15,198 new family cases have been filed in 44 family courts.
Rawalpindi District Court. PHOTO: FILE
The centuries-old tradition of family-arranged marriages in Rawalpindi district is facing an unprecedented crisis, largely attributed to the pervasive influence of social media platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and Messenger, which have pushed the family system to the brink of collapse.
Since January 1 this year, a total of 15,198 new cases and petitions, including divorce, khula, family disputes, maintenance demands, recovery of dowry items, domestic expenses and child custody, have been filed in the 44 family courts in the district. During the same period, the number of women obtaining divorces increased alarmingly to 10,572 cases.
Following changes to Christian family law, a significant increase has also been observed in divorce applications filed by Christian women. Previously, Christian women could not obtain a divorce directly; However, since the law change, 104 Christian women have approached the family courts this year to seek the dissolution of their marriages.
Read: Maryam warns LHC order suspending property law will help land mafia
During this period, the courts ordered 152 separated women to return from the parental home to their marital residence to rebuild their families. Meanwhile, in the jurisdictions of 34 police stations in the district, 1,205 girls and women are said to have left their homes and entered into court marriage.
The rising divorce rate has also led to a record increase in court-ordered family visits between children and separated parents. According to court data, 70 to 75 percent of divorced women entered into marriages described as incompatible, involving non-family unions, love marriages, elopements or relationships formed through social media platforms.
During the year, following family conflicts, 217 children separated from their mothers were recovered from their fathers or grandparents and returned to maternal care. Additionally, 671 women were granted restitution of their dowry items, while 9,811 women received a court order guaranteeing the payment of monthly alimony by their husbands.
The continued rise in family litigation is putting immense pressure on the justice system, with each family court hearing more than 100 cases per day. At the same time, a shortage of family court judges is beginning to emerge. Informal dispute resolution mechanisms, including jirga-style arrangements and facilitation centers, remained largely ineffective, failing to resolve family disputes outside of the courts.
Due to the overwhelming workload, Rawalpindi district courts and all tehsil courts witness crowds of women with small children every day. Currently, approximately 16,000 new and ongoing family cases are being tried across the district. The proceedings are expected to resume after the winter judicial recess.
Read also: The ECC offers a uniform rate to erase the debt
Family law expert Mehran Anwar Ijaz Chaudhry, lawyer, stressed the urgent need to revive the traditional family-based marriage system. He advised against granting complete autonomy to children through unlimited cell phone use up to the enrollment level, stressing that while cell phones are a necessity, their use at night and unsupervised should be reduced. He further called for increased parental supervision of girls from grade 9 to middle school.
Meanwhile, Taiba Abbasi, lawyer and secretary of the Human Rights Association, said family conflicts triggered by social media interactions are becoming an increasingly serious social problem. She argued that early marriages within family structures could help curb this trend, adding that the ease of divorce under current laws has also encouraged women to approach the courts at the first signs of conflict.
Abbasi warned that the situation poses a serious threat to the stability of society, calling for the establishment of a structured, extrajudicial family dispute resolution system – from the national level to union councils – staffed by retired male and female judges.
Such forums, she suggested, should focus on reconciliation and be empowered to issue binding decisions to avoid unnecessary divorces. Without such reforms, she warned, the family justice system could face complete collapse within the next five to 10 years.
