WEDLOCK IN TURKEY

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 232, 23 May 1932, Page 3

WEDLOCK IN TURKEY

DIYORCE NOT EASY UNDER MUSTAPHA KEMAL'S REGIME. , mmf II NEW LAWS AND OLD WAYS. Statistics publisbed for 1930 show that in spite of the great number of divorce suits brought before the courts, only 2121 applications Wiv? granted. Marriages for the same year amounted to -60,689. In fact, it is not easy to obtain a divorce, partly because the Judges are unwilling to grant it, and partly because the applicant has to face such a long hearing. In 151 cases divorce was only granted after a delay of over three years. Sixty per cent. of the divorces granted were in cases of incompatibility of temperament. In 260 cases, it was due to the wife's and in 26' 'cases only to the husband's infidelity, which does not, however, mean that Turkish husbands are more faithful 'than Turkish wives. Occasional infidelity by the husband is taken for granted, and that is why 'so many wives do not go to the courts 'when th'ey have legal proof that their husbands are not faithful to them. This attitude is a vestige of poly'gamy, the spirit of which has not been totally eradicated by the new laws. In fact, in 32 cases it was proved that there had been polygamy; and tbese are very few if compared to the cases of polygamy known in the country, especially in the rural districts. Although in villages men and women marry very young, the number of civil marriages celebrated did not exceed 29,365. This has attracted the attention of the Administration, which has been compelled to recognise that the Swiss Civil Code alone is unable to enforco principle of monogamy. Polygamy, as a custom, is so deeply rooted that frequently Imams, and even State officials, have been known to help in illegal marriages. This is why a Bill has baen laid before the Great National Assembly punishing the State officials, Imams, and guardians who consent to them.