PANAJI
Open and honest communication with your spouse can show trust and respect to what the other thinks and believes. But this is not the case among many couples in Goa as divorce cases keep increasing by the day.
The Goa State Commission for Women, a statutory body constituted in 1993 to deal with issues relating to crime against women in Goa says the main reason for increasing cases of divorce is attributed to the lack of dialogue between couples.
The Commission has 50 divorce cases pending for the last 30 months with an average one case being registered per week. It says the reason for these rising cases of divorce is due to the reducing dialogue between couples.
“The trend witnessed for the past few years seems alarming for the peaceful marital coexistence among couples and a threat to the overall institute of marriage in the Indian society”, it said.
Chairperson of Goa State Commission for Women Ranjita Pai reveals that since 2020 there are around 300 cases pending for want of resolution, and these cases include all sorts of complaints from the women, including 50 cases of divorce.
Many of the cases are being heard by the Commission and some of them are resolved amicably, she said. “In the earlier days, women would compromise after a quarrel, but now they immediately take further steps, and that’s why applications for divorce are increasing”, observed the chairperson of this Commission which was set up for the welfare of women by the Goa government as a quasi-judicial body.
“Today, both husband and wife are working and hence they are not in constant touch with each other during the day. This is another reason for the reduced dialogue between the two, which eventually leads to divorces”, points out Pai.
Pai also highlighted the need for large scale awareness in the society to reduce the increasing rate of divorces, adding that the Commission is working towards this goal.
The Commission was formed to investigate specific problems relating to women and apart from studying women related issues from the State, the it is equipped with powers to safeguard rights of women and ensure their protection and equality against any form of harassment and issues faced in the family and community.
Pai states that the Commission, through counselling, had succeeded in making many couples compromise and live together amicably for the last three years, but after living peacefully for two-and-a-half months, these couples are again approaching the Commission for want of divorce. The number of such cases is also on the rise, she said.
“One of the reasons for lack of compromise is living as a nuclear family. When there is no family support from both sides, the couples tend to fight for small reasons, and these little quarrels lead to serious misunderstandings. The rift between the two keeps widening, and eventually, pushes them towards the ultimate decision to divorce each other”, she said.
