Over 10,000 divorce cases among 15,198 new family cases have been filed in 44 family courts since January 1
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.
From January 1 till date this year, a total of 15,198 new cases and petitions – including divorce, khula, family disputes, maintenance claims, recovery of dowry, household expenses and custody – have been filed in the district’s 44 family courts. In the same period, the number of women obtaining divorces has increased alarmingly to 10,572 cases.
Following changes to the Christian Family Law, a significant increase in divorce applications filed by Christian women has also been observed. In the past, Christian women could not obtain divorce directly; But since the law change, 104 Christian women have approached the family courts this year to seek dissolution of marriage.
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During this period, the courts ordered 152 alienated women to return from their parents’ homes to their marital residences to rebuild their families. Meanwhile, 1,205 girls and women within the jurisdictions of 34 police stations across the district left their homes and entered into legal marriages.
The rising divorce rate has also resulted in a record increase in court-ordered family visits between children and estranged parents. According to court data, 70 to 75 percent of divorced women had entered into marriages described as discordant, involving outside the family, love marriages, runaways or relationships formed through social media platforms.
During the year, following domestic disputes, 217 children who had been separated from their mothers were retrieved from fathers or grandparents and returned to custody. In addition, 671 women had their dowry articles returned, while 9,811 women received court orders ensuring payment of monthly maintenance by their husbands.
The continued increase in family cases has put enormous pressure on the court system, with each family court dealing with more than 100 cases a day. At the same time, a shortage of family court judges has begun to emerge. Informal dispute resolution mechanisms, including jirga-like arrangements and facilitation centers, have remained largely ineffective and have failed to resolve family disputes out of court.
As a result of the overwhelming caseload, the district courts of Rawalpindi and all the tehsil courts witness daily volumes of women accompanied by small children. At present, around 16,000 family cases – both new and pending – are under trial across the district. The trial is expected to resume after the winter break.
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Family law expert Mehran Anwar Ijaz Chaudhry, Advocate, emphasized the urgent need to revive the traditional family-based marriage system. He advised against giving children complete autonomy through unrestricted use of cell phones until matriculation, stressing that while cell phones are a necessity, their late-night and unsupervised use must be limited. He also called for increased parental supervision of girls from grade 9 to intermediate.
Meanwhile, Taiba Abbasi, lawyer, secretary of the Human Rights Association said that family conflicts triggered by social media interactions are becoming an increasingly serious social problem. She argued that early marriages within family structures could help stem the trend, adding that easy divorce under current laws has also encouraged women to turn to the courts at the first sign of conflict.
Abbasi warned that the situation posed a serious threat to societal stability and called for the establishment of a structured, out-of-court family dispute resolution system – from the national level down to union councils – staffed by retired male and female judges.
Such forums, she suggested, should focus on reconciliation and have the power to issue binding decisions to prevent unnecessary divorces. Without such reforms, she warned, the family justice system could face complete collapse within the next five to 10 years.
