Economy is Ruining Marriages in Zimbabwe
The combination of the economic meltdown, stress and domestic violence is causing a spike in failed marriages, with the High Court in Harare, alone, registering 42 divorce cases per week.
Legal experts and organisations that work with women in the country, have noted that the institution of marriage is becoming the latest victim of the strenuous socio-economic conditions couples have to deal with on a daily basis.
Every week, an average of 42 registered marriages are annulled, with countless more going unrecorded, as the majority of Zimbabweans are married without certificates.
Experts said that based on the current weekly figures, at least 2500 marriages per year are ended in the capital city.
This is a sharp increase, compared to the amount registered in in previous years. In 2015, 1102 couples registered to end their marriages in the High Courts in Harare and Bulawayo. The High Court dealt with 475 divorce applications in 2014, and even less in 2013 and 2012.
