Concerned over the increasing number of divorce cases in the community over trivial issues, the Minorities Welfare Department has come up with a marriage counseling centre for Muslims at hajj house.
Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali will inaugurate the counseling centre on Thursday. The counseling centre will function under the directions of a committee with a former Judge E. Esmail as chairman and five other members.
The chairman and other members will counsel the couples and advise them on their rights and responsibilities. Once a couple approaches the centre, counseling will begin on a representation from the woman with strict confidentiality being maintained. Importantly, counsel for men in cases where the ‘qula’, the right of a woman to seek, was denied, he said.
The senior officer confirmed that it was not as if the committee and centre would act as a parallel to the judiciary.
“The increasing number of divorce and litigation cases among Muslims is a matter of real concern. If we do not take steps to curb it at least now, then the number of divorce cases will be on its peak,” said Secretary, Minority Affairs, government of Telangana, Syed Omer Jaleel.
“I don’t understand after having such a religion and teachings of Prophet (PBUH), which provides solutions to all your problems’ then why the rate of divorce and qula increasing among Muslim”, Mr. Jaleel added.
As the couples approach the traditional courts of law, so we do not have specific numbers or even can’t estimate the number of divorce cases. But I can tell you that the way things are going, it will become a huge social problem,” Mr. Jaleel summed up.