In the past decade or so Qatar has experienced rapid development progress. Yet most Qatari households remain relatively large (figure 5.1). More than 80% of households comprise 5 or more people, and 20% comprise 10 or more. Two- person households are rare, and one-person households are even rarer. But some of the more traditional aspects of family life are changing.
Two of the most prominent trends are the sharp- ly rising proportion of Qatari women who never marry and steadily increasing divorce rates, which are particularly high among couples married for a short time. A long-term trend that levelled and slightly reversed after 2005 is the rising age at first
marriage among Qatari men and women. On aver- age, men marry at age 27, women at age 24. Marriage is the foundation leading to the forma- tion of Qatari families. In Qatari society premari- tal relationships are prohibited, and most marriag- es are arranged by parents according to Islamic Sharia, culture and traditions. A majority of men and 60% of women have married by ages 25–29; only 1% of men and 6% of women marry before age 20. Based on the information collected by various family support institutions, three leading reasons for these delays include the high cost of wedding ceremonies, higher selectivity in suitable marriage partners and, for men, easier access to illicit sexual relationships.
With the later ages at which Qatari women are marrying for the first time, they are having their first child at a later age than in the past. Qatari women are also having fewer children than they did a generation ago (figure 5.2).
The number of divorces per 1,000 married Qataris increased from 17.4 in 1995 to 19.2 in 2009 (figure 5.3), especially among younger couples. In 2009, 61% of divorces took place within the first five years of marriage, and 29% of divorces happened before the consummation of the marriage. Knowledge pertaining to the impact of divorce on the Qatari family and on children’s well-being is limited, but empirical evidence shows that divorced household heads are more than twice as likely as married household heads to live on a relatively low income. Ensuring the continuity of cohesive families and large households is crucial to the national vision, since families are the core of Qatari society and have a moral and religious obligation to care for their members. The government will strength- en family cohesion by developing a programme to focus on solidifying the role of marriage and family ties within Qatari society through marriage counselling and by increasing support to divor- cées. The government will expand the social safety net for those in need of extra help, even as efforts are made to reduce the number of Qatari couples
0 1 2 3 4 5 13 or more 11–12 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Thousands of households 8 7 5 9 14 13 17 11 7 6 3 1
Number of people in householda
Figure 5.1 Qatari households remain relatively large
Note: Values in bars are percent of all households.
seeking divorce. These efforts are also being sup- ported by Qatar’s 2009 population policy.
A programme to strengthen marriage and family ties
All Qatari couples will be required to attend and complete a series of pre-marriage counselling
and education programmes on the obligations of marriage and importance of family forma- tion. The programmes will act as a precondition for the receipt of the marriage fund that the gov- ernment provides Qatari couples. The premarital courses will also support efforts to increase cou- ples’ awareness of potential problems that face
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1995 1990
Total fertility rate (births per woman)
3.9 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.5 4.5 4.6 5.1 5.7
Figure 5.2 Qatari women are having fewer children than they did a generation ago
0 250 500 750 1,000 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995 0 5 10 15 20 Number of divorces Divorces per 1,000 married Qataris
704 549 343 19.2 19.8 17.4
Figure 5.3 The divorce rate per 1,000 married Qataris rose from 17.4 in 1995 to 19.2 in 2009
Note: Divorce numbers are three-year moving averages. The denominators for the rates for years other than 2001, 2004 and 2006–2008 are estimates.
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married people. In Malaysia a similar programme requires all Muslim couples to pass a set of cours- es on marriage prior to receiving a certificate of completion, which is used as a licence to author- ize the marriage.
Since the development of Qatari families is also governed by legislation, in particular Law 22 of 2006, laws relating to the family will be reviewed and revised to reflect societal changes in Qatar and international commitments made under the United Nations Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. Such measures have been used by other countries in the region to improve family cohesion. In addition, a special- ist media unit will be developed within the Qatar Media Corporation to support key messages on the importance of the family, and a new subject on marriage and family ties will be included in the academic curriculum.
Targets
• Implement a programme to strengthen family cohesion, with at least four projects completed. • Reduce the proportion of Qatari women who
are unmarried by ages 30–34 by 15%.
A system of marriage counselling and support for divorcées
The services of the Family Counselling Centre will be expanded throughout Qatar to provide strate- gic intervention in an attempt to reduce divorce rates, while the government will aid the establish- ment of private counselling services. Efforts will also be made to expand the number of psycho- logical and counselling specialists in the area. More access to highly trained specialists will help couples proactively address difficult issues before deciding to separate. These issues include social inequality of spouses, behavioural deviations, rela- tionships away from marriage, negligence of mari- tal and family responsibilities, bullying, mistreat- ment, domestic violence and financial pressures. The government will take steps to strengthen the social safety net for those facing divorce,
especially women. Divorced women are currently eligible for monthly benefits (QR 2,250) from the Ministry of Social Affairs, but to further reduce the effects of divorce, the government will cre- ate an alimony fund as an additional safety net for women who lack financial support from their ex-husbands.
Target
• Reduce the number of Qatari couples seeking divorce before consummation by 20% and after consummation by 40%.