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Official Data: Divorce Rates Soar in Kurdistan

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Official Data: Divorce Rates Soar in Kurdistan

The concerned courts in Kurdistan, Iraq, revealed official divorce statistics for 2017-2018. Figures from the Court of Cassation showed that divorce rates in the region during this period were three times higher than in 2016.

The statistics showed that the divorces recorded in Erbil's Personal Status Court amounted to 2,985 cases in 2017, and rose to 3, 598 cases in 2018, marking an increase of 613 cases.

In Sulaymaniyah, the largest governorate in terms of population, divorce rates were 1,360 in 2017 and jumped to 4,085 in 2018. Duhok ranked third with 1,384 divorces a year earlier and an obvious rise to 1509 in 2018.

The statistics also highlighted the marriages registered in 2018, with more than 15,000 in Erbil, including 36 second marriages by men; in Sulaymaniyah, marriages amounted to 13836, including 48 second marriages, while Dohuk saw 10,902 marriages, of which 89 were second ones.

Social experts and researchers attribute divorce and separation, especially among young newlyweds, to many reasons. The most important among those reasons is unemployment resulting from the economic crisis that dominated the region in the last five years, and left thousands of youths without work and financially burdened.

Social researcher Shirin Karamiani stresses that unemployment is not the only cause behind the ascending divorce rates; other reasons, such as youth's submission to their feelings and instant desires may lead them to marriage without considering their relationship or developing marriage essentials. Therefore, most marriages based on rushed decisions end up with divorce and separation.

"Young men and women should evaluate their relationship carefully and rationally before marriage, to secure a healthy continuance of their union. The bride's family should avoid unnecessary luxurious demands that often burden the groom with heavy debts, that may lead to familial and social conflicts after marriage leading to divorce," she told Asharq Al-Awsat.

For his part, Burhan Ali, chairperson of Kurdistan's Men Union, saw that the lack of harmony between couples and their families is the most prominent reason behind the high rates of divorce.

Ali said the Union conducted a study based on surveys and samples from all governorates. It showed that 39% of divorces were caused by the lack of harmony between couples, especially the newlyweds, and that 19% of divorces resulted from the bride insistence on living in an independent house away from her groom's family; in most cases, this exposes the husband to financial difficulties, then, conflicts occur, and things often end up with separation.

Ali also said that 10% of divorces are attributed to infidelity, especially by men, as well as the misuse of modern communications devices, particularly smartphones, which have been shown to cause 19% of divorces. According to the study, the second marriage due to the lack of children, first wife's illness, a desire for polygamy, age gap, and other reasons, account for 8% of all divorces.

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Varieties

Turkmenistan's Battle against Desert Sand

For Bokurdak residents, cultivating every square meter is a constant battle with nature. Nikolay Vavilov / AFP
For Bokurdak residents, cultivating every square meter is a constant battle with nature. Nikolay Vavilov / AFP
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Turkmenistan's Battle against Desert Sand

For Bokurdak residents, cultivating every square meter is a constant battle with nature. Nikolay Vavilov / AFP
For Bokurdak residents, cultivating every square meter is a constant battle with nature. Nikolay Vavilov / AFP

Residents in the remote Turkmen village of Bokurdak have long depended on the Karakum Desert for their livelihoods, cultivating every square meter they can in a constant battle with nature.

It is a battle that some fear they are now losing.

Over recent years, large dunes have started encroaching on the land in the village, while rolling desert sands have forced residents to shift further downhill, local pensioner Kakabai Baimedov told AFP.

For those who live in the desert -- known as "gumli" in Turkmen -- this has been "very difficult", Baimedov said.

"The village of Bokurdak used to be on a hill north of this place. Then, due to the advancing desert, we had to move lower and lower," Baimedov told AFP.

While sand and the steppe have always been part of life in Central Asia, scientists warn climate change and other human activities are accelerating desertification and the degradation of the land.

In addition to being an ecological and social problem, desertification is also an economic burden, costing an estimated six percent of Central Asia's GDP annually, according to the World Bank.

The Karakum Desert covers more than 80 percent of Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic bordering Iran and Afghanistan.

"If its vegetation and soil cover are not properly managed, the surface is easily subject to erosion, degrading farmland and forming sand dunes," Turkmen scientist Mukhammet Durikov told AFP.

Deforestation is another key culprit, while severe droughts and dry winds fueled by climate change are making the problem worse, he said.

Tree-planting campaign

Central Asia is especially vulnerable to climate change: average temperatures in the region have risen by about twice the global average since 1991, according to UN data.

Authorities in Turkmenistan -- a politically isolated country of seven million people -- have sought to curb desertification through a massive tree-planting campaign.

The government announced in the summer that 162 million trees had been planted over the past 20 years.

"The president himself actively participates in the fight against desertification," an official from the environmental ministry told AFP.

The ministry and regional officials are responsible for planting sites for the trees, overseeing their planting and care, the official said.

AFP was not able to immediately verify the government's claims.

The country bordering the Caspian Sea restricts independent reporting and keeps information about government activities largely secret.

Turkmenistan's two leaders, father-and-son duo Gurbanguly and Serdar Berdymukhamedov, have been keen to show they are taking action in combating desertification.

State media shows Serdar regularly appearing with a shovel in hand planting trees.

"Previously, it was spruces or cedars, but today, we find endemic species better adapted to the climate," Merdan Arazmedov, a member of Turkmenistan's Nature Protection Society, told AFP.

Keeping water in the soil

In Bokurdak, scientists have mainly planted saxauls -- a hardy desert shrub whose roots penetrate as much as 15 meters (49 feet) underground to capture water, Arazmedov said.

The saxaul -- which is also being used in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan -- helps retain sand, improves soil moisture, and also serves as a natural barrier for homes.

Baimedov, who has become an amateur botanist, tends to about 15,000 saplings, which are aimed at forming a green wall against the sand.

"It takes 15-20 years to grow a tree like this," he said, pointing to an eight-meter- (26-foot-) high saxaul.

The saxaul is also being used to protect the capital Ashgabat, where "environmental activists have planted more than 50 hectares of saxaul on the edge of the desert," Arazmedov said.

"Now, the road to the capital is no longer covered in sand, traffic flows smoothly, and the number of accidents has decreased," he added.

But for Baimedov, whose main weapon against the desert is planting trees, the battle has become all the harder due to climate change.

"In the past, it was enough to water young saxaul daily with up to 10 liters of water," he said.

"Today, due to climate change and rising temperatures, it takes up to 20 liters each day to ensure rooting."

Turkmenistan has employed other methods to beat the sand.

Last year, scientists in the country announced they had launched successful trials spraying the soil with cyanobacteria, also known as "blue-green algae" -- a method that helps retain moisture and facilitate tree rooting.

In September, Turkmenistan's president proposed creating a regional center against desertification in Central Asia.

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Saudi National Center for Wildlife, Soudah Development Company Release Birds of Prey

The release comes as part of reintroduction programs aimed at enhancing ecological balance and restoring biodiversity in one of the Kingdom’s most prominent mountainous environmental zones - SPA
The release comes as part of reintroduction programs aimed at enhancing ecological balance and restoring biodiversity in one of the Kingdom’s most prominent mountainous environmental zones - SPA
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Saudi National Center for Wildlife, Soudah Development Company Release Birds of Prey

The release comes as part of reintroduction programs aimed at enhancing ecological balance and restoring biodiversity in one of the Kingdom’s most prominent mountainous environmental zones - SPA
The release comes as part of reintroduction programs aimed at enhancing ecological balance and restoring biodiversity in one of the Kingdom’s most prominent mountainous environmental zones - SPA

Saudi Arabia's National Center for Wildlife (NCW), in cooperation with Soudah Development Company, has released a number of birds of prey in Al-Soudah Park, including three griffon vultures, a black kite, an Arabian scops owl, and an Eurasian sparrowhawk, after rehabilitating them at shelter centers.

 

The release comes as part of reintroduction programs aimed at enhancing ecological balance and restoring biodiversity in one of the Kingdom’s most prominent mountainous environmental zones, SPA reported.

This release followed the completion of rehabilitation and environmental acclimatization stages to ensure the birds’ readiness and ability to adapt to the nature of the area, contributing to the stability of local species and boosting their ecological roles within mountain ecosystems, particularly in regulating food chains and preserving the health of natural habitats.

The NCW noted that this step falls within its ongoing programs to breed and reintroduce threatened wildlife species, rehabilitate ecosystems, and enrich biodiversity across various regions of the Kingdom, in cooperation with national partners and in line with the objectives of the Saudi Green Initiative and the National Environment Strategy, which support the environmental development goals of the Saudi Vision 2030.

Specialized teams will continue to monitor the released birds and track their movements and ecological behavior using dedicated tools and technologies, supporting the evaluation of the program’s success and the improvement of its outcomes in the future in accordance with the best global environmental practices.

Varieties

Ariane 6 Lifts Off with 2 European Navigation Satellites

The European Space Agency (ESA) Ariane 6 rocket carrying two Galileo satellites for the the EU's Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) launches at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, on the French overseas department of Guiana, on December 17, 2025. (Photo by Ronan LIETAR / AFP)
The European Space Agency (ESA) Ariane 6 rocket carrying two Galileo satellites for the the EU's Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) launches at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, on the French overseas department of Guiana, on December 17, 2025. (Photo by Ronan LIETAR / AFP)
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Ariane 6 Lifts Off with 2 European Navigation Satellites

The European Space Agency (ESA) Ariane 6 rocket carrying two Galileo satellites for the the EU's Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) launches at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, on the French overseas department of Guiana, on December 17, 2025. (Photo by Ronan LIETAR / AFP)
The European Space Agency (ESA) Ariane 6 rocket carrying two Galileo satellites for the the EU's Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) launches at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, on the French overseas department of Guiana, on December 17, 2025. (Photo by Ronan LIETAR / AFP)

A European Ariane 6 rocket blasted off from France's Kourou space base in French Guiana early Wednesday, carrying two Galileo global navigation satellites, according to an AFP correspondent.

Lift-off was at 2:01 am local time (0501 GMT) for the fourth commercial flight of the Ariane 6 launch system since the expendable rockets came into service last year.

The rocket was carrying two more satellites of the European Union's Galileo program, a global navigation satellite system that aims to make the bloc less dependent on the US's Global Positioning System (GPS).

The two satellites were set to be placed in orbit nearly four hours after lift-off.

They will bring to 34 the number of Galileo satellites in orbit and "will improve the robustness of the Galileo system by adding spares to the constellation to guarantee the system can provide 24/7 navigation to billions of users. The satellites will join the constellation in medium Earth orbit 23, 222 km (14,429 miles) above Earth’s surface," according to the European Space Agency (ESA) which oversees the program.

Previous Galileo satellites were primarily launched by Ariane 5 and Russian Soyuz rockets from Kourou.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Europe halted space cooperation with Moscow.

Before the Ariane 6 rocket entered into service in July 2024, the EU contracted with Elon Musk's SpaceX to launch two Galileo satellites aboard Falcon 9 rockets in September 2024 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.