IRC-KHF survey sheds light on stipulations in marriage contract

AMMAN — The Information and Research Centre-King Hussein Foundation (IRC-KHF) is working to elucidate the diverse aspects of stipulations in marriage contracts. 

Head of the Policy and Advocacy Department at the IRC-KHF Majed Abu Azzam told The Jordan Times “recommendations were provided to the Supreme Judge Department to appoint female Sharia judges and marriage officers”. 

Abu Azzam added that work is under way with the relevant official institutions and agencies to amend the Personal Status Law, particularly concerning breaches of the conditions. 

Further, Abu Azzam recommended that the instructions concerning the regulation of marriage officers’ work should also be amended in the future. He also voiced his hope that the instruction manual on the optimal use of marriage contract conditions — launched by the centre in September — would be adopted by the Supreme Judge Department to be available for couples who are about to get married. 

Contractual conditions tackle social issues that have major adverse impacts on the family’s entire existence, according to the IRC-KHF.

Divorce cases are on the rise in local courts, an IRC-KHF survey revealed. The survey also said that “this mainly attributes to the fact that spouses are ignorant about their rights and duties and do not acquire the permissible conditions in marriage contracts.”

Regarding the society’s perceptions about stipulation, the survey, which covered a sample of 2,500 respondents, showed that society does not acknowledge a number of women’s rights related to marriage. Thus, it is important to take such conditions into account during the engagement period, and include them in the marriage contract, it said.

According to the survey, “the stipulation column in the vast majority of marriage contracts was left empty,” and only 4 per cent of respondents listed stipulations in their marriage contracts.

The key reasons why most respondents did not list any stipulations in their contracts include social traditions and views, not mentioning the idea of conditions during the engagement period, a lack of conviction regarding the importance of stipulations in marriage contracts and having no prior knowledge of such conditions.