I am sure it is my Eurocentric view of the world and my inability to read any language other than English, but I really read or see research published on divorce and families in the Middle East or in Asia.

Through Google Scholar the following study conducted in Iran appeared in my inbox the other day.  There are some problems with the study, but it seems useful to imagine studying divorce in an Islamic country.  Although the study compares men and women’s reasons for divorce, the scientists were far less successful recruiting men (N = 30) than women (N= 270).  This makes comparing the two samples difficult even though this is the purpose of the paper.  None the less, the findings do provide insight into the reasons that women seek divorce in Iran.  Women give multiple reasons given are a “lack of understanding” and “lack of [meeting] psychological needs,” but over 50% mention family interventions, economic problems, slander, and psychological violence.   Physical violence and substance abuse are reported by about 40% of the women as the reason for requesting a divorce.

For more about Islamic and Iranian Divorce Law see this recent article…