Source: The Star
Eighty one cases are yet to be heard and determined at the Mandera Kadhis' Courts, Kadhi Adan Galgalo has said. He said there are many divorce cases in the county and the courts record about 61 cases in one month. Galgalo said demand for wealthy husbands by most women in the county is the main cause of divorces.

"Most women here are initiating divorce cases because members of their families are advising them to leave the poor man and seek a rich man," he said. Galgalo said according to the Islamic Sharia, it is the man's right to seek divorce and not the woman's, but in Mandera it is the opposite.

"Most people are ignorant of the Islamic Sharia hence making it difficult to make decisions here," he said. Galgalo said it is time men in the county stopped misusing women and showed them respect. "In most cases, women are seen as tools and we are trying our best to discourage this attitude.

It's a bad one," he said. The Kadhi said in most divorce cases, the couple is given three months to settle their dispute after which they report to the court. "If they completely fail to reconcile within three months, then the court's decision has to be followed," Galgalo said.

He said many women use the divorce to enrich themselves as one must pay a dowry before the case is determined. "This makes most people encourage their daughters and sisters to seek divorce when they realise a man is rich," Galgalo said. He advised residents to respect marriage and view it as an institution in which two people come together to start a family.

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