Divorce rates are increasing around the world. This issue is not limited to specific societies; rather, divorce cases have become widespread in all societies, posing a potential social crisis for future generations. The phenomenon of single motherhood has also spread. Some view it as a positive development, while others argue that a mother cannot fully compensate for the absence of a father in the home. Traditionally, a healthy family consists of both a mother and a father to ensure children are raised in an appropriate environment, as the absence of a father can affect their psychological health.
The father plays a significant role in the lives of his children, serving as a pillar of the family and helping to regulate children’s behavior. While the mother is often associated with tenderness, the father is associated with firmness, contributing to a balanced upbringing. Both parents must fulfill their roles in their children’s lives. The stability of the relationship between the mother and father is crucial, as it directly affects the children and helps them grow up in a healthy environment. Many children who are deprived of their fathers feel a sense of loss and inferiority, especially when they see other children with both parents at home.
Blame is often placed on husbands who abandon their children. Unfortunately, many husbands, when they grow to dislike their wives, extend this hatred to their children and neglect them. They may start new lives with other women and forget about their first families. In such cases, the women and children become victims, with the woman becoming a single mother who struggles alone to raise her children.
There are solutions to protect wives and children from such crises. One solution is to postpone childbearing in the early years of marriage until the relationship between the spouses stabilizes. The wife should ensure her husband’s commitment and the stability of their relationship before having children. This way, if a divorce occurs without children, there are no significant losses or problems. However, divorce with children entails many challenges.
Women need to be smart and cautious, ensuring they do not have children unless they are confident in their husband’s morals, love, and commitment to raising children responsibly. It is essential for the marital relationship to stabilize before having children to prevent the children from becoming victims, as seen in many cases where fathers abandon their children post-divorce.
The family welfare department in the ministry of social affairs should develop solutions to address this problem, including monitoring the families of divorced individuals and encouraging connections between fathers and their children. The disappearance of fathers can significantly harm children, so efforts should be made to provide advice and guidance to maintain these crucial family bonds.