Untying and Retying the Knot: Marriage dissolution and remarriage among women in Pakistan

Divorce is still a taboo in Pakistan with the socio-cultural norms and existing laws encouraging a couple to remain in unhappy union than to end it. Despite these factors, however, the trend for divorce is showing an increasing trend, albeit a very slow one. Similarly, a woman remarrying exposes her to public scrutiny and is looked down upon keeping the rates very low. Using data from the Pakistan DHS 2006-2007, the paper will looks into: the trends of divorce and remarriage over time; and the factors associated with these trends, including, age at marriage, duration of marriage; number of marriages, educational levels, nature of spouse selection, parity, income and rural-urban divide, along with looking at the relevant religious and legal connotations to the phenomenon. The divorce rates are surprisingly higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Factors, like better education, higher labour force participation, and nuclear family, generally associated with a higher divorce rate do not seem to be working in the conventional direction in the country. Trends for remarriage do not show any systematic pattern but the figures give an impression that once a woman goes through a divorce and remarries, the likelihood of getting divorced again increases.