Episode 33: Culture of Divorce

Love and marriage. Love and divorce. Separation can be painful as much as it can be healing. Join us as we take a cultural tour around the world exploring how different cultures view and handle divorce, highlighting how patriarchy, regardless of country, universally impacts women's experiences. 

We explore Western societies' emphasis on personal freedom, South and Southeast Asia's religious influences, East Asia's focus on harmony, the Middle East and North Africa's perception of men in marriage, and the community-based approaches in sub-Saharan Africa. We'll also get personal, sharing our own stories of our families' divorces, reflecting on how cultural and religious, even though miles apart, shaped the stigma of divorce. Our eye-opening discussion underscores the complex, nuanced, and often emotionally charged nature of divorce across the globe. Regardless of where we live, we're all trying to make relationships, marriage and love work.

Episode Sources
How many marriages end in divorce? Facts and figures - Very Well Mind
The role of cultural traditions in post-divorce practices - Generis Global
Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, and ‘ambiguous separation’ - TIME Magazine
’Happy rebirth!’: Chinese women shake off taboos around divorce to celebrate freedom - The Guardian
Divorce rates in the world: divorce rates by country - Divorce.com
Cultural perspectives on divorce: breaking traditional barriers - King & King Law Firm
Khul’ in Islam: definition and how it is done - Islam Q&A

Quiz Sources
A fifty-year look at divorces in Canada - Government of Canada
Our unequal polygamous past - Institute for Family Studies