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60% of Turkish women coming to Belgium end up divorced

11:50 18/03/2013

A large majority of women who come to Belgium end up seeking a divorce, Today’s Zaman reports. The figures come from research by the Ella association, which was established in Brussels in 2000 and helps promote women’s emancipation among ethnic minorities. Birsen Taşpınar (pictured) and Sarah Avcı from the association found that 60% of Turkish women who came to Belgium for marriage applied to the court for divorce two or three years after their marriage. In an attempt to end this high rate, some officials from the Ella association went to Turkey two weeks ago to present a seminar for women planning to go to Belgium for marriage, in which they provided information about life in Belgium. “Even a woman who comes to Istanbul from an Anatolian province feels very different since their life is not the same in Istanbul. Most of the women who go abroad with great expectations unfortunately do not find what they are looking for,” said Taşpınar. She added that most of the women wanted a divorce as they lived with their in-laws. “We aim to make women ready for marriage abroad by instructing them so they won’t have problems in their private life that makes divorce inevitable,” Taşpınar said. According to the EU statistical agency Eurostat, the divorce rate in Turkey is low compared to EU countries – 0.8 divorces per 1,000 residents. In EU countries the average divorce rate is two per 1,000 residents, according to Eurostat’s 2009 data.

Written by The Bulletin

Comments

nina

Thankfully they won't have a prob finding a traducteur jure to translate their marriage certs for the divorce. It's in Turkish not Malay! :)

 

Mar 18, 2013 12:08
patapoof

...they think they are as good looking as Audrey Tatou who played a turkish immigrant in the film "Dirty Pretty Things" ...she's stunning, turks... maybe/maybe not...

Apr 6, 2013 22:43
ripple

This could be hiding a lot of factors. Maybe often their (unrealistic?) expectations of life in the West or with their new family are not met. But its equally possible that some are using marriage to get a European passport. Two -three years is about the time it takes to become a citizen. Or is this just a coincidence?

Apr 10, 2013 12:31