Divorce Proceedings of the Tsakhurs

Abstract

The article examines the causes and consequences of divorce among the Tsakhurs from an ethnographic point of view. For centuries, the Tsakhurs have maintained a traditional family lifestyle, and divorce cases were regulated by Sharia law. The rapid secularization, urbanization taking place in Azerbaijan, and the replacement of traditional Islamic ideology in their minds with national democratic liberal ideas have also had their influence on them. Thus, the increase in the number of divorces among the Tsakhurs makes the older generation think, and they are making serious efforts to prevent divorces, doing everything possible to strengthen the foundations of family values. The reasons for their divorce in the modern era are considered - treason, insults, discontent, loss of interest in each other, the inability of both spouses to bear the same responsibility, the emergence of disagreements among themselves on the basis of their misunderstanding and the grave consequences of this. Among the Tsakhurs, one of the methods of regulating divorce in the past was the regulation of divorce with the help of Sharia. According to Sharia, the divorce was made out through Gaza or a mullah. However, nowadays divorce is regulated by secular courts and laws. The main factor complicating the divorce process is the presence of children in the family, which becomes the need to support children, create a favorable psychological environment for them. And for this, parents should clearly understand the consequences of their step, not rush to divorce, try to preserve the unity of the family. The attitude of the population of the region to the divorce process as a result of the ethnographic research conducted by the author, as well as the similarities and diversity between the previous and current periods are also described in detail in the article.