German newspaper Welt am Sontag drew attention to the family structure and increased number of divorces of Turkish people in the country in its latest edition last Sunday.
The paper studied the reasons for the increasing number of divorces among Turkish couples in an article titled "Tschüs mein Schatz" (Goodbye My Lover). The article reported that respect for the elderly is decreasing in the Turkish community and young people do not care much about Turkish traditions. It also said that the number of divorce cases has been increasing among Turkish couples and that divorce is not taboo any more.
The article also discussed marriages and the reasons for the increasing divorce rate among German Turks. According to the newspaper, the lifestyles of Germans of Turkish origin have changed a great deal in recent years and Turkish women living in Germany want to be more independent. The article argues that Turkish couples marry at a very young age, more often resulting in divorce. Berlin-based lawyer Seyran Ateş said Turkish people who wed between the ages of 18 and 25 mostly marry for sexual reasons. According to a study conducted by Rostock University, the divorce rate among Turkish and Turkish or Turkish and German couples increases, as they do not know each other very well before getting married. Ateş indicated that Turkish courts do not recognize divorce cases in Germany, so the couples have to hire lawyers and also get a divorce in Turkey if they were married in Turkey to begin with.
The increasing number of divorce cases in the Turkish community in the last 20 years has also led to a decrease in the birth rate, which has drawn the attention of German society. While the divorce rate in the Turkish community in Germany was 5.3 percent in 2005, it increased to 8.1 percent in 2013. According to German statistics, while there were 43,971 births in the Turkish community in 1991, they fell to 12,607 births in 2013.
On the other hand, social scientist Talibe Süzen said individual modernization plays an important role in the German Turkish community. She also said that the German Turkish community approves of divorce and that if there is infidelity between spouses, divorce is inevitable.
