People pictured in front of the Family Court in Male. PHOTO/SOCIAL MEDIA
Every year, couples that have decided to take the next step in their relationship set aside a unique calendar date to get married. It is a global phenomenon to save the dates that fall into place with aesthetic number patterns; as such, many Maldivians, who are already famous for their quick marriages (and divorces), register these special dates for their special day too.
Last year, July 7, 2017 (07.07.2017) was a busy day for the Family Court, and in the years before that, dates like 11.12.2013 and 12.12.2012 saw many couples tying the knot on these dates.
However, the Family Court on Sunday revealed the dates that it would not officiate marriages starting next year, which include the first two days of Ramadan and the four days that follow Eid al-Fitr, after Ramadan and Eif al-Adha. The court also decided that it would not be officiating any marriages on Saturdays. This meant that one of the best dates of 2018 – August 18 (18.08.2018) would not be available as it falls on a Saturday.
The news had a lot of people buzzing on social media, with everyone offering their two-cents on the issue – albeit most were jokes about the divorce rate and why the court had not set particular dates for divorcing yet.
Shortly after the news, however, the Family Court on Monday announced that it would, indeed, officiate marriages on August 18, 2018. The court had said that it was making an exception for the date, as these unique dates are in high demand for couples looking to get married.
The court still maintained that it would not be officiating marriages on the other dates listed, and the normal times for getting married at the court still applies.
The news was again met with snarky comments from locals, some of whom suggested that September 19, 2019 should be set aside for the divorces of all the couples who got married on August 18, 2018, just because of the uniqueness of the date.
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