Kenya to host int’l conference on strengthening marriages

NAIROBI, Feb. 7 — Kenya will on Saturday host an international
conference on strengthening marriages that are grappling with turmoil
occasioned by economic uncertainties, weakening social bonds and rapid
modernization.

The conference organizers said in a statement issued in Nairobi on Monday
that an estimated 2000 participants will attend the international marriage
conference to be held in Kenya for the first time. “The marriage conference
is an opportunity for us as Kenyans to openly address core issues affecting
our families and with support of national and international experts seek
lasting solutions,” said Rahma Hersi, the Director of Awal Consulting, a
co-organizer of the conference She added that delegates who will include
family therapists, clinicians, psychiatrists and religious leaders will
share best practices that can be applied to cushion the institution of
marriage from external pressures.

According to Hersi, the modern marriages are falling apart due to social
ills like violence, drug abuse, alcoholism and negative influence of social
media. Sajid Hussein, the Founder of Marriage Conference International,
regretted that broken marriages that have spiked in recent times across the
globe are having a devastating impact on social and economic fabric. “The
marriage institution is under attack because we have neglected it for a
long time. The marriage contract is the most important contract in our
lives yet we get into it unprepared,” said Hussein. He added that the
Nairobi conference will revitalize the conversation on how to strengthen
modern marriages amid onslaught from negative impacts of urbanization.

The International Marriage Conference since its inception in 2015 has been
held in eight different cities across the world. Kenya’s capital, Nairobi
will be the second city in Africa to host the international marriage
conference after Johannesburg in South Africa which hosted it in 2016.
Organizers revealed that Nigeria, Morocco and Ghana are expected to host
the conference in the near future. Kenyan policy makers, social scientists
and clerics are expected to attend the inaugural marriage conference in the
country amid high incidents of domestic violence and homicide that have
been reported lately in national media. – XINHUA