Divorce parties gain popularity in Iran

Divorce parties gain popularity in Iran’s major cities as more marriages meet a premature end.

According to the conservative Jomhuri-ye Eslami newspaper, the parties sometimes require extravagant preparations, complete with black roses and huge cakes.

“You go to a florist to order a bouquet of black roses. Next you come to us to order invitation cards,” one card shop owner tells the publication.

“I don’t miss you at all,” says one invitation, quoting the lyrics of a Persian pop hit.

“I swear I will not fall in love again as long as I live. Even if I do, it’s ok, as long as it’s not with you,” the lyrics continue inside the card.

The demand for divorce cards has been going up over the past two years, another shop owner told the Shahr-e Khabar news website.

Officials in the capital Tehran have recently expressed concern about the trend of celebrating divorce, the pro-government Iran newspaper says, and Ayatollah Makarem-Shirazi, one of the country’s top conservative clerics, has spoken out over the issue.

Last year, Iran saw a 4.6% rise in divorce cases, and a 4.4% decline in marriage rates. Nearly 20% of Iranian marriages now end in divorce.