NAIROBI, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- 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.
