Iran has traditionally had a strong marriage culture, and family breakdown used to be mercifully rare in comparison to many other nations.  But unfortunately divorce rates have been steadily increasing over recent years, and now approximately one in three marriages break down in Iran. It is a worrying truth that Iran’s rate of divorce has now caught up with West’s. Low wages, high unemployment and inflation mean that ordinary families live under great financial pressure. Fathers are often away from home as they try to make ends meet through two or three jobs. However, the increasing rate of divorce is not only tied to financial pressure: undoubtedly it is also linked to the reported dramatic increase in promiscuity in recent years, which is enabled by the Shia concept of sigheh or ‘temporary marriage’. There is much pain and anguish in many marriages, and so there is much to pray for: Fruitfulness at Elam's upcoming conferences on marriage Christian couples to model healthy marriages Healing of many broken and unhappy marriages