These accounts demonstrate another important and crucial factor that lies at the core of situations of marital captivity: the importance that religious adherents – the trapped spouses, the non-cooperative spouse and the religious community – attach to complying with religious rules, including those on divorce. Alongside religious motivations, a religious divorce may carry significant symbolic value and meaning for all involved. Its very pronunciation is perceived and experienced as bringing an end to the marriage, the marital life of the spouses and all and any ties between the spouses. It should not be forgotten that a situation of marital captivity can also have legal implications in other countries, which only adds to the perceived necessity of also dissolving the religious marriage in accordance with the religious rules.

Marriage and divorce are profound fundamental social structures that are prevalent in most societies. However, the roles attached thereto, their societal consequences and regulation differ from one country to the next. The institution of marriage is closely related to the foundation of family life. The very act of marriage establishes the basic family unit i.e. the spouses. It also encourages and legitimises the cohabitation and intimacy between the spouses, both socially and legally. In its turn, the family is the cornerstone of society.