“The debt of a woman married under Customary Law Marriage is the responsibility of her husband,” said Dr. Justice Srem-Sai, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana School of Law. He explained that contrary to popular perception, Customary Law Marriage actually provides better protection for women compared to Ordinance Marriage.
Dr Srem-Sai who was speaking at the maiden Marriage Governance Conference in Accra last Tuesday, explained that while it was mandatory for men to provide maintenance and accommodation to their wives under Customary Law Marriage, it was not mandatory under Ordinance Marriage. Even in instances when the man passed, his family, he said, was responsible for the upkeep of the woman.
He argued that according to the English or Common Law on which customary marriages relied, wives did not have such privileges. Under customary law, one of the aspects of marriage is that the husband is obligated to provide support and housing for the wife. After his death, this responsibility falls to his family.
Consequently, the head of the family is bound to provide maintenance for the widow of a deceased member of the family during the period of the funeral.” he said, referring to the Ollennu, Yaotey v Quaye (1961) case. Dr Srem-Sai who is also a legal counsel at Praetorium Solicitors, said currently, the Customary Law marriages for Akans, Ewes and other ethnic groups offered better protection to women than Ordinance marriage.
He advised against referring to customary marriage as “engagement” as it was a legally accepted form of marriage. In a discussion, panellists highlighted the challenges involved in registering Customary and Islamic Marriages. The Assistant Director of Local Government Services at the Ga West Municipal Assembly, Mr Francis Akanni, noted that while customary marriage followed traditional practices, it was important to register the marriage at the appropriate authority.
Asked how many customary marriages a man could register, he answered that it depended on the man’s ability to cater for the wives and dependants. The Imam at the Dara Salaam Mosque, Imam Sa-id Mukhtar, said there had to be a correction in the Mohammedan marriage Under the Marriage Act.
He said Muslims did not identify as “Mohemmedans” nor did they follow “Mohammedan law’’ hence the current provision where they were required to register Islamic marriages under Mohammedan law was inappropriate. He said, in Islam, there was nothing like “priests”, rather sheikhs and Imams and asked for an amendment to reflect the practices and beliefs of the people.
Other panellists and speakers highlighted issues related to marriage registration, divorce, publication of Banns, the role of marriage counsellors in divorce suits and licensing of churches and pastors for marriage. Organised by MarryRight Ghana Ltd in partnership with the Attorney-General’s Department, and the Registrar-General’s Department, the conference brought together stakeholders and experts to foster a deeper understanding and promotion of best practices in marriage governance.
