Muhammad Hussaini Bagnya with some stakeholders at the event
Stakeholders from various sectors of society last Thursday began engagement on the Ghana Muslim Marriage and Divorce Bill, which is aimed at amending some provisions of the existing Acts.
The maiden engagement organised by TALIM Ghana, an NGO in Accra, also seeks to amongst others regularise Muslim marriages as well as augment the work of other bodies that have made efforts towards the passage of the bill.
The Executive Secretary of TALIM Ghana, Muhammad Hussaini Bagnya, in a welcome address, said there was the need for people to begin to build a healthy and strong society which ought to start from marriages, hence the need for the amendment.
According to him, unlike Christians who marry under ordinance, Muslims have over the years contracted their marriages under the traditional marriage system while others marry under the Mohammedan Marriage Act, though it is bedeviled with lots of disparities.
He said, “As far as the Mohammedan act is concerned, Muslims do not want to apply it. I understand that there is some work being done. Our effort here is to augment the work of Parliament from the religious perspective.”
The chair for the occasion, Alhaji Ben Abdallah Banda, Chairman of the National Hajj Board and former chair of Parliament’s Constitution and Legal Affairs, for his part, said the bill was important as it undergirds the growth of society.
He, therefore, called on all stakeholders to help marshal forces to build consensus with some major institutions such as Parliament, the Muslim Ummah, the Executive among others in order for the bill to see the light of day.
Member of Parliament for Asawase and the acting Chairman of the Muslim Caucus of Parliament, Muntaka Mohammed, appealed to all Ghanaians to support the passage of the new bill.
A representative and the spokesperson for the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, emphasised the need for a critical consideration of the marriage and divorce bill given the numerous cases of marital and divorce recorded in Ghana.
Mavis Amoah, Director of Legislative Drafting at the Attorney General’s Office, also used the occasion to explain all the processes required for the passage of a bill.
Other individuals who took turns to speak included the Director of Islamic Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Chief Supt. Imam Husein Abdur Rahim Husein, General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev. Dr. Fayorsey and a representative from the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah