A private legal practitioner has bemoaned the law that requires that for an Islamic marriage under Mohammedan law to be considered valid, the union must be registered within seven days after the marriage ceremony.

According to Irene Aborchie-Nahye, when considering customary marriages under the same law, flexibility on when to register a marriage was allowed.

The Director of Legal Assistance Network Ghana said the law had been framed such that it did not invalidate the customary marriage even if it had not yet been registered.

Comparing the manner in which the law treats both marriages —customary and Mohammedan—the lawyer said the validity condition stated by the law for Mohammedan marriages was unfair and discriminatory against Muslims.

Contributing to a discussion on The Law, Sunday, March 26, she said “Under the customary law, you have the freedom to register the marriage as and when you want, but when it comes to the Mohammedan, you are not supposed to have a honeymoon."

“They [the constitution] are basing validity upon registration, not after the customary rites have been performed. But then when it comes to customary law, you can choose when you want to register. And I am wondering, why are we equating validity to registration?" she quizzed Samson Lardy Anyenini.

“Registration should just be a notice to the world that from today, if you want to know that I am a married person, this is the evidence that I have. But making it a prerequisite for validity, I think that is highly unfair.”

 Mrs Aborchie-Nahye highlighted some adverse implications that were associated with the conditions provided for Mohammedan marriages in the constitution, such as the accessibility of spousal property rights under the Mohammedan law.

She referenced section 28 of the constitution which states that “one can access the Mohammedan law upon the demise of a spouse only if that marriage has been registered,” and stated that this law was mostly disadvantageous to the wife and the children of the deceased.

“Beyond that, the effects on women and children are very devastating. It is unfair that you will be in a marriage, contribute support for 20 or 30 years, thereafter, and you have discovered that you don’t have any legal rights to your investments.”

 To this end, she advised Ghanaians, especially Muslims to be concerned about the developments regarding the validation of Islamic marriages in Ghana’s constitution.

Mrs Aborchie-Nahye also urged Muslims to contribute to the advocacy that seeks for government to amend Section 27 of Cap 127.

The Director of Legal Assistance Network Ghana’s assertions follow a complaint made by the Head of Marriages at the Registrar General’s Department, Oladele Kwaku Aribike that 80% of Islamic marriages in Ghana are invalid, due to their inability to register under the Mohammedan law.

This disclosure was made by Mr Aribike during a dialogue organised by the civil society organisation, Telling Ghana, on the theme “Working together for a better Society.”

However, research conducted by a Ghanaian online legal search engine called Dennislaw, highlighted that there are no lawful Islamic marriages in Ghana because since the law was passed in the colonial era, the Ministry of Interior has not put in place a regime to license Mohammedan Priests, and the MMDAs have no system for registering these marriages.