Managing Partner at Hay and Partners @ Law, Hanifa Adjoa Yahaya has pointed out some gaps in the law that governs Mohammedan marriages.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Law on Sunday, she noted that Islamic marriages are supposed to be registered a week after the day of celebration as stipulated by law.

According to her, if this is not done the marriage is rendered invalid.

“If you do the Islamic marriage, perhaps in the eyes of Allah your marriage is valid, but in the eyes of the laws of Ghana, if you don’t register within one week, your marriage is not valid,” the Lawyer stressed.

She added that the laws of the land have consistently upheld this practice.

Madam Adjoa Yahaya noted however, that the law provides a period within which the couple can register their marriage.

“There is a provision that states that you can go to the High Court by motion for the court to extend within which you can register.. and the High Court may on certain terms, grant leave for extension of time,” she explained.

This comment follows a research by DENNIS LAW, a law firm, which revealed that there are no lawful Islamic marriages in Ghana. This is 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.

The situation has been compounded by the fact that in recent times, the Head of Marriages at the Registrar General’s Department has also complained that 80% of marriages ordained in the Islamic religion in Ghana are not valid.

This disclosure is reported to have been made at a round table discussion on the theme “Working together for a better Society.” organized by a civil society organisation, Telling Ghana.