Abolish Bride Price...It Leads To Maltreatment

A suggestion has been made for the abolition of the bride price in traditional marriages in the country to help check violence against women. According to Mrs. Adwoa Kwateng Kluvitse, Country Director of Action Aid, the payment of bride price undermined the rights and freedoms of women in the society and should be abolished. She explained that, a number of men considered bride price as payment for the women and thus, maltreated them anyhow to their satisfaction. Addressing a symposium organized by Zonta International, a non-government organization, to discuss issues of violence against women in Ghana, she observed that most men assaulted their wives because of their perception towards the payment of bride price. She added that the existence of bride price had also contributed to forced marriages, since most men use it as a way of bribing families without the consent of the women. �This is the time to stand against the payment of bridge price which has contributed towards continued violence against women,� she noted. The Coordinator of Law and Advocacy for Women in Africa, Mrs. Barbara Ayensu noted that although the constitution frowned at violence against women, most of them had been abused by men. She urged the government to strengthen and empower institutions which protected the image of women in the society. The president of the Accra Zonta Club, Margaret Akofio-Sowah, also charged traditional authorities to champion the course against violence against women in the society.