Why Ghana Needs Full Marriage Equality

Ghana not only continues to deny people their fundamental right to marry, but adults continue to be arrested and prosecuted for having consensual sex with each other. Here's the latest example I found, this time a myjoyonline.com... 

Two siblings have been remanded in Police custody for alleged incestuous relationship which produced an 18-year-old boy.

53-year-old Issifu Abubakari and 36-year-old Ramatu were arrested on Wednesday December 11, 2013 and charged with the offence.

With that age difference, it seems possible to me that they are half-siblings and it is possible that Issifu wasn't even around while Ramatu was growing up.

They are alleged to have been in a relationship for about 20 years.

That would make Ramatu 16 years old at the beginning. The age of consent in Ghana is 16.

Kumasi-based Nhyira FM's Ohemeng Tawiah reported that the couple relocated from Dawu, near Agona, to Koforidua after family members and other relatives raised suspicions about their relationship.

So they were already dealing with hostile family and having to move simply because they loved each other. Family should support, not hate.

After 20 years, relatives of the couple discovered that they had been living as husband and wife with an 18-year-old son in his first year in Senior High School.

Even though the brother and sister were summoned to the chief of their village, and made to perform some rites to 'cleanse' them, they continued to have sexual relationship, Ohemeng reported.

Well. yes, they are married except in law, and they obviously love each other. What is the sense in trying to break up a family? If they've been together for 20 years without a problem, why try to stop them? There is no good reason.

They do not mention any problem with their child, so my guess is that that child is healthy, because I'm fairly certain they would have included any significant problems experienced by him in the report. To American eyes, reading that he is 18 and in his first year at Senior High School seems strange, but it is entirely possible he wasn't started in school until later than most American students start.

So what exactly was the problem with their relationship? Other people didn't like the idea. So what? How ridiculous it is to waste resources trying to pry apart adult lovers, especially ones that apparently haven't caused any trouble for anybody. I can guarantee you there are other siblings in Ghana living as spouses, some with children together, just as there are (and always have been) all over the world. The sooner we recognize all adults should have relationship rights, including full marriage equality, the better.

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Posted in: Africa,breaking up homes,brother-sister,children,consanguineous,family reaction,Ghana,GSA,incest,lack of equality harms,love,prejudice,prosecution,siblings

Why Ghana Needs Full Marriage Equality

Ghana not only continues to deny people their fundamental right to marry, but adults continue to be arrested and prosecuted for having consensual sex with each other. Here's the latest example I found, this time a myjoyonline.com... 

Two siblings have been remanded in Police custody for alleged incestuous relationship which produced an 18-year-old boy.

53-year-old Issifu Abubakari and 36-year-old Ramatu were arrested on Wednesday December 11, 2013 and charged with the offence.

With that age difference, it seems possible to me that they are half-siblings and it is possible that Issifu wasn't even around while Ramatu was growing up.

They are alleged to have been in a relationship for about 20 years.

That would make Ramatu 16 years old at the beginning. The age of consent in Ghana is 16.

Kumasi-based Nhyira FM's Ohemeng Tawiah reported that the couple relocated from Dawu, near Agona, to Koforidua after family members and other relatives raised suspicions about their relationship.

So they were already dealing with hostile family and having to move simply because they loved each other. Family should support, not hate.

After 20 years, relatives of the couple discovered that they had been living as husband and wife with an 18-year-old son in his first year in Senior High School.

Even though the brother and sister were summoned to the chief of their village, and made to perform some rites to 'cleanse' them, they continued to have sexual relationship, Ohemeng reported.

Well. yes, they are married except in law, and they obviously love each other. What is the sense in trying to break up a family? If they've been together for 20 years without a problem, why try to stop them? There is no good reason.

They do not mention any problem with their child, so my guess is that that child is healthy, because I'm fairly certain they would have included any significant problems experienced by him in the report. To American eyes, reading that he is 18 and in his first year at Senior High School seems strange, but it is entirely possible he wasn't started in school until later than most American students start.

So what exactly was the problem with their relationship? Other people didn't like the idea. So what? How ridiculous it is to waste resources trying to pry apart adult lovers, especially ones that apparently haven't caused any trouble for anybody. I can guarantee you there are other siblings in Ghana living as spouses, some with children together, just as there are (and always have been) all over the world. The sooner we recognize all adults should have relationship rights, including full marriage equality, the better.

Read more »

Posted in: Africa,breaking up homes,brother-sister,children,consanguineous,family reaction,Ghana,GSA,incest,lack of equality harms,love,prejudice,prosecution,siblings

Father and Daughter Imprisoned in Ghana

What really happened in Ghana? We may never know. This is the report published by myjoyonline.com...

A 40-year-old driver and his daughter have been remanded into prison custody by a Kumasi Circuit court for engaging in sexual relations.

So both were arrested.

The 20-year-old lady told Nhyira FM’s Ewiase mu Nsem her father; Kojo Mintah threatened her with the Antoa deity into having sex with her about ten times over a period of one year.

But officials of the Zongo police Domestic Violent and Victim Support Unit decided to charge the two with incest because preliminary investigations indicate the two adults consented to the act.

Claims of assault should be taken seriously. Unfortunately, there is a possible motivation to claimed to have been assaulted when consensual sex can bring criminal prosecution.

Doreen Mensah, who is a JHS leaver, told Luv FM’s Erastus Asare Donkor that her father started having sex with her after the death of her mother.

Meanwhile, her father told Luv News he was seduced by the daughter.

Throwing someone half your age under the bus is not much of a defense, and a rotten thing to do.

He however felt sorry for the daughter, saying if knowledge of their amorous relationship gets to the public she could be antagonized.

Sadly, yes. It is ridiculous, but people are still persecuted for having consensual sex.

Detective Inspector Donatus Dickson Torda of Zongo DOVVSU told Lu News Section 105(a) Subsection II of the Criminal Code mandates the arrest of a victim of incest if he or she is above 16 years.

“She is of age, an adult…because she knows that the father is her close blood relation and the father too knows that she is his daughter, and when you go into the law, the two should be charged.”

A clear distinction needs to be made between consensual sex and assault/abuse. There are no "victims" in consensual sex. But people who have been assaulted should not be prosecuted at all. What went on here? We don't know. If this was a situation of coercion or force, she should not be banded a criminal, but he should have the book thrown at him. If this was consensual sex, it shouldn't be a criminal matter at all.

Read more »

Posted in: consanguineous,father-daughter,Ghana,incest,law,prosecution,stigma

Father and Daughter Imprisoned in Ghana

What really happened in Ghana? We may never know. This is the report published by myjoyonline.com...

A 40-year-old driver and his daughter have been remanded into prison custody by a Kumasi Circuit court for engaging in sexual relations.

So both were arrested.

The 20-year-old lady told Nhyira FM’s Ewiase mu Nsem her father; Kojo Mintah threatened her with the Antoa deity into having sex with her about ten times over a period of one year.

But officials of the Zongo police Domestic Violent and Victim Support Unit decided to charge the two with incest because preliminary investigations indicate the two adults consented to the act.

Claims of assault should be taken seriously. Unfortunately, there is a possible motivation to claimed to have been assaulted when consensual sex can bring criminal prosecution.

Doreen Mensah, who is a JHS leaver, told Luv FM’s Erastus Asare Donkor that her father started having sex with her after the death of her mother.

Meanwhile, her father told Luv News he was seduced by the daughter.

Throwing someone half your age under the bus is not much of a defense, and a rotten thing to do.

He however felt sorry for the daughter, saying if knowledge of their amorous relationship gets to the public she could be antagonized.

Sadly, yes. It is ridiculous, but people are still persecuted for having consensual sex.

Detective Inspector Donatus Dickson Torda of Zongo DOVVSU told Lu News Section 105(a) Subsection II of the Criminal Code mandates the arrest of a victim of incest if he or she is above 16 years.

“She is of age, an adult…because she knows that the father is her close blood relation and the father too knows that she is his daughter, and when you go into the law, the two should be charged.”

A clear distinction needs to be made between consensual sex and assault/abuse. There are no "victims" in consensual sex. But people who have been assaulted should not be prosecuted at all. What went on here? We don't know. If this was a situation of coercion or force, she should not be banded a criminal, but he should have the book thrown at him. If this was consensual sex, it shouldn't be a criminal matter at all.

Read more »

Posted in: consanguineous,father-daughter,Ghana,incest,law,prosecution,stigma