Local preacher , Minister John Amponsah

 Some African wives in the diaspora, mostly Ghanaians, have resorted to using sex as a bargaining tool in their marriages.

This act is said to be causing a lot of havoc in marriages, compelling the husbands to seek sexual satisfaction outside.

This came to light at a programme organised by the Men’s and Women’s Ministries of the New Covenant United Methodist Church (NCUMC) in Fairfield Ohio, in the United States of America.

It was organised under the theme, ‘Filling each other’s tank,’ and aimed at exploring ways to attend to the needs of spouses and families in order to build a happy Christian home.

It addressed areas including inti­macy, finances, emotional and psy­chological needs, raising kids in the diaspora and extended families.

According to a statement issued by the NCUMC and copied The Spectator, the practice was ‘unholy and archaic’ way of using sex as a bargaining tool in their marriages.

It expressed worry about the lukewarm attitude of African wives, especially those in the diaspora, when it came to matters of sex and romance, unlike other wives who are always ‘battle ready.’

According to the statement, the situation has been so bad to the ex­tent that some husbands sometimes, would have to appease their wives in order to get ‘what’s legitimately theirs.

However, members of the Women’s Ministry, the statement mentioned, shared myriad of reasons that affects their drive to explore sexually, rang­ing from stress from work and house­hold chores.

Some of them blamed it on African cultural beliefs, that “when an Afri­can woman explores, she was tagged as a spoilt girl so it forces them to be laid-back or give them what was traditionally accepted or expected of them.”

The statement quoted a member of the Women’s Ministry, Mrs Florence Esi Jonfiah, who could not fathom why most wives behaved as if sex was a man’s benefit when as a matter of fact, its benefit was unquantifiable.

“Look, let’s not pretend, we equally need sex just like our men need it. For us, apart from the many health benefits including stress re­lease, increased hormone production, vaginal health, improved circulation among others, the ecstatic moments alone is unimaginable,” she stated.

 From Kingsley E. Hope, Kumasi