News
Outmoded cultural practices: …widow recounts harrowing experience
A 37-year-old trader has shared her experience on widowhood and called on society to be more humane towards women who find themselves in that state.
She says it is unfortunate that in the Ghanaian society, anytime a husband dies regardless of the circumstances, the widow is fingered as the killer of the man by her in-laws.
“Some of them wanted to take me to my late husband’s grave at night to bathe me with water used to clean his dead body, so I ran away with my two children,” she recounted in an interview with the Spectator on condition of anonymity, on Monday.
She disclosed that the water they were going to use had been stored for three days and the bathe was ostensibly to cleanse her so that no “bad luck” could come to her.
She said when she received the message from a “good samaritan” about the intentions of some of her in-laws to take her through that ritual, she was baffled because both her family and that of her late husband had agreed that there would be no such widowhood rites because her husband died as a Christian.
“I was not going to allow myself to go through that when I heard that the water had been mixed with some substances to make me mad and even cause my death in six months (to confirm the suspicion that I killed my husband) and make my children orphans,” she said.
She questioned why any woman in her right frame of mind who was together with her man raising children and struggling to even pay bills, could take the life of her husband.
“Imagine single handedly paying bills and taking care of two children aged three and eight under this economy?” she questioned.
The trader said her husband did not own any property to even motivate her to termination his life in the first place and that their rent had even expired at the time of his death.
“He was involved in a road crash but I was shocked to hear that because I did not give him his peace of mind, that is why he became absent minded when crossing the street and was knocked down,” she said.
She said the back and forth with the family about the death of her husband, preparations towards his burial and life after, had seriously affected her mental health.
“The fact that they even wanted to take my children from me because they said I did not have the financial muscle to take care of them and also that the children belonged to her late husband’s family was most torturing” she disclosed.
She said it was interesting that she and her children were asked to pay GH¢1,000 for the funeral and when they incurred a debt the family again told her to pay about GH¢4,000 more though they did not allow her guests to eat the food they prepared for those who attended her husband’s funeral.
The woman said she had been denied access to her late husband’s shop but the family was unwilling to give any financial support to cater for the children.
She said she was never going to allow anyone to take her children from her but feared she might lose the strength to fight them along the line and wished she could get help from the public to keep her in-laws away.
“I need legal advice and action to protect my children and I” she pleaded.
From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Tema.
The Diaspora Affairs Office at the Office of the President has hosted a delegation of African diaspora women who are in Ghana ahead of a planned Presidential Conferment of Citizenship ceremony.
The Director of Diaspora Affairs, Kofi Okyere Darko, explained in a Facebook post that the visit was a gesture of appreciation by the delegation to the Government of Ghana for its continued efforts to reconnect Africans in the diaspora with their ancestral homeland.
He indicated that the ceremony, scheduled for next Monday, will officially grant Ghanaian citizenship to members of the delegation as part of the country’s broader engagement with the African diaspora.
The delegation was led by Erica Bennett, Founder of the Diaspora Africa Forum.
According to Mr Okyere Darko, her years of advocacy have played an important role in strengthening ties between Africa and people of African descent living abroad.
He noted that the group’s journey towards citizenship represents not only a legal process but also a cultural and spiritual return to their roots.
Also present at the meeting was Natalie Jackson, an attorney who is also expected to receive Ghanaian citizenship during the ceremony. She works closely with renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.
Mr Okyere Darko emphasised that Ghana remains committed to strengthening relationships with the African diaspora and promoting unity, identity, and shared heritage among people of African descent worldwide.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana has signed a debt restructuring agreement with the Kingdom of Belgium as part of efforts to restore the country’s economic stability after the financial crisis that hit the nation in 2022 and 2023.
The Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, today disclosed that he signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of Ghana.
He explained that Ghana experienced a very difficult period during the crisis, which forced the government at the time to declare a debt default.
However, he indicated that the country is now recovering and witnessing a significant economic turnaround.
According to him, stronger systems are also being put in place to ensure that Ghana does not return to such a situation again.
Dr Forson noted that the agreement with Belgium is the eighth deal Ghana has concluded with countries under the Official Creditor Committee as part of its external debt restructuring programme.
He expressed appreciation to the Government of Belgium for its support and partnership with Ghana during the process.
The Finance Minister thanked Carole van Eyll, Ambassador of Belgium to Ghana, for her role in strengthening relations between the two countries.
The agreement forms part of Ghana’s broader effort to restructure its external debts and stabilise the economy following the crisis.
By: Jacob Aggrey
