It is every woman’s dream to marry and live happily ever after with her husband and children.
Although marriage is prone to ups and downs, most couples fight through and eventually succeed. However, some are unable to resolve their differences, thereby breaking the marriage.
Ama (not her real name) claims she has been abandoned by her husband, who is a pastor, two weeks after their wedding ceremony about five years ago. She became pregnant a few months later and hoped to regain her husband’s love.
Unfortunately, the husband never returned, even after she delivered. Her only child is almost five years old now and has yet to set her sight on her father.
Ama, who has been contemplating a legal, formal breakup of the marriage, decided to seek legal advice after watching Joy Prime’s Divorce Series on Prime Morning on Monday.
Here is a summary of Ama’s story:
“After the marriage, I don’t know what happened because two weeks right after the marriage, he doesn’t act like a husband. So, I called my dad and told him about it, but my dad advised me to hold on, saying it’s part of the challenge. I waited for months, and now it’s getting worse.”
“I called his mother and told her about it because she assured me she would take care of everything during my engagement since my parents were outside Accra. She never said anything. Then I got pregnant the same year, in December. After I called my aunt to tell her I wasn’t fine, she said it was early pregnancy signs. I told my aunt to inform him about my pregnancy, but he got angry. I still don’t know his reason for running out of the house. The child will be five years old in September and doesn’t even know his father.
“We’ve separated. He left the house where we rented, and the rent was due. So, I also had to move out of the house… I’ve tried reaching his parents to find out where he is, but I didn’t get any positive answers. We met his mother to discuss the issue, and she said she asked her son not to marry me.”
In her quest to figure out what she must have done that caused the rejection, she finally got the chance to meet him, but he slapped her after she asked what particular wrong she did to merit the treatment.
Asked how she met the husband, she said, “I met him at church, and he’s actually a pastor, and it was a distant relationship. So most of our communication was on the phone, but he put pressure on me to marry him.”
Considering the emotional trauma the circumstances have caused, Ama is seeking to legally divorce her husband in order to move on with her life. She says, “I don’t want him back because I don’t see him to be a husband.”
Addressing the issue on the show, private legal practitioner Sena Hotor explained that the marriage is considered broken beyond reconciliation, and one of the proofs for divorce, “Separation for five years,” can be used as a defence.
He also reiterated that Ama does not require the presence of her husband in court to be able to file a petition since she has been contemplating how to start it in his absence.
According to him, “It’s clear she falls within separation for five years, and so she can easily file a petition to the court indicating that she’s been separated from her husband for five years, and when you do the five years, you don’t need permission from your husband. So, you can easily file the application, and you don’t need to prove anything beyond the fact that you have been separated for that long. If she doesn’t meet that requirement and she meets the two-year requirement, she can also, either by herself or on her behalf, have a petition filed with the court.”
“She would need the consent of her husband, but that consent cannot be unreasonably withheld. If it is unreasonably withheld by the husband, then the court will intervene and then have the process go through, and she can be legally divorced and she can live her life,” he added.
Lawyer Sena further emphasised that she is permitted to request the court grant her custody of her child, and the court would likely grant her the opportunity based on some considerations.
Since Ama is determined to proceed with the divorce, the lawyer has offered to assist her in submitting a petition to the court and starting the divorce procedure.
Ama is a talented vocalist who sings in church and has proven that she is capable of achieving anything she sets her mind to. She tried out for a few talent reality shows but was unsuccessful.
With all her potential, Ama has been crippled by distress as she is single-handedly taking care of her child. She is currently engaged in beverage sales in order to pay her child’s school fees and other necessities. Her daily income, however, is insufficient to support the two of them.
She is therefore soliciting financial support to start a firm business to be able to garner enough profit and care for herself and child.
Interested philanthropists and benevolent individuals are urged to contact Joy Prime’s WhatsApp contact at 055 157 5757 with inquiries on how to contribute and support Ama and her child.
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