Lack of counselling leading to failed marriages – KMA Registrar

Lawyer Anthony Osei-Poku, the Registrar of Marriages and Divorces of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has urged religious leaders to give intensive pre-marriage counselling to expose the youth to the stark realities of marriage.
He also advised religious leaders to avoid match-making and called on young couples to exercise restraint and seek wise counselling when they encountered marital problems.
This, he said, would go a long way towards reducing the increasing dissolution of marriages among youthful couples – a phenomenon which has huge impact on women, children and the economy.
Lawyer Osei-Poku said women and children suffer most from failed relationships and go through trauma leading to mental disorders, child delinquencies and low productivity at work places.
He blamed the situation on widely-held misconceptions of marriage among the youth who think that the institution is a “bed of roses “ and are  fascinated only by the fanfare accompanying weddings as viewed in soap operas and movies.
Lawyer Osei-Poku said child birth, lack of communication and tolerance, sexual harassment, maltreatment and adultery were the main causes of divorce. He added that the absence of good sexual relationships in marriage is a major cause of most divorces.
Out of a total of 1,189 customary marriages registered at the KMA during 2013, 2014 and the first quarter of this year, 25 were dissolved.  Those within the 18-40 age bracket constituted the highest percentage of divorces.
Credit: GNA