Panellists Condemn High Cost Of Marriages

Sunyani, Aug. 11, - Panellists at a symposium on changing "Marriage Patterns - Causes and Costs" have called on religious bodies and parents to reduce to the barest minimum the huge expenditure on marriages. They noted that huge sums of money demanded by most parents have made it impossible for couples to start life on the right footing, thereby resulting in the many cases of marriage breakdowns. The symposium, organised by the Regional Centre for National Culture, at the weekend was addressed by Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri, Omanhene of Sunyani Traditional Area, the Reverend Dr George Kwame Kumi of the Sunyani Catholic Secretariat, Mrs Yaa Anima-Tuffour, Regional Co-ordinator, National Council on Women and Development, and Mrs Beatrice Prempeh, Assistant Director, Sunyani District Education Office. Reverend Kumi said potential marriages with ingredients for success are prevented, because most parents think that they would not get substantial money from prospective candidates. This, he said, causes great emotional and psychological harm to women, because they are forced into marriages from which parents hope to get more money.