Section 27, subsection (1), states: "Men and women of full age and capacity shall have the right to marry and found a family."

Can any man and woman, who wants to marry based on his or her free and full consent, be deprived of his or her right of marriage?

The law makes provision for Muslims to marry in accordance with Muslim rites and traditions and for Christians to marry in accordance with Christian rites and traditions.

However, Gambia, being a secular republic, tolerates the co-existence of various religions and permits the marriage of persons belonging to different faiths.

The Civil Marriage Act makes provision for persons belonging to any faith to get married. It has been the practice in The Gambia for two persons, one a Christian and the other a Muslim, who wish to marry each other, to be married under the Civil Marriage Act. Such marriages are conducted by the Registrar of Marriages at the Attorney General's Chambers and Department of State for Justice. Section 7 of the Act makes provision for the payment of a prescribed fee and the issue of a certificate.

The fee charged for such marriages has been increased dramatically to D7000. This sum may be affordable by Gambians who reside abroad and wish to marry Europeans but it is certainly beyond the reach of couples, whose combined income lie between D2000 and D3000. Such people should not be deprived of marrying each other when they love each other and wish to stick to their faiths, just because they cannot afford to pay a fee of D7000.