Elvis Tah
5 May 2008
The Southwest Delegation of Women's Empowerment and the Family, MINWEF, has programmed another mass wedding for May 15, as one of the activities to commemorate the International Day of the Family.
According to the Chief of Service for Statistics/Family Wellbeing, MINWEF, Cordelia Eseni-Banjong, the Delegation started sensitising the families through the mass media, churches and meeting houses.
"Unlike last year's mass wedding, which comprised couples living in Fako Division alone, this year's event would include couples from all the subdivisions in the Southwest," said Eseni-Banjong.
The Chief of Service added that her Delegation is working with local councils to make sure that the couples are exonerated from the levy that is usually imposed by municipal authorities during legalisation of marriage.
"Couples are only expected to fill a form we shall provide, present photocopies of their birth certificates and national identity cards, four passport size photographs, wedding rings and two communal stamps," according to Eseni-Banjong.
She added that children born by these couples before legalising their marriage shall automatically become legitimate children after the event.Quizzed on the main family problems that have been reported to her office by couples, Eseni-Banjong cited unfaithfulness, irresponsibility and all forms of violence by both sexes.
"Some people think that domestic violence can only be perpetrated by men, but we have had cases where men report their wives for having assaulted them," she said.She added that her Delegation receives at least 60 complaints of domestic violence and about 10 on inheritance problems, yearly.
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