Adopting your husbands’ surname after marriage is outdated - Judge tells wives

A High Court Judge, Justice Alexander Osei Tutu, has described the practice of married women taking on their husbands' surnames after marriage as outdated and marginalising women.

In a recent interview on JoyNews, and reported on myjoyonline.com, he stressed the need for a re-evaluation of this tradition. According to him, the practice, deeply rooted in English customs that historically marginalised women, has lost its legal relevance today.

He pointed out that in the past, women were legally incapacitated and took their husbands' names as a means of identity and legal recognition.

"This practice originated as an English custom intended to demean women, but its significance has diminished over time."

He emphasised that times have changed significantly, with laws now allowing women to own property and conduct legal affairs independently.

"The era where women were infringed by law is no more. So why do women continue to adopt the surnames of husbands when they tie the knot?" myjoyonline.com quoted him.

He stated that religious texts do not explicitly mandate women to change their names upon marriage.

"If you want to use the Bible to justify it, you may get it wrong because nowhere in the Bible did we have a woman changing her name because she got married. Eve was never called Adam Eve. Jesus' mother was not called Mary Joseph."

He urged Ghanaian society to move away from traditions that no longer serve a legal or societal purpose in contemporary times.

JKB/OGB