Tamale, Jan. 3, GNA - Artisans in the Tamale Municipality have expressed fears that if the Domestic Violence Bill was passed it would lead to break-ups in marriages and disintegration of families. Their sentiments were particularly focused on the provision in the Bill concerning marital rape, which they said was against African tradition.
The artisans, made up of mechanics, welders, electricians, carpenters and masons expressed these concerns at a forum organised in Tamale on Saturday by Civitas Ghana, an NGO to educate them on the Bill. Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), an NGO, sponsored the forum on the theme: "Combating violence against women: A focus on men." Some Islamic scholars who participated in the workshop, however, dismissed the concerns of the artisans, saying they were self-centred and far from the teachings of the religion.
According to the Islamic Scholars, Islam was a religion of peace, which inculcated in its adherents the virtues of love, compassion and tolerance and it would therefore be wrong for anybody to perceive the religion as encouraging the violation of women and children's rights. The artisans made a passionate appeal to Parliament and the government to subject the Bill to thorough public discussion and education before it was passed into law.
Civitas Ghana had already organised similar forums for about 1,500 artisans within the Metropolis and it was expected that by the end of the forums about 3,000 artisans would have benefited from the programme.
