Former Attorney-General Betty Mould-Iddrisu has issued a sharp critique against the government for its failure to implement a system to register Islamic marriages.
Speaking at the 2025 Marriage Governance Conference, she highlighted a significant legal gap that leaves many Muslim couples without formal documentation. This absence of a functional framework, she argued, strips spouses of critical legal protections in matters like inheritance and property rights.
Mould-Iddrisu, who now serves on the Council of State, specifically called out the Ministries of Interior and Local Government. She stated they have neglected their duty to license imams and create an administrative process for registration at local assemblies. In some cases, couples are forced to register their unions as customary marriages, a workaround that fails to properly reflect their union under Islamic law.
The problem is particularly acute in Ghana’s northern regions, where many district assemblies are not conducting any form of ordinance marriages. This systemic failure leaves countless families in a legal void. Mould-Iddrisu warned that the refusal of institutions to act has left too many families unprotected, a situation she insists must be rectified immediately.
Her appeal pressed for urgent action from the current Attorney-General and the Registrar-General to clarify and enforce the law. She emphasized that this is not a request for new legislation but a demand for the government to execute its basic duty and uphold existing laws. Without this, she cautioned, the legal rights of spouses in Islamic marriages will remain dangerously vulnerable.
