There was a growing concern in the country that marriage contracts should be renewable, just like driving license or car insurance. 

At first, it sounded ridiculous. There were even trending Tiktok videos that mocked the whole idea. People joked about the duration of the contract. Renewal everyday, every month, every year or every ten years? 

Religious groups were against the idea. They said the country was going nuts. They had just survived a long battle with activists for same-sex marriages. And now, renewable marriage? Where was the world headed? 

Various activists and feminists backed the proposal. They said too many women were silently enduring too much abuse in their homes and the courts were reluctant in granting them divorce. Feminists in large numbers took to the streets to campaign for a bill to be drafted and passed into law. 

There were rumors that some government officials connived with the police to sabotage the campaigns. 

In churches, many sermons were now centered on the evil repercussions of renewable marriage contracts. 

For the first time in our nation's history, Muslims, Christians, Traditionalists, and Buddhists were united. They were all opposed to the drafting of any bill about renewable marriage contracts. 

Elections were in a few months time and this growing division in the country will cost the president dearly if he wasn't cautious in his handling of the problem at hand. 

For days, many waited for an official statement from the government. The president was reluctant to give a press release. All he said was something along the lines of taking his time to consider all the concerns addressed to him before reacting. His opponents were not hesitant in calling him weak. 

There were many citizens who were neutral obervers. They seemed to enjoy the drama of the strange times the country was enmeshed in. 

At first, as some sort of compromise for both sides of this thorny issue, legalizing polygamy was proposed. That way, men could have at least two wives, keeping the old wife instead of breaking homes which could affect the children. At the same time, the courts will readily grant divorce to any woman in an abusive relationship and culprits will be severely punished. 

The feminists were quick to reject that alternative, saying that women should be allowed to marry many husbands too. That way, there will be fairness. They added that it wasn't the first time government had assured swift Justice for abused women and yet nothing had changed over the years. 

Matters came to a head and Parliament was confronted with an issue they had long tried to avoid: voting in favor or against the passing of the bill. 

The D-day was a cloudy one. Clouds were not the only ones hovering over Parliament House. Journalists, diplomats, and curious citizens flocked the building. The proceedings were televised, which was unusual. All the gory details were televised, including the climax of the debate : exchange of blows between two MPs. 

At about 11pm, voting ended. Against all predictions and expectations, those in favor of renewable marriage contracts won. Activists took to the streets and social media to jubilate the milestone. 

Days later, there came a shock. About ninety percent of married couples in the country refused to renew their marriage contracts, including some members of the clergy. What started as a joke became a painful reality. It seemed many people were sitting on things that were eating them in their homes. Time bombs! And the passing of the bill into law came as great relief. 

However, there were high incidents of suicides. Surprisingly, most of the victims were women. Some couples couldn't live with the reality that their partners weren't really into them like they had come to believe. 

A number of women who had come out of abusive relationships were interviewed on national television and they maintained that the new law had done much good than evil, although many argued it was all feminist propaganda to hide the true implications of the new law. 

A number of churches expelled MPs in their denominations who voted in favor of the bill.

There was more chaos in the country after the bill was passed into law than before. Family and child protection groups blamed the president for the mess. 

And as elections were just a few days away, citizens who were usually indifferent to election outcomes in the country had made it very clear that they will express their true opinions about the new law on the ballot sheet come December 7.

By Benjamin Nambu

From: Ghana

Website: https://greatbenji@business.blog