Banks are adding pressure on women over marital status – Esther Tawiah

Gender advocate Esther Tawiah has raised serious concerns about systemic practices in Ghana’s financial institutions that she says reinforce outdated gender stereotypes.

In an interview on Morning Starr with Naa Dedei Tettey, she criticized the requirement for women to disclose their marital status when opening bank accounts, calling it unnecessary and discriminatory.

“When you go to a bank and want to open an account, the first thing they ask is your marital status,” she explained. “If you don’t respond, they say they can’t proceed because the Bank of Ghana needs that information,” Tawiah questioned the relevance of this requirement and its implications for women’s independence.

She argued that such policies subtly tie a woman’s financial worth to her marital status, perpetuating stereotypes that have no place in today’s society.

“Imagine you’ve been praying for marriage for years, and then at the bank, you’re reminded that marriage is seen as essential,” she said. “It adds unnecessary pressure and reinforces the idea that a woman’s value is tied to her marital status.”

Tawiah believes this practice reflects deeper societal attitudes about women and their roles. The assumption that a woman’s financial behaviour might differ based on whether she has a husband, she said, is both outdated and unfair.

“The financial independence of a woman should not depend on whether she’s married or not,” she emphasized.

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