The Ghanaian society is typically harsh towards the young single mother. She is presumed to have been promiscuous and reckless enough to conceive a child out of wedlock. Most mothers are not open to be in-laws with a woman with a ‘born one’. Their son shouldn’t take on the responsibility for the woman’s missteps. The stigma lingers on but it begins to wear off when the woman decides to ignore the reproach and live her life according to her own terms. Some are fortunate and find men who are willing to marry them and cater for the child as their own. Because of society’s perception of such women however, the men begin to think that they are doing her a favor by marrying her. Unfortunately, the once single woman sometimes enters the marriage with the same mentality and thus is at the mercy of the husband. She would do anything to remain in the husband’s good graces, sometimes to the detriment to her child. When a man marries a woman who is already a mother that should legally make him the father of the child, right? He should love the child and take care of him like it’s his, right? [...]
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