Several couples in Wum, the Menchum divisional capital in the North West Region have begun a new page in matrimony. Thanks to an NGO Working With Women Cameroon (WWW), the couple who have been living together without a marriage certificate have now regularized their situation. They turned out in colourful festive costumes at the Wum Council Hall to officially tie the nut, watched by many curious family members and friends. But one man stole the show at the mass wedding, marrying his three long time partners.
Mr Nchia Victor Ancheng, a teacher has been living in a “come we stay" relationship for with his three women for periods ranging between 15 to 20 years. “Come we stay” is a phenomenon where couple stay together, making children but without any marriage certificates. The 22 couples in Wum chose to break the trend in a public mass wedding ceremony presided over by the 1st deputy mayor of Wum Council, Hanzam Oumarou.
According to a Youande based Barrister Anang Magdalene who heads the four year old NGO, WWW Cameroon, the couple live in Come We Stay marriages due to ignorance and poverty. This situation puts their children and widows in great difficulties when they pass away, she says. Chief Nchia agrees with this view. “Women with women without legalizing the marriage is disadvantageous to the family. It is natural that one day, you the husband will not be there. So it is good to make live comfortable for your wives and kids when you are no longer there”, he told The Post newspaper. “I am a father of 18 children and I have now secured their lives by legalizing our marriage. I thank WWW Cameroon for facilitating our marriage” he added.
One of his wives concurred: “I am very grateful. This piece of paper is just to concretize everything; that he will not joke and I will not also joke.” The two other wives respectively told The Post that they were also very happy with their new page in marriage.
Another couple said their marriage has been reactivated with the marriage certificate. The Husband Ndeh Christopher said WWW Cameroon has empowered all the newly legalized couples and thanked them for the venture. “Living without a marriage is like a fish in a big sea” he said. His wife, carrying a baby was and wearing a blue and white dress to match her husband’s suite expressed joy-all joy for their refreshed marriage.
To mayor Hanzam, legalizing the marriages is a great way of restrting the legalization of marriages which had died out because of the Anglophone crisis. He said the high number of newly wed couples illustrates the fact that many more couple are out there who need to regularize their marriage. He praised WWW Cameroon and called on other NGOs and social groups to emulate their example.
As president of the WWW Cameroon, Anang Magdalene said the mass marriage ceremony should have taken place three years ago by the risky crisis situation in the region delayed it. She congratulated the couples who chose to change their way life by marrying formally. She expressed joy that peace has returned to the community and hoped it would be long lasting so that families can enjoy their marriages and raise their children in safety.
Sa'ah Siona Ikei, The Post Newspaper
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