Fact Check

Do Ghanaians Have to Wear Their Wedding Clothes to Get Divorced?

"There are numerous curious laws in different countries of the African continent."

Published Jan. 31, 2019

Claim:
Ghanaians are allowed to divorce only if they attend court dressed the same clothing they wore when they got married.

On 9 December 2018, the There Is News website published a story positing that one of the "curious laws" to be found among various African countries was one from Ghana, were couples seeking divorce were required to show up in court dressed in the same clothing they wore at their weddings:

There are numerous curious laws in different countries of the African continent. One of them exists in the Republic of Ghana, at the southeast of Africa, where divorce is permitted but on one condition.

Ghanaians are allowed to divorce but [only] as long as people attend to court dressed the same way when they were married. This condition creates very humorous situations in the so-called “Divorce Rooms”, where Ghanaians must go if they want to end their marriage.

This article was not a genuine news account.

The slightly stilted wording of the article is a clue that the content on There Is News consists of English translations of articles originally published on the Spanish-language website Hay Noticia. Moreover, Hay Noticia is a satirical website, and, like that site, There Is News (TIN) carries a disclaimer noting that its content is fiction:

The site “There is news” (https://thereisnews.com) (hereinafter referred to as TIN) is a humor site whose purpose is entertainment.

The content of TIN is fiction and does not correspond to reality.

All references, names, brands or institutions that appear on the site are used as contextual elements, as in any novel or fiction account.

Sources

There Is News.   "In Ghana You Must to Dress Like Your Wedding Day to Get Divorced."     9 December 2018.

David Mikkelson founded the site now known as snopes.com back in 1994.

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