A Behavioural Scientist and therapist, Dr. Caroline Kusi is of the opinion that, women who refuse to change their surnames to their husbands’ names after marriage are selfish.
According to her, these married women are reluctant to do so in order to avoid the legal process of having their maiden names changed after divorce.
Dr. Kusi made these comments on Joy Prime’s Prime Morning Thursday while discussing whether it is mandatory for women to take up their spouse’s name after marriage.
“I think that it’s not the best thing to start a marriage or prepare for a wedding where you’re thinking just in case this doesn’t work out, then it will be easier, and I think to some extent that is selfishness,” she told host Asieduwaa Akumia.
The therapist added that the decision to not change the name may seem smart, but it is not helpful to a successful marriage, as it is a major contributing factor to the rampant split of many marriages.
Dr. Kusi does not condemn the idea; however, she urged that it is vital for individuals to personally review before concluding their thoughts.
Nonetheless, she also does not blame those who fail to make the changes, saying that the legal procedure is mostly cumbersome and some people may not be willing to follow due to their busy schedules.
The therapist also thinks that some women prefer to keep their maiden names after marriage because of their ethnicity. They believe that retaining their names makes them easily recognised by their ethnic group.
However, she has admonished females to erase the mentality and try their possible best to adopt their partners’ names for the unity and success of the union.
“The mindset has to change, and you have to do things with intentionality. It is important to ask yourself if it is really a wise decision,” she said.
Legally, a woman is not mandated by law to merge her legal identity with that of her husband or use her husband’s surname. But some women consider it an honour to keep their husbands’ names.