Veteran Nollywood actress Rita Edochie has criticized a wedding MC over what she described as gender inequality after a video from a wedding ceremony sparked widespread reactions online.
In the viral clip, the MC instructed the bride, Mirabel, to vow never to be with another man even if her husband, Thomas, travels for a long period. He also offered a prayer warning of severe consequences should she be unfaithful.
However, when addressing the groom, the MC reportedly said that if he cheats, “may God forgive him,” a remark that many social media users interpreted as excusing male infidelity while placing stricter expectations on the bride.
Reacting to the video, Rita Edochie condemned the apparent double standard, insisting that marriage should hold both men and women to the same standards of faithfulness and accountability.
“I am very angry this morning and I pray this is just a joke and content,” she wrote.
The actress argued that if society often excuses men for being “polygamous by nature,” then women should equally receive the same grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
She further stated that infidelity is a sin regardless of gender and that both husbands and wives should be judged by the same principles.
“Justice that favours men while crushing women is not justice, it is witchcraft,” she wrote, adding that a marriage cannot thrive when men are expected to be understood while women are expected to be perfect.
Rita Edochie concluded by calling for equal accountability, equal mercy, and equal dignity in marriage, stressing that the sanctity of marriage can only be defended when the same standards apply to both spouses.
The video has continued to generate mixed reactions online, with many Nigerians debating the expectations placed on husbands and wives in marriage.
