If men can cheat, women should too, Rita Edochie slams gender bias in marriage

Veteran Nollywood actress Rita Edochie has criticised an event MC over comments he made about infidelity in marriage, describing the remarks as unfair to women.

Edochie reacted to a video she shared on Instagram on Monday which showed a MC addressing a couple identified as Thomas and Mirable during what appeared to be a marriage-related event.

In the clip which was in Igbo lanaguage, the MC told the wife that if her husband travelled for months and she cheated on him, she would “die and run mad,” before asking her to respond with “Amen.” However, when speaking to the husband, Thomas, he said that if he cheated on his wife, “God will forgive him because he did not do it intentionally.”

The comments sparked outrage from the actress, who said she hoped the video was merely a joke or social media content.

“I am very angry this morning, and I pray this is just a joke and content,” she wrote.

Edochie argued that if men are often excused for infidelity because they are considered “polygamous by nature,” women should be afforded the same grace and forgiveness.

“Look, if men can be excused because they are ‘polygamous by nature,’ then women deserve the same grace, the same mercy and the same forgiveness. Enough of this gender inequality!”

She said society had, for too long, operated with one set of rules for men and another for women, noting that while unfaithful men are frequently described as having made a mistake or acted according to their nature, women are quickly condemned and sometimes deemed unworthy of remaining in their marriages.

The actress questioned why the same offence should attract different outcomes, insisting that if marriage vows are exchanged equally, accountability and forgiveness should also be applied equally.

“If infidelity is a sin, then it is a sin for both. If forgiveness exists, then it should not be reserved for one gender. Justice that favours men while crushing women is not justice; it is witchcraft,” she added.

Edochie further maintained that a marriage cannot thrive on a system where men are constantly excused while women are expected to be perfect.

She concluded that society cannot genuinely claim to defend the sanctity of marriage while measuring men and women with different standards, adding that “a principle is only a principle when it applies to everyone.”