Filmmaker Leila Djansi is demanding accountability, not only for the incident but for the cultural systems that protect abusers.
Djansi stated that religious and social structures often shift responsibility onto women. “Only women have to have war rooms,” she said in a post on Facebook sighted by MyNewsGh while reacting to the news of Odartey Lamptey’s assault on his wife.
“It is as though women must pray, train and discipline their husbands while men escape scrutiny.”
She highlighted how the community downplays violence by assigning spiritual justification. “The command is misused to silence women and stop them from leaving abusive marriages. It becomes code, trapping weak women in toxic situations,” she noted.
According to Djansi, even when scriptures clearly hold men to higher standards, society selectively emphasises submission.
“That passage gives three verses to women and nine to men,” she pointed out. “But only one sentence is weaponized.”
She argued that this selective enforcement protects abusers from accountability. “When a verse becomes a shield for violence, the community response is weakened. People start treating abuse like a divine test instead of a crime,” she said.
Djansi also expressed solidarity with women who resist oppression. “Women who are disciplining their husbands, keeping them in line… the sisterhood is behind you,” she wrote jokingly, adding, “Do you need firewood? Or are you using gas?”
She concluded by urging a nationwide cultural reset. “Religion without guardrails becomes a tool for harm. Until society holds men accountable, these incidents will keep repeating,” she said.
