Veteran Nollywood actress Rita Edochie has criticised remarks made by a pastor during a marriage-related event, describing his comments on infidelity as unfair and discriminatory.
Edochie reacted in an Instagram post after watching a video in which the event host addressed a couple while discussing marital faithfulness.
According to the actress, she was upset by the pastor’s comments and expressed hope that the clip was intended as a joke or staged content rather than a serious message.
In the video, the pastor, speaking in Igbo, told the wife that if her husband travelled for several months and she became unfaithful, she would be exposed and returned to her father’s home, before asking her to respond with “Amen.”
He then turned to the husband and suggested that if he cheated on his wife, God would forgive him because the act was not intentional.
Reacting to the contrasting remarks, Edochie argued that if men are often excused for infidelity on the grounds that they are “polygamous by nature,” women should be shown the same level of grace, mercy and forgiveness.
She said society has long applied different standards to men and women, with unfaithful men frequently receiving sympathy while women face condemnation and, in some cases, calls for the end of their marriages.
The actress maintained that marriage vows place equal responsibilities on both spouses and, therefore, accountability and forgiveness should not depend on gender.
According to Edochie, infidelity should be judged by the same standard regardless of who commits it, adding that fairness in marriage cannot exist when one gender is consistently excused while the other is held to a stricter standard.
She concluded that principles only remain meaningful when they are applied equally to everyone.
