Seasoned actress, Uche Ogbodo, has counselled women who have clocke 40 years and above but withought husbands yet.
She said they should not allow tradition and what other people would say to prevent them from taking some frank decisions about their lives.
One of such, she said was that they should go ahead to have babies even if out of wedlock.
She spoke against the backdrop of her current pregnancy even now that she is 34.
According to her, some people have advised her to abort the pregnancy but she considers the suggestion unacceptable.
She said: “I am not a candidate for abortion and will never ever support abortion because I’m Catholic. I was 27 when I had my first child and I didn’t abort her, I had her despite all that I went through in the hand of the guy that I was with, now I am pregnant at 34 and you want me to abort it”.
“So many women in my shoes within my age range of 30 to 40 are dying to be married to have a family, praying every day doing all sort of rituals, doing of sort of prayers, going to all sort of places to find a man to be their husband so they can have babies because they cannot have babies out of wedlock because the society is going to crucify them saying how dare you to do that, how dare you to bring shame to my family? Their whole family will criticize and destroy their reputation and even disown them.
“So many of them don’t even have the guts to stand on their two feet and do what they have to do. Then you’re 45 years old without a child or husband who is going to take care of you when you’re aged?
“I am not criticizing anyone but I think our culture and tradition did this to us ladies. I think the enclosure and restrictions are too much. Allow women to be themselves. When you get to 40yrs no husband is coming and you get pregnant please have your child.”