The Greater Accra Regional Office of Gender with support from UNFPA organized a workshop on the menace of child marriage at the premises of the Ga South Municipal Assembly on Tuesday, 16th March, 2021.
Madam Matilda Banfro, the Ag. Regional Director of Gender in her address described child marriage as an extreme violation of child’s right and a serious form of child abuse which consequently, robs the girl of her childhood, potential and wellbeing. She added that getting married too young forces girls into physical and emotional relationships they are not ready for, that they have not chosen and that they have little control over and advised stakeholders to take keen interest in curbing the canker of Child Marriage in Ghana.
Madam Juliana Abbequaye, the Eastern Regional Director for the Department of Gender in her presentation stated that child marriage is a global menace which has affected most African countries including Ghana and has affected us in diverse ways such as illiteracy, poverty, diseases and underdevelopment. She noted that in Ghana, the continuous practice of child marriage can be attributed to poverty, entrenched negative traditional and customary beliefs and practices, lack of formal education, ignorance about the negative effects on the development of the girl child.
Dr. Abena Asamoabea Okoh, in her presentation revealed that if there is no reduction in child marriage, an additional 1.2 billion girls will be married by 2050 and added that that child marriage has dire consequences on the girl child, “Child marriage has devastating consequences for girls' health as they often face intense social pressure to prove their fertility, disproportionately affected by HIV as well as Cervical cancer among others.
The sensitization workshop was attended by Chiefs and opinion leaders, in Ngleshie Amanfro, Domeabra and Tuba within the Ga South Municipality, Headteachers from selected schools in the Municipality.
Participants were enlightened on the populace linkages between child marriage and its implications and further advised to assist champion the course of protecting the girl child from child marriage.
