Early, forced marriages endemic in Ghana
The Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) has called for action by government, Parliament and civil society to stop early and forced marriages in Ghana.
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It said the practice of early and forced marriages was not foreign but something that was pervasive in the country.
WiLDAF made the call at a press conference in Accra as part of activities marking this year’s International Women’s Day.
The press conference, which was on the theme “Positive Action against Early and Forced Marriages in Ghana Project,” was to highlight and stimulate debate on the issue. It was supported by CARE International Ghana.
A board member of WiLDAF, Ms Magdalene Kannae, who addressed the press conference, said 14 million children under the age of 18 married each year, worldwide.
In Ghana, she said findings of surveys conducted by WiLDAF for Parliamentarians for Global Action and other civil society organisations revealed that Ghana had one of the highest child marriage prevalence rates in the world and that one out of four girls would be married before their 18th birthday.
The Ghana Demographic Health Survey in 2008 indicated that about 25 per cent of women aged 20-24 were married or were in union before age 18.
The prevalence rate of early and forced marriages in Ghana showed that Upper East had the highest of 50 per cent; followed by the Upper West with 39 per cent. The Greater Accra Region had the least of 11 per cent.
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Ms Kannae said the phenomenon of early and forced marriages had dire consequences for the women and girls involved.
“Studies have shown that it can lead to gender based violence, including domestic violence, as a married girl would be forced into sexual activity though she is not physically and sexually mature. Such early marriages expose the girls to physical, economic and psychological abuse,” she added.
On the health risks, she stated that “child brides can die from pregnancy related complications because they do not have fully developed bodies to carry a baby, which can result in obstructed labour and obstetric fistula. They can also contract Sexually Transmitted Infections or HIV because of their greater sexual exposure, often with much older persons.”
Ms Kannae said married children also tended to drop out of school shortly before or when they got married and they were vulnerable to poverty because of limited employable skills.
Additionally, she said child brides who were married to older men were more likely to become widows and might face challenges related to denial of property rights from in-laws.
Ms Kannae noted that though gender inequality, tradition, religion, teenage pregnancy and poverty, among others, appeared to be the root causes of early and forced marriages, failure on the part of law enforcers, ignorance of the existing law and lenient punishment contained in current legislation appeared not to be deterring enough to curb the menace.
“As parents, communities and as a country, we want the very best for children. The best we can do for them is to provide them with the necessities of life and protect them from harm, including early and forced marriages,” Ms Kannae said.