CHILD MARRIAGE: A LOOMING GLOBAL DANGER, AN ISSUE TOO LONG IGNORED IN GHANA

The upsurge of child marriage is of grave concern in Ghana. This age-old practice is rife in various communities across the length and breadth of the country. Child marriage inhibits girls' educational development, employability and subsequently influences their view of the world. The act takes the form of abduction, elopement and betrothal of these young girls who are mostly sold for a bride price.

In the matter of child marriage and its associated disadvantages to the girl child development, there have been global efforts to reduce to the barest minimum the canker of the phenomenon. In line with this, the first and third targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) four and five respectively states: “by 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes; eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilations”.

Ghana's 1998 Children's Act (Act 560) and the 1992 Constitution of Ghana clearly prohibit any person from forcing a child to be betrothed or be the subject of a dowry transaction or to be married. However, the war against child or early marriage cannot be won when girls do not understand the consequences that come along with it. The focus must be on making girls understand that their future success is not in being wives; instead, it's in their skills and intellectual development.

The UNFPA's theory of change for Ghana suggests that for girls to fully enjoy their childhood free from the risk of marriage, they are to experience healthier, safer and more empowered life transitions while in control of their own destiny, including making choices and decisions about their education, relationship formation or marriage and childbearing. It suggests that there must be an acceleration of action to address child marriage in Ghana by enhancing investments in and support for married and unmarried girls alike, making visible the corresponding benefits of this assistance; engaging key actors, including young people, as agents of change in catalysing shifts towards what positive gender norms; increasing political support, resources, policies and frameworks promoting positive change and improving data and evidence base.

In order for Ghana to realize this vision, there are some critical questions to be considered. How well informed are the citizenry in both rural and urban areas on human rights issues and the consequences of committing such abuses? Have we empowered our numerous institutions that are responsible for protecting the girl-child in our country? Many of the abuses that are committed and swept under the carpet are not because we do not have institutions that can protect the rights of the victims and punish the culprits, it is because these institutions do not have enough resources to follow these issues. All these start and end with how adequately our institutions are resourced from national to the district levels to ensure that the triple phenomenon of dropping out of school and child marriage, which hinder the progress of the girl, is brought to an end.

To end child marriage also requires the engagement of the media as significant partners in shaping societal perception and social norms. The media’s increased advocacy on the factors fuelling the practice, the subsequent challenges and the benefits of ending the practice is very important, and must be encouraged. There should be consistent sensitization programs on the need to abstain from such vices and empower parents, as well as guardians with the acquisition of knowledge in order to invest their resources in their girl children. When these girls and communities are encouraged to know that there is a better alternative to becoming brides or marrying girls, this nation only loses the triple phenomenon that hinder the successful skill and intellectual development of the girl child.

From time to time, we keep dealing with the consequences of the problems that confront us, yet we seem to lose sight of the root cause of the problems.

My name is Kofi Anokye, a development enthusiast, and I will not allow fantasies wishful thinking and bedtime stories to be the bedrock on which our economy is being rebuilt but take a cold look at agendas and factual records and act decisively and swiftly to build a better Ghana.