Considering the emotional, physical and psychological welbeing
of victims, Afrikids Ghana, a child right NGO based in the Upper East Region
has partnered UNICEF to organise a Child Right festival in the Nabdam District
to end child marriage.
Speakers at the function stressed on the urgent need for
the public to join the global campaign to addressing the practice, which is
said to be endemic in developing countries.
Emphasizing on the theme"
Ending Child Marriage, our collective responsibility', a Child Protection
Officer at the UNICEF, Ruby Anang Korkor, echoed that though the phenomenon was
becoming less common in Ghana, it was still paramount to allow the girl child
to stay in school.
Mrs Korkor urged parents to rise up to the challenge in ensuring that girls are support through schools and that poverty should not be an excuse in giving them out
for marriage.
Report
Child
and forced marriages constitute a violation of human rights and is firmly
rooted in gender inequality. Despite laws criminalizing such practices, they
have remained widespread in most developing countries due to persistent poverty
and gender inequality.
Available statistics has it that in countries where child
marriage is endemic, one in every three girls is given out for marriage before
attaining the age of 18.
The primary belief is that girls and women are seen as
inferior to boys and men.
This has increased their vulnerability, thereby depressing
their fundamental right to make decisions for themselves. Ghana is ranked one
of the countries in West Africa sub-region with the highest rate of child
marriage.
Interestingly, in all the administrative regions of Ghana, the
highest level of child marriage is highly prevalent in the northern sector,
with northern region leading in terms of numbers. Moreover, in the Central and
Upper East Regions, one in ten adolescent girls is already married or in a
union.
It is for this and other reasons why Afrikids came up with the Child
Right Festival with the ultimate aim to joining the global campaign to ending
child marriage.
The year-long project with funding by UNICEF is being
implemented in 20 beneficiary communities within the Talensi and Nabdam
districts.
The initiative is a continuation of a piloted project undertaken in
these two areas from January to June last year.
The Talensi/Nabdam Area Manager
of Afrikids, Silas Ayaaba said the festival was born out of activities under Afrikids
child protection services, which are captured in the areas of health education,
rights and advocacy as well as livelihoods, business and social enterprises.
Child
marriage is said to be more common in rural populations where poor and
uneducated girls and women are more likely to get married twice as much as
those in urban settlements.
Moreover, 50 percent of adolescent gets married
before age 18. Afrikids child right festival however serves as a platform to
drum home the need for stakeholders to compliment the effort of NGOs and CSOs
in dealing with the menace.
This was clearly demonstrated in a heated debate by
pupils of Sakote and Nangode West circuit.
The debate was for or against the
motion "Are parents to blame for child marriage".
On
behalf of the Country Director of Afrikids, the Programmes Manager for the
Complimentary Basic Education, CBE, Richard Amoah, entreated parents and
teachers to support the global effort in ending child marriage and other forms
of abuse against children.
In a brief message, a Child Protection Officer at
the UNICEF, Ruby Anang Korkor, said the incidence of child marriage was a
shared concern and not to be blamed on parents.
She said the best place for the
child is to be in a family and called on all to continue to work with Afrikids
on child protection issues and ensure that girls stay in school.
The
Paramount Chief of the Nabdam Traditional Area, Naab Kosom Asaga Yelzoya re-emphasised
the need for parents urged to let their girl child stay in school and most
importantly protect them till they are of age to get married.
He further issued a stern warning against his sub
chiefs who sometimes connive with some parents to give out girls for marriage.
He
warned them to desist from the practice since he will not hesitate to deal decisively
with any chief found culpable.
Naab Yelzoya further urged teachers to champion
the cause by coming out with posters and other materials that will communicate
effectively to pupils when in school.
The
occasion was also spiced with a quiz competition and cultural performances by
pupils Nangodi East and Zoliba circuit.
In attendance were revered chiefs and
officials from the Ghana Education Service among other functionaries.
The Nabdam DCE , Vivian Anarfo and the District Director of Education, Edward Azuri were also present to grace the occasion.
GBC
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