A GNA feature by Christabel Addo
Accra, Dec. 31, GNA – The negative consequences of early or child marriage can be intergenerational, with future children facing the risk of experiencing increased ill-health and death rates.
It also has far-reaching impacts such as limited educational opportunities, economic vulnerability, and reduced autonomy especially for girls, amidst other developmental consequences.
Child marriage, which is defined as a formal or informal union of children under age 18 years or less, is considered a total violation of human rights and a harmful traditional practice that disproportionately affects girls than boys.
The menace desecrates various legal provisions including Article 16 (2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses,” Section 14 of the Children’s Act, 1998 (ACT 560), and Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
Again Article 16 of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) further states that women should have the same right as men, to “freely choose a spouse and to enter into marriage only with their free and full consent,” and that the “betrothal and marriage of a child have no legal effect.”
Statistics
Despite the prohibitions, the menace remains a deeply rooted global issue with over 650 million girls marrying before their 18th birthday, with existing data showing that one in every five girls worldwide is formally married or engaged in an informal union before age 18.
In the least developed countries 36 per cent of girls are estimated to be married before they are 18 years old, while 10 per cent of girls are also married before age 15 (UNFPA).
In Ghana, one in five girls aged between 20 and 24 have been married before age 18 years, with 16 per cent of them entering a union or marrying before the legal age of 18, and three per cent marry before they are15 years old.
Though the prevalence of child marriage is reported to have declined over the past three decades, progress has been slow, especially within the regions with the highest rates being the Northern, Upper East and West, Volta, Western, Bono, Ahafo and Ashanti regions.
Key Drivers
The key drivers of child marriage are multi-faceted and linked to issues like gender inequality, poverty, ignorance, cultural practices, socio-cultural norms and teenage pregnancy.
Commitments
In a landmark international consensus, a Programme of Action was adopted by the International Conference on Population and development (ICPD) in 1994 and subsequently at ICPD25, where countries globally agreed on measures to eliminate child marriage by ensuring strict enforcement of laws.
In signing up to these legal conventions and declarations, governments committed to taking effective measures with a view to abolishing traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA Ghana), which is the United Nation’s (UN) Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency, has since then been working closely with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), and the Chieftaincy Ministry, to end child marriage in Ghana.
Initiatives
One of the key initiatives is the development of a National Strategic Framework on Ending Child Marriage in Ghana, which outlines a comprehensive approach to addressing the issue.
As part of this effort, UNFPA Ghana has supported the Department of Gender in organising community consultations and workshops to raise awareness about the dangers of child marriage and to mobilise community leaders to act.
The engagements targeted stakeholders, including traditional leaders, community members, and government officials, to discuss strategies for preventing child marriage and supporting girls who are already married.
UNFPA Ghana in partnership with organisations such as UNICEF, have also supported programmes that empower girls, providing them with access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities, to help address the root causes that perpetuate the practice of child marriage.
Additionally, UNFPA Ghana has supported the development of policies and laws including the Children’s Act and the Domestic Violence Act, that protect girls from child marriage.
Overall, UNFPA Ghana’s support project with the Gender and Chieftaincy Ministries respectively has been a critical component of the national effort to end child marriage in Ghana.
UNFPA believes that once parents and communities understand the irreparable harm that the practice of child marriage can inflict on girls, practices can shift to alternatives that build up girl’s assets, be treated with dignity and respect to grow to achieve their full potential.
By working together with government agencies, community leaders, and other stakeholders, the Agency is helping to create a safer, more supportive environment for girls and women throughout the country.
Hajia Safia Tamimu, the Head of the Child Marriage Unit at the MoGCSP, said her outfit with UNFPA support, has been at the forefront of various regional, district and community engagements to educate traditional and religious leaders, journalists and other key stakeholders on the seriousness of the problem, punitive measures and the need to end child marriages.
She advised religious leaders against officiating child marriages emphasising its criminality under Ghana’s laws and encouraged parents to remain responsible to their parental roles.
She said Chiefs and Queen Mothers in various regions across the country have pledged their commitment towards ending child marriages within their communities and through such initiatives, social norms and perceptions that tolerated inequality in gender roles and responsibilities were now changing with programmes.
Hajia Tamimu said the Ministry had also put in place measures such as a programmatic approach to analyse and address the menace, and it rolled out the Gender Transformative Accelerator Tool in 2022, to tackle the issue of life after rescuing victims of child marriage.
The Ministry, among others, have educated journalists and the public on the existence of the Child Marriage Information Portal (www.cm.mogcsp.gov.gh), which was launched in September 2021, to increase accessibility of accurate, complete and reliable data of Ghana’s situation to help combat its prevalence.
The Portal could serve as a guide to assist researchers and journalists in reporting accurately on child marriage in Ghana.
Dr Doris Mawuse Aglobitse, the Gender Team Lead at UNFPA, said it was important to strengthen relevant sectoral systems and service delivery, ensuring stronger linkages and referrals among service providers across relevant sectors.
She said the gender-transformative approach must be integrated across programming including engagement with boys and young men to promote positive masculinities.
Dr Aglobitse called for the sustenance and increase of support for interventions for adolescent girls’ empowerment, leveraging public finance and strengthening of government accountability.
GNA