The Chief Director of the Obaapa Development Foundation, NanaHema Awindor, has been leading the campaign to end child marriage in Ghana since 2016. With support from UNFPA, the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs, and the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection, the Foundation organized capacity-building and awareness training for Queen Motherssub-divisional chiefs across the country.
The campaign, titled “Ending Child Marriage and Teenage Pregnancy, One Paramountcy at a Time,” collaborates with various stakeholders, including UNFPA, the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, and local traditional leaders.
Recently, the Obaapa Development Foundation brought its campaign to the Bongo Traditional Area, providing training for the paramount chief, 15 divisional chiefs, 27 sub-divisional chiefs, 28 Queen Mothers, and religious leaders.
In an exclusive interview, NanaHemaa Awindor in the Bongo District, she stated that the Obaapa Development Foundation has set a target of 2027 to end child marriage in the country. While many institutions aim for 2030, the Foundation believes that achieving significant progress by 2027 is possible.
“Our target is 2027. Of course, 2030 is what everybody is looking at as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will end. But this ending child marriage project with the paramountcy is up to 2027. It doesn’t mean that by 2027 we are looking at zero. We are working towards zero, but we will continue engaging paramountcies after 2027. That’s what UNFPA’s project is focused on, and we hope to see significant reductions by that time,” she remarked.
Data from the Ghana Statistical Service indicates that approximately 80,000 girls in Ghana aged 12 to 17 are already married or living with a man. According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census (PHC), 79,733 girls aged 12 to 17 have been in union, with 25,999 being of Junior High School age (12 to 14 years). The regions with the highest percentages of girls ever in union are North East (13.0%), Savannah (10.9%), and Northern (10.6%), all exceeding the national average of 4.0%.
Despite the availability of free and compulsory education, nearly a quarter of a million girls (244,731) aged 6 to 14 have never attended school. The Northern Region has the highest number of these girls (73,516), followed by Savannah (27,930) and North East (22,857). In terms of percentages, Savannah leads with 40.2% of girls currently not attending school, followed by North East (29.3%) and Northern (28.5%). Nationally, 7.8% of girls aged 6 to 14 are not in school.
In the national ranking for girls aged 12 to 17 who have ever been in union, the Upper East Region ranks fourth, with 5,848 girls, while the Northern Region leads with 14,031, followed by Ashanti Region with 9,767 and Greater Accra with 6,063.
NanaHemaa Awindor explained that Bongo District was chosen for this initiative based on research identifying it as a prevalent area for child marriage. “UNFPA and our researchers selected specific regions and districts for focused engagement. We are doing community outreach with traditional leaders and inviting religious and opinion leaders to ensure sustainability,” she noted.
Richard Obeng Boafo, the Head of Religious Affairs at the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, represented the minister at the event and expressed commitment to ending child marriage in the Bongo Traditional Area. He urged the community to educate and advocate against the root causes of child marriage, such as poverty and harmful cultural practices.
He also called on the paramount chief, divisional chiefs, sub-divisional chiefs, Queen Mothers, and other stakeholders to work towards abolishing harmful religious and cultural practices that discriminate against women and girls. Additionally, he urged the Bongo Traditional Council to enact bylaws to address sexual and gender-based violence, including child marriage.
Source: mywordfmonline.com Gaspard A Adongo