Kayayei form network to push for end to child marriage
A number of female head porters (Kayayei) working in Accra and Kumasi have established a network of ‘ Kayayei against Child Marriage’ as a means of accelerating action to end child marriage.
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The network is an outcome of a programme during which a total of 165 Kayayei selected from the Mallam Atta and Agbobloshie markets in Greater Accra Region and Bantama in the Ashanti Region were trained in legal literacy and also equipped with livelihood development skills.
The training programmes organised by the Ghana branch of the Society for Women and AIDS in Africa (SWAA) with funding from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was part of the global programme on accelerating action to end child marriage
At a follow up meeting in Accra, the Kayayei, who are all from the three northern regions shared experiences from their respective markets and communities.
In a related development, SWAA has outdoored 65 kayayei from the Mallam Atta market in Accra who recently completed their training in livelihood skills and legal literacy.
The kayayei were trained in soap-making, production of bags, sandals and accessories using beads.
Fifteen of them who were trained as paralegals are expected to provide legal literacy serve as and help address human rights abuses in their communities.
Child marriage
Speaking at the function, Ms Esi Awotwi, an Official of UNFPA, Ghana, said the agency is implementing a five year programme aimed at accelerating action to end child marriage.
The programme, she said, is addressing child marriage in Ghana through the provision of technical and financial support for policy advocacy, knowledge management and service delivery interventions.
“Girl-centred activities form a core component of the programme and aims at reducing the factors that influence the vulnerability of adolescent girls to early and forced marriages,” she added.
According to Ms Awotwi, under the inception phase of the programme, about 1,500 girls aged 10-19 years from selected districts in the Northern and Upper East Regions have been empowered to make informed decisions about their sexual health and reproductive rights and also advocate for the protection of adolescent girls against child marriage.
Rights-based programming
The President of SWAA Ghana, , Ms Gloria Dei-Tutu said the organisation has adopted a rights-based programming approach to empower vulnerable adolescents to help them make informed decisions, improve their economic status and reduce their vulnerabilities to gender based violence and its consequences, including forced cohabitation.
She said 165 kayayei benefitted from the training, which started in December 2015, but it is expected that it will indirectly benefit 2,000 girls as the trainees are required to pass on the skills to other kayayei.
The trainees were all presented with starter packs containing items that would enable them start their own businesses.