Forced marriage• Man, 40, abducts girl, 17

A 17-year-old girl was allegedly abducted and locked up in a room by her supposed husband who is about 40 years old last week at Zagzilary, a farming community in the West Mamprusi Municipality.

The young girl, who was working as a head porter in Accra but returned home recently, is said to have been abducted when she was sent by her parents to a market at Kparigu, a community near Walewale.

Narrating her ordeal to The Mirror, the girl whose name has been withheld for the purpose of protecting her identity, said that when the supposed husband spotted her at the market on her way home, “he forcibly dragged me to their home with some guys so I tried to escape but my legs were tied with a rope”.
 
According to her, thankfully, she was rescued by her uncle who got wind of the incident.

The incident was witnessed by some students of the University for Development Studies (UDS) who were in the community for their Third Trimester Field Practical Programme (TTFPP), as a result they reported to the Municipal Directorate of the Commission on Human Rights Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).

According to the students, the young girl has been living in fear because the men were pursuing her each day to forcibly get her married.

When the Municipal Director of CHRAJ, Alhaji Ibrahim Iddrisu, was contacted, he said his attention had been drawn to the incident, and that he was working closely with the assemblyman of the area and some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to move into the community.

“At the moment, I have been able to identify the community where the incident occurred, and in the coming days I will visit there.

This is a criminal act so when the students contacted me I told them to immediately report to the police for the guys involved to be picked.

 We will investigate and get to the bottom of the matter,” he assured.

Alhaji Iddrisu mentioned that such cases were very prevalent in the area but the people were very reluctant to report to the appropriate authorities because it was perceived as a normal cultural practice.

“If urgent steps are not taken to rescue and move her out of the community, she is likely to join hundreds of girls who have fallen victim to such outmoded cultural practice,” he stated.