WiLDAF calls for action to end early, forced marriages
A women advocacy organisation, Women in Law and Development in Africa, Ghana (WiLDAF), has called on the government to minimise and, if possible, stop early and forced marriages.
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It also called on civil society organisations (CSOs) and the media to continue intensifying their advocacy to ensure that the practice was stopped.
WiLDAF made the call at a press conference in Accra yesterday as part of its activities to mark the celebration of International Women’s Day in Ghana, which falls today.
The celebration is celebrated globally on the theme: “Inspiring Change”.
A press conference was organised by WiLDAF, with support from CARE International, a non-governmental organisation, to highlight the issue of early and forced marriages in Ghana.
Early Marriages in Ghana
In a statement read on behalf of WiLDAF, a board member, Ms Magdalene Kannae, said a survey conducted by the organisation for Parliamentarians for Global Action, Ghana revealed that the country had one of the highest child marriage prevalence rates globally.
Ms Kannae also said that the Ghana Demographic Health Survey in 2008 also revealed that 25 per cent of women between the ages of 20 and 24 were married or were in a union before attaining the age of 18. The phenomenon of early and forced marriages had dire consequences on women and girls, she said.
“Studies have shown that it could lead to gender-based violence, including domestic violence, since a married girl would be forced into sexual activities even though she is not physically and sexually mature. Such early marriages expose the girls to physical, economic and psychological abuses,” she added.
Effects of such marriages
Ms Kannae also said that in terms of health, child brides could die from pregnancy-related complications because their bodies were not fully developed and, therefore, could not carry babies, which could result in obstructed labour and obstetric fistula.
According to her, married children tend to drop out of school shortly before or when they were married. She explained that married children, for many reasons, felt isolated from their peers who were still in school.
She also explained that since most child brides were married off to very old men, they were likely to become widows and face challenges because they would be denied property rights.
Causes
Even though gender inequalities, tradition, religion, poverty, among others, appear to be the root causes of early and forced marriages, failure on the part of law enforcers and the ignorance of existing laws seem to be the major causes.
Lenient penalties contained in current legislations also appear to be a contributing factor, she said.
Ms Kannae added that the decision to marry must be an informed one made freely without fear, cohesion or pressure.
“To marry is an adult decision which must be made only when one is ready as an adult,” she added.