 |
| Alhaji Abdul-Razak Saani |
Early child marriage
and sexual violence against young girls are very prevalent in the Northern
Region of Ghana, with many girls in their early teens constantly dropping out
of school before completing junior or senior high school.
These issues, according to various surveys conducted
by notable local and international organisations, are as a result of negative
cultural practices, religious beliefs, poverty, peer pressure, illiteracy and
parental irresponsibility.
But the Northern Regional Director of the National Commission
for Civic Education (NCCE) Alhaji Abdul-Razak Saani, has blamed the issues of
early child marriage and sexual violence against girls squarely on Muslims,
chiefs and parents.
Contributing to a discussion at a stakeholders meeting
organised by Songtaba in Tamale, he said issues of child marriage emanated from
within families who always consented to such marriages.
“.....some parents are adversaries...they wouldn’t
like it. Some chiefs...we have had situations where some chiefs have married
children...chiefs who are even educated...chiefs who have a lot at stake.
“The other adversaries we have to talk about is the
misinterpretation of religion...very bad. Unfortunately, it is the Muslims who
perpetrate it. The Christians don’t do that. All these crimes, crimes is
perpetrated by the Muslims....” Alhaji Saani stated.
The NCCE Director cited Nakpaa, a village in the
Nanumba North District where a child could go to school and return home with a
child bride. Retrogression in children’s education, he observed, was a factor
demotivating many of them from staying in school but rather choose to drop out
to marry.
He also chided District Assemblies in the region for
reneging on their responsibilities towards the development of citizens
especially children, and charged them to consider critical needs of children in
their development plans.
There are dangers associated with early child marriage
and sexual abuse against girls but largely unknown to victims and perpetrators
of such acts. Some of these dangers are sexually transmitted infections
including HIV, psychological trauma and miscarriage due to immature womb or
rapture of the womb during delivery.
Besides, there is a high risk of such girls suffering
fistula due to their inability to endure labour pains and push hard for their
babies to come out during.
The Northern Regional Coordinator of the Domestic
Violence and Victims Support Unit (DoVVSU), ASP Emmanuel Holortu, also blamed
traditional authorities and politicians for being part of the reasons why early
child marriage and sexual abuse were still prevalent in the region.
He proposed that, whereas it was important to address
challenges associated with early child marriage and sexual abuse, girls who
were still virgins in communities noted for the abuse of girls should also be
identified and celebrated as a way of setting standard for other girls to
emulate.
 |
| ASP Emmanuel Holortu |
To put an end to the phenomena of early child marriage
and sexual abuse against girls, Plan International Ghana in collaboration with
Songtaba, is implementing a five (5) year project that aims at addressing their
root causes.
Dubbed: “Girls Advocacy Alliance” (GAA), the project
which is spanning July 2016 to December 2020 is being rolled out in the Upper
West, Northern, Eastern and Greater Accra Regions of Ghana.
In the Northern Region, GAA is being implemented in 40
communities in the Nanumba, Saboba, Gusheigu and Sagnarigu Districts in the
Northern Region.
The Executive Director of Songtaba, Ms. Lamnatu Adam,
said the project would focus on child marriage, sexual violence and abuse,
commercial sexual exploitation of children and child sex tourism as well as
access to TVET and decent employment opportunities for girls and young women.
She noted that, by the end of the 5years, child marriage,
sexual violence and abuse against children as well as commercial sexual
exploitation would have reduced.
Girls and young women, Ms. Adam explained, would have
increased access to Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) and to
decent work opportunities.
Meanwhile, other stakeholders at the meeting advocated
for strict enforcement of the domestic violence law, children’s law and other
criminal codes in order to end the canker of early child marriage and sexual
abuse against girls which were spiralling out of controlling.
No comments:
Post a Comment