Report: Regina Asamoah, New York
The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Afisa Djaba, has stated that Ghana is making significant progress in the fight against child marriage.
According to her, the Government of Ghana through several initiatives has demonstrated the will power to end the canker that is affecting the welfare and development of young girls in the country. This initiative includes the setting up in 2014, an Ending Child Marriage Unit spearheaded by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, launching of a five-year National Strategic Framework on Ending Child Marriage along with a two-year work plan to roll out the strategy at the national, regional and district levels.
She made the statements at Ghana’s side event at the ongoing sixty-second United Nation Commission on the Status of Women (UN-CSW62).
Addressing participants at the side event which was on the theme, ‘The Role of Women and Girls in The Eradication of Poverty in Rural Ghana,’ Madam Otiko Afisa Djaba said there has been a growing interest in child marriage in Ghana from all actors, including civil society organizations, government and donors. The country has also seen an upscale of community sensitization and reporting of perpetrators for prosecution. Recent data shows that the practice is slowly decreasing; 1 in 5 young women today were married before age 18, compared to 1 in 3 in the early 1990s.
“Child marriage in Ghana is deeply rooted in tradition and discriminatory gender norms. I challenge women to feel good in breaking negative and harmful traditional practices that impede their development and welfare”
She intimated that poverty exacerbates the problem of child marriage, saying 41.2% of girls from the poorest families are married before 18, as opposed to only 11.5% of girls from the richest families. The high bride price received for young girls in Ghana means that families often see child marriage as a survival strategy. Unfortunately, this leads to intergenerational poverty.
The Gender Minister challenged women to fight against marrying off their daughters at an early age. “I am encouraging you to feel good to break harmful traditional practices that impede on your welfare and development’. She called on men to join the fight against child marriage as no excuse can justify marrying your daughter off at a tender age.
Presenting on the ‘Burden of Unpaid Care Work On Women and Girls in Ghana: The Role of Government in The Redistribution and Reduction of Care Work’ Ms. Christina Kwangwari, of Action Aid Zimbabwe called on the Government of Ghana to take seriously issues around unpaid care work as it contributes significantly to development of the welfare of citizens.
Dr. Nana Appiahtua IV, Nifahemaa of Assin Foso in her presentation on ‘The Rural Woman as A Game Changer in Ghana’s Development: Perspectives from A Rural Woman,’ called for equal opportunities for both rural and urban women and girls. She urged Government to continually engage rural women in the implementation of projects targeted at them.
Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Gender, Dr. Appiah-Kubi gave the strongest assurance that the Parliament of Ghana is ever ready to advance policies and laws in favour of gender equality.
The side event, which chaired by Ghanaian lawyer and former First Vice-President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Prof. Akua Kuenyehia was well attended by some members of Ghana’s Standing Committee on Gender and Children, Select Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises of Parliament, gender activists, women Political Activists, Women Traditional Rulers, Civil Society Organizations among others.
