The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has urged stakeholders in the Ada East District to intensify efforts to end child marriage through parental supervision, law enforcement, education and community engagement to protect girls and secure their future.
The call was made during a celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child at the Roman Catholic Chapel at Kasseh, under the theme: “End Child Marriage and Invest in Girls’ Rights.”
Madam Faustina Blewusi, also known as Mama Magbenya II, Ada East District Director (NCCE), said child marriage was not only a moral concern but also a constitutional, civic and human rights issue that required collective action.
Madam Blewusi said the 1992 Constitution guaranteed fundamental human rights and freedoms irrespective of gender, while the Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560), prohibited forcing a child into marriage and set 18 years as the minimum age for marriage.
She stated that the persistence of child marriage was partly attributable to poverty, ignorance, misconceptions about culture, teenage pregnancy, and the low value some families placed on girls’ education.
She warned that marrying girls before they could complete their education deprived them of opportunities to become professionals and contribute meaningfully to national development.
She called on parents to prioritise their daughters’ education over bride price and urged traditional authorities to work with relevant institutions to strengthen community-level measures against child marriage.
“Real men protect girls. They don’t marry them as children,” she said, urging boys and men to become advocates for girls’ safety and development.
Naana Adiki Manyeyo Adi I, Queen of the Royal Adibiawe and President of the Ada Queen Mothers’ Consortium, also called on parents and guardians to encourage girls to pursue their aspirations rather than use words and actions that discouraged them.
Naana Adi, and Founder of the Manyeyo Adi Foundation, said parents needed to pay closer attention to their daughters’ activities, sources of money and possessions, as well as where they spent their time and how they met their needs.
“Some parents even ask their girl-children for money so they can use it to cook, while they know that the girl is not doing any work,” she said.
Naana Adiki warned that inadequate parental supervision could expose girls to situations that threatened their safety and future.
“We must up our game as parents, else the future generation will blame us for losing our guard,” she stated.
Some parents who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said inadequate parental supervision, including a lack of concern about where girls spent the night and how they fed while at school, made it difficult to address some of the challenges confronting them.
They called for greater parental involvement in the lives of girls to help protect them from abuse and other risks.
The event was organised in partnership with the Ghana Education Service, Side-by-Side School and other stakeholders.
The International Day of the Girl Child is observed annually on October 11 to highlight the challenges facing girls and promote the protection of their rights.