The Kpandai District Assembly in the Northern Region has intensified its fight against early marriage and child bethrothal phenomenon which is gaining grounds in the area.
The increasing phenomenon is said to be hampering girl child education in the area, and the district assembly and some non-governmental organizations are working hard to curb it.
One of the influential factors of this negative development is high poverty levels associated with most families there.
[contextly_sidebar id=”xOgEmVUb9NWTQQqf1XSsEXkpbknyglvF”]Alarmed by the situation, the Kpandai District Assembly has launched an intensive campaign against the phenomenon.
The assembly in collaboration with chiefs and youth groups have formed watch-dog committees in various communities to monitor and report parents who force their girl-children into early marriages.
District Chief Executive for Kpandai, Mr Jasper Jatoh Moayi exclusively told Citi News that any parents caught in this act will be severely punished.
He called for concerted efforts to promote education of the girl child as best means of enhancing gender equality.
The Kpandai District is considered as one of the less developed districts in the Northern Region.
The assembly is housed in a congested building within the Kpandai Township.
Although the Children’s Act of 1998 prohibits marriage of any person below 18 years, recent data, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), indicates that the national rate of child marriage is increasing.
UNICEF indicates that, as many as 34,000 girls – less than 15 years – are married every year in Ghana and an even greater number, 27 per cent of girls between 15 and 18 years, enter marriage, often against their will.
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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana