The Executive Director of women and child rights advocacy, Songtaba, Hajia Lamnatu Adam, made the call at a day’s meeting with members of the Northern Regional House of Chiefs.

[contextly_sidebar id=”xH0ZL0A6BP3SeqfVIggNMUxQTohxRvgW”]Songtaba in collaboration with Plan International Ghana, organized the meeting funded by STAR-Ghana, the European Union, DANIDA and the UKaid.

According to her, the meeting sought to push bye-laws required to protect the human rights of ostracized women branded as alleged witches.

With emphasis on queen mothers, Hajia Lamnatu Adam pleaded with the traditional rulers to kick against stigmatization and other forms of inhumane treatment, meted out to women accused of witchcraft in their localities.

She further underscored the need for traditional rulers to declare zero tolerance for early child marriage and mob injustice gaining notoriety in the Northern Region.

She said the Alleged Witches Reintegration Committee and other partners, have over the years been working to protect the rights of vulnerable groups particularly women accused of witchcraft.

Hajia Lamnatu Adam implored the traditional rulers to subscribe to a declaration saying “No” to all forms of human right abuses against women and children.

Chairman of the Alleged Witches Reintegration Committee, Sheikh Dr. Al-Hussein Zakaria, decried the deplorable living conditions of alleged witches at the various camps.

“There are alleged witches everywhere in the world including Europe, Asia and Africa, but I wonder why suspected witches in Ghana often go through the dehumanizing treatment at the hands of family members and their communities.”

He mentioned sensitization of communities, media campaign, meeting with the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection as some of the activities carried out in line with the committee’s agenda to alleviate the plight of all alleged witches.

Sheikh Dr. Al-Hussein Zakaria called for a multifaceted approach to guarantee the safety and protection of the already ostracized women.

Senior Officer of Plan International Ghana in charge of the Girls Advocacy Alliance project, Nambere Anna, called for deeper collaboration between Civil Society Organizations and chiefs to stop women and girl child rights abuse.

She appealed to the chiefs to adopt the strategy initiated by Songtaba and its partners to promote women and child rights.

Nambere Anna reaffirmed her outfit’s commitment to fund projects aimed ensuring their enforcement of bye-laws meant to protect the rights of the vulnerable in society.

Head of Ghana’s Legal Aid Department, Northern Chapter, Issah Mahmudu [Esq], said the laws of Ghana condemns dehumanizing the fundamental human-rights of all citizens.

He advised the chiefs to dispel outmoded cultural practices that are injurious to others.

“Stop accusing innocent women of witchcraft. Majority of the people who are being accused and banished from their communities are defenseless, they are vulnerable and poor, and they don’t have people to come to their defense.”

Mahmudu Issah commended Songtaba and its partners for initiating bye-laws to protect the vulnerable in society.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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As the maiden edition, the event is christened, “Supporting girls to learn, lead, decide and thrive: the responsibility of all.”

The participants from Sagnarigu, Saboba and Gushiegu are to be taken through topics such as managing changes in girls, career counselling and guidance and child protection with emphasis on sexual abuse and child marriage.

Songtaba’s Executive Director, Hajia Lamnatu Adam at the opening ceremony said the event sought to give participants the opportunity to integrate and deepen their knowledge on the abuse of their rights.

She mentioned child marriage, sexual violence and abuse, commercial sexual exploitation of children and child tourism, access to Technical and Vocational Training and decent employment opportunities for young girls as some of the factors affecting girl child growth, hence the Girls Camp establishment.

Hajia Lamnatu encouraged the participants to pay attention to the instructors and serve as Ambassadors of change in their localities.

She called for a multifaceted approach to solve the menace saying, “The project has reached out to about 750 girls from July 2016 to date. We must all support to build solid structures at the community level such as the community child protection teams to protect our vulnerable girls from abuse. Protection is less expensive than dealing with the consequences of the abuse.”

The Northern Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed in a speech read on his behalf reaffirmed government’s commitment to fight against all forms of girl child abuse.

“As a government, we are committed to this course of ensuring that the SDGs on attaining international acknowledgement of the power of women is attained by 2030.”

The girls’ camp is in line with implementation of the Girls Advocacy Alliance (GAA) project in 30 communities.

The 5-year project seeks to achieve equal rights and opportunities for girls and young women.

It is also expected to significantly reduce child marriage and sexual abuse of young girls in the beneficiary districts.

According to UNICEF one out of five Ghanaian young girls is in marriage or in an informal union or cohabitation arrangement.

The phenomenon is attributed to negative cultural practices, religious beliefs, poverty, peer pressure, illiteracy and parental irresponsibility.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Songtaba train girls on sexual abuse appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The identified districts are Sagnarigu, Nanumba North, Gusheigu, Saboba and Mion.

This is contained in the report of a survey conducted by Songtaba, a Non-Governmental Organization promoting girl-child and women rights in the Northern Region.

The report disclosed that female teenagers of 13 years are being forced into early marriage and betrothal.

Songtaba’s Executive Director, Hajia Lamnatu Adam at a continual stakeholders meeting in Tamale, cited poverty, teenage pregnancy, inducements and girl child insecurity as some of the remote causes of child marriage.

She explained that, the survey was in line with the implementation of a five-year strategic project christened, “Girls Advocacy Alliance (GAA).”

According to her, the GAA seeks to address the root causes of early child marriage and sexual abuse against girls in the identified districts.

“The Girls Advocacy Alliance” (GAA) project, is being implemented by Songtaba with support from Plan International Ghana, and has been rolled out in 40 communities across the districts.”

Hajia Lamnatu said the survey sought to assess the influence of cultural and traditional norms on child marriage and sexual abuse of girls and women in the five districts.

“It sought to gather information on the extent, magnitude and consequences of child marriages in Ghana, as a basis for raising awareness on how children, particularly girls are affected by the practice”, she emphasized.

She blamed duty bearers for the lackadaisical implementation of policy and legal frameworks needed for children’s protection. She thus called for a comprehensive legal framework on child rights going forward.

She also emphasized the need for extra advocacy on the menace in the identified districts. Hajia Lamnatu recognized the role of religious and traditional leaders in combating the menace, and admonished them to support the crusade.

Songtaba’s project Officer, Mohammed Alhassan in a presentation, said the three regions of the north were prone to child marriage.

He narrated that, the three regions put together recorded 27.4 percent prevalence rate against the national average of 27.0 percent.

“Statistically, 95 percent of respondents knew what child marriage means, while 4 percent stated that they did not know anything about child marriage and its effects. The remainder 1% represented missing values”.

Mr. Alhassan further explained that, even respondents who had indicated that childhood ends at 18 years, subsequently claimed that in marital terms, childhood ends after puberty and that always coincides with the completion of primary schooling.

Participants at the forum condemned the menace and called on all stakeholders including the police, chiefs, parents, religious leaders and human right organizations to expose the perpetrators in their localities.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Child marriage rampant in 5 districts of Northern Region – Songtaba appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.