The Centre for Gender Research, Advocacy and Documentation, CEGRAD, has redoubled its efforts to fight the scourge of child marriage in the country.
According to CEGRAD, the negative impacts of child marriage, particularly on the girl-child, were serious and, therefore, needed to be treated as an emergency.
To that end, the Centre has held an adult symposium to sensitise families in the Cape Coast Metropolis on the need to allow their girls to grow properly, be educated or learn a vocation and be psychologically ready for marriage before giving out their hand.
It was on the theme: “Child Marriage and Adolescent Rights and Gender Equality.”
The Director of CEGRAD, Prof. Eunice Fay Amissah, charged parents to guard against child marriage.
“Child marriage which occurs when a person is forced into marriage or a union before the age of 18, is a harmful traditional practice that robs girls of their education, their health and future,” she explained.
She noted that parents played a crucial role in ending the menace which she said robs many young girls of their bright future.
Director of CEGRAD, Prof. Eunice Fay Amissah
The Director indicated that every girl-child must be allowed to benefit fully from her potential just like their male counterparts.
Prof. Amissah urged the teenage girls, who participated in the workshop, to study hard to add value to themselves before venturing into marriage when they were legally qualified.
She called on all stakeholders to double efforts to end the phenomenon to avoid the intergenerational transfer of poverty and ensure girls’ empowerment.
The Central Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Mrs. Richlove Amamoo, for her part, said child marriage robbed girls of their childhood and deprived them of many rights.
She said child marriage contributed to poverty among families and called for the collective commitment of stakeholders to put in place measures that would protect the girl child from the social canker.
Central Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Mrs. Richlove Amamoo
The Regional Director urged stakeholders to advocate girl child empowerment in their communities.
Some of the participants said the workshop was an eye-opener to the dangers of child marriage and pledged to educate their peers and communities.
Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC