Bongo Chiefs declare, ‘no more child marriage’

The Chiefs of the Bongo Traditional Area in the Bongo District in the Upper East Region have declared, “No more child marriage” and promised to lead an intensive campaign towards the elimination of the canker in the district.

The chiefs, led by Naba Baba Salifu Atamale Lemyaarum, Paramount Chief of the area, made the declaration in Bongo at a durbar organised by the Obaapa Development Foundation with funding support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

It was part of the UNFPA’s intervention to work with local stakeholders, including traditional authorities, to end child and forced marriage as well as eliminate all forms of abuses and dehumanising socio-cultural practices against women and girls.

The move is part of efforts to break barriers that hinder the progress of women and girls to access education and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly goal five, which puts emphasis on achieving gender parity by 2030.

It is being implemented by the Obaapa Development Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, among other stakeholders.

Held on the theme “commitment of ending child marriage: one paramountcy at a time”, the durbar for the Bongo Paramountcy to publicly declare its readiness to fight against child marriage and promote girl-child education for sustainable development.

Speaking at the durbar, Naba Lemyaarum noted that although child marriage in the district had seen a decline in recent years as compared to the previous years, the issue was still a concern in the area, and there was the need to work together to eliminate it completely.

“If care is not taken, the child marriage menace can escalate again here because of the poverty levels of the people, and so this project is timely”, he said.

As part of the activities, the Paramount Chief noted that all divisional chiefs within the paramountcy and their Queenmothers would intensify education among their subjects on the need to end child marriage and remove any barrier to the development of girls in the area.

“We don’t want to use force; we want to let the people understand that it is in our own interest that we need to stop child marriage.

“We need to embark on a sensitisation drive and proper education, and we will institute a working committee comprising the chiefs, Queenmothers, assembly members and all other stakeholders who matter to draw a tentative programme to provide guidelines to avoid conflict of interest”, he added.

Nanahema Adwoa Awindor, Executive Director of the Obaapa Development Foundation, said research conducted by the UNFPA and its partners revealed that child marriage was still prevalent in Ghana, and there was the need to amplify efforts at the community levels.

According to her, efforts had been made in the past. However, the current project sought to leverage the power and influence of traditional leaders and religious leaders to fight the phenomenon, targeting one paramountcy at a time.

She said the project had trained the chiefs and the traditional leaders on the laws and policies regarding child marriage and believed that they were empowered to make the needed changes for sustainable development.

Poganaba Felicia Agampoka, Queenmother of the Feo community and Secretary of the Bongo Queenmothers Association, lauded the project and said it would provide opportunities for the queen mothers who were already working with adolescents to intensify their campaigns.

Madam Rita Abamah, the Bongo District Girl Child Officer of the Ghana Education Service, said child marriage destroyed the future of girls and urged all stakeholders to join the fight to end the problem.