Peer educators ask chiefs to help stop child marriages

Peer educators, mainly adolescent girls in the Nkwanta North and Nkwanta South Districts of the Volta Region have called on traditional rulers to help stop the incidence of child marriage in the two districts.

They held that traditional authorities as wardens of traditional customs had significant roles to play in the campaign against child marriage and must rise up to that responsibility.

The peer educators made the call during community outreach events aimed at addressing gender inequality issues in the districts.

The events, at the instance of Women in Development Project (WADEP) with support from Women Peace and Security Network-Africa (WIPSEN-Africa), were under the Young Girls Transformation Leadership Project.

The peer educators said child marriage, teenage pregnancy and lack of parental care continued to suppress the progress of girl children in the two districts and needed the support of chiefs to address the issues.

They said feedback from community sensitization outreaches showed that the campaign against such negative cultural practices could only be won with support from traditional rulers.

The peer educators also urged teachers in basic schools to join the campaign against gender inequality by empowering girl children to rise above such cultural practices to achieve their future dreams.

WADEP in 2013 trained 30 peer educators and 20 mentors in the Nkwanta North and Nkwanta South districts to take up leadership roles in addressing issues of gender equality.

The peer educators, since 2014, used route marches, group and radio discussions and community outreaches to create awareness on issues of gender equality and hold duty bearers accountable to the issue.