Plan International Ghana and World Vision Ghana have expressed profound concern and strongly condemned the alleged marriage between a 12-year-old girl and a 63-year-old traditional priest in Nungua, Accra, as reported by various media outlets.
The two child rights organizations firmly asserted that there is no justification for the marriage, union, or betrothal of a girl child to a man, regardless of cultural traditions or any other pretext, stating unequivocally, “She is a child, not a bride!”
In a joint statement, the organizations highlighted that child marriage is a form of gender-based violence and a grave violation of human rights that perpetuates a cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and gender inequality, depriving children, particularly girls, of their rightful childhood, education, and opportunities for a brighter future.
The statement emphasized that the purported marriage of the 12-year-old girl poses a significant threat to her health, education, and overall personal and professional development, violating the Children’s Act of Ghana, 1998 (Act 560), and Ghana’s commitment to international conventions such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
Read full statement here: Joint Press Statement
Source: A1Radioonline.Com|101.1MHZ|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
