July passed by really quickly and we’re already in the month of August. We have a very pressing issue we want to bring to your attention. There has been an alarming increase in children getting into marriages against their will at a very young age. This is of great concern to us, here at Rising Starz. 

 

According to UNICEF, more than one in every five girls in Ghana are married before the age of 18 and 5% are married before they turn 15. However, it is difficult to track child marriage in Ghana due to an absence of birth certificates, especially in some areas that may prove that the girl is, indeed, underaged.

 

Some if not, most girls in Ghana are driven into child marriage by gender inequality because most girls feel inferior to boys. While this is true, we should not push any girl especially underaged to enter any marriage. The girls are forced to marry older men, which oftentimes expose them to high risk of domestic violence.

 

While some might use this as a reason for them to be cared for by their husbands, it is still unconscionable for young girls to enter any forms of marriage, and be expected to perform wifely duties. These girls are not brides, they are girls with dreams and aspirations have that have been snatched from them.

 

Child marriage in Ghana is also driven by Traditional Customs, whereby young virgin girls are given as a payment in religious atonement ー still occurs in some parts of the country.

 

What a tragedy! Instead of teaching girls to become independent and productive citizens of a global society, we are teaching them to become dependent sex slaves.