41 per cent of parents accept child marriage – WVG

By
Yussif Ibrahim, GNA
     

Kumasi, Sept 24, GNA – A research conducted by
World Vision Ghana (WVG) has revealed that about 41 per cent of parents who
give their children out for early marriage see nothing wrong with the practice.

Mr. Richard Okai, Programme Effectiveness
Director of WVG, said the situation required sustained and strategic campaign
to tackle the menace, which continued to hinder the development and growth of
victims.

He was speaking at a town hall meeting with
Muslim clerics and chiefs at the Kumasi Central Mosque as part of the“End Child
Marriage Now!” campaign being implemented by WVG.

The campaign seeks to mobilize the support of
influential and key stakeholders in society to end child marriage.

Mr. Okai said it was imperative to bring on
board Imams and chiefs in Zongo communities to fight the injustice being meted
out to victims of child marriage, whose potentials were curtailed and not
allowed to be nurtured through no fault of theirs.

He was of the view that the fight against the
practice would not succeed without the involvement of religious and traditional
leaders.

He said the rights of victims to education
were taken away from them while endangering their health since they were not
matured enough to carry pregnancies.

Even more disturbing, according to him, was an
emerging phenomenon whereby some men deliberately impregnate victims, forcing
parents to endorse their marriage proposals.

He urged the leadership of Zongo communities
to join the fight to end child marriage to allow the children to developand
realize their full potentials, saying, this would enable them to contribute
meaningfully to the family and national development.

Hajia Ajaratu Lampinley, a tutor at the Kumasi
Nurses and Midwifery Training College, said pregnancy among teenage girls
contributed significantly to maternal mortality.

She said 65 out of 100 maternal deaths, were
below 18 years, adding that, those who survived most often had to go through
prolonged labour, which affected their babies.

She therefore advised parents not to rush
their children into marriage, stressing the need to allow their reproductive
system to mature to avert complications during labour.

GNA

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