The Agona Swedru Traditional Council has made an official declaration, committing itself to supporting efforts towards ending child marriage within the Agona Nyakrom area in the Central Region.
They also issued a stern warning to perpetrators of this illegality, which often leads to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV), teenage pregnancies, and other harmful cultural practices that contribute to the increased rate of female school dropouts, health complications, and entrenched poverty among women and young girls.
The Council stated it would combat this menace through education, advocacy, legal, and other legitimate means, vowing that their resolution would remain valid until the objectives were achieved.
Okofo Okatakyi Nyarkoh Eku X, the Paramount Chief of the Agona Nyakrom Traditional Area, declared, “We will ensure that any child who is below 18 years will not enter into marriage, and anyone who acts contrary to undermine the resolution of the Council will face serious consequences.”
He made this declaration at a durbar at his seat in the Agona Nyakrom palace, which crowned a two-day workshop organized by the Obaapa Development Foundation, a non-governmental organization focused on women’s development, with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Ghana, the UN’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency.
The event was part of national efforts to empower traditional and religious leaders, as well as the public, to end child marriages in Ghana.
Okofo Nyarkoh Eku stated that the Council would not take lightly any parliamentary agreement or attempts to deter them from conforming to their customary mandate and rights as a traditional council.
The Paramount Chief, referencing the numerous dangers of child marriage, emphasized the need for urgent collaboration with stakeholders, including school heads, families, the police, the Ghana Education Service, and the Ghana Health Service to mitigate this issue.
He condemned the practice of parents throwing their pregnant daughters out of their homes to cohabit with the men responsible for their pregnancies, arguing that such acts fuel child marriages.
Following this declaration, Halima Saadia Yakubu, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, led members of the Council in an open pledge to fight all harmful practices against children, especially girls, and to create a community where every child can reach their full potential.
Dr. Wilfred Ochan, the Resident Representative of UNFPA, commended the Traditional Council for taking the bold decision to advocate for the rights of young people.
He noted that child marriage remains a significant problem in Ghana, indicating that the prevalence of marriage by age 15 has stalled at about five percent over the last ten years, without any visible improvement.
The workshop included over 40 participants, including chiefs and queen mothers from Swedru and Agona Nyakrom in the Agona West Municipal District of the Central Region, providing a platform for knowledge sharing and education on existing laws and sanctions against perpetrators of these human rights violations.
Experts at the workshop informed traditional leaders about the effects of early and child marriage, as well as related issues including SGBV, teenage pregnancy, and various health complications.
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