The Northern and Upper East sit atop as the regions with the highest record of child marriages in the country which has been traced to an old tradition, a new report has revealed.
The Northern Region recorded 39.11 per cent cases of child marriages in 2015 followed closely by the Upper East Region with 36.9 per cent.
According to the report by the International Centre for Research on Women, forced and child marriages are very rampant in the three regions in north; something it said is attributable to an old traditional practice, especially in the Upper East where children young girls are given out for marriage before age 18.
The report revealed the rate of child marriages in Ghana, particularly the Upper East, became worse from 2011 when 39.2 per cent of cases were recorded followed by Western Region with 36.7 per cent. Greater Accra recorded the least with 12.2 per cent.
The situation, according to the report, has caused thousands of young girls to drop out of school to marry against their will. The practice is not only against their human rights but also deprive them education
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection with support from the European Union is currently educating young boys and girls in the Upper East on the implications of child marriage and how the youth can prevent the practice.
The Upper East Regional Director of National Commission for Civic Education, Apaabey Baba said the inclusion of the youth in the fight against child marriages is key and strategic in reducing the canker
Source: GhanaWeb
