UNFPA, UPSA, and Traditional Leaders unite to end child marriage and gender-based violence

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and UPSA have joined forces with traditional leaders and cultural institutions to combat gender-based violence and harmful practices, including child marriage and female genital mutilation.

This partnership seeks to transform cultural norms and power structures that perpetuate violence against women and girls.

The collaboration brings together traditional leaders, including chiefs, queen mothers, and council members, to discuss human rights, women empowerment, girl empowerment, and youth empowerment.

Addressing the gathering at the Otumfuo Center for Traditional Leadership and United Nations Fund Population (UNFPA) stakeholder engagement, under the auspices of the UPSA, on the theme "The Ghanaian Culture and the Quest for Women and Children’s Rights", Dr. Wilfred Ochan emphasized the importance of re-examining cultural values and practices that conflict with development and human rights. He called for partnership and collective action to achieve a Ghana that fully embraces gender equality and women empowerment, addresses harmful customary practices, and supports women and youth representation in leadership and decision-making structures at all levels.

The program aims to promote the rights of adolescent girls, avert marriage and pregnancy, and enable them to achieve their aspirations through education and alternative pathways. It supports households in demonstrating positive attitudes, empowers girls to direct their future, and promotes positive change in Ghanaian communities in the next 5-10 years.

Dr. Ochan further noted that the initiative will address the underlying conditions that sustain child marriage, advocating for laws and policies that protect girls' rights and highlighting the importance of using robust data to inform such policies.

Nana Agyemang Duah Katakyie III, Divisional Chief of Seinnuah Stool Lands in the Ahafo Region, urged parents to protect their children from early pregnancy. He also announced the establishment of his Orphans Educational Foundation, which is currently providing educational sponsorships to 500 orphaned students in his traditional area to enable a girl child to focus on education rather than running after a man because of the little tokens she gets from a man for school or upkeep.

Nana Adwoa Awindor, the Nkosuohene of Afigya-Kwabre in the Ashanti Region, called on traditional leaders to instill discipline in their communities to prevent teenage pregnancy. She advocated for traditional leaders to set guidelines and ensure children are not forced into early marriage.