ActionAid Ghana (AAG) notes with great concern the manner in which key state agencies mandated to protect children responded to the ‘abduction and forced marriage’ of 17-year old Junior High Student, Muniratu.
When the news first broke, Muniratu was not married. The nation heard the story of a father who intended to marry off his under- age daughter and dared all and sundry, including the sitting and former presidents to intervene. It is therefore shocking that a few days later, news again broke that the minor had actually been married off.
AAG would like to know why this illegal marriage of a minor was allowed to take place, in spite of the Children’s Act (Act 560) and Domestic Violence Act (Act 732).
According to these laws, a 17-year old girl is a minor and should therefore not be married. Moreover, the victim openly and vehemently objected to the marriage to the 60-year old man. The girl is in the final year in the Junior High School, preparing to write her final examinations and insisted on her human right to continue her education.
AAG wants to know why state agencies such as DOVVSU, CHRAJ, Department of Children and Social Welfare did not invoke the powers invested in them by these laws to prevent the marriage from ever being contracted. The father should have been told in clear terms that though Muniratu is his daughter, she is a human being in her own right and protected by those inalienable rights. She also has rights as a citizen of Ghana and is therefore protected by the laws of the country. And this is where the state (agencies) woefully failed Muniratu! The objections of the minor got overlooked in bureaucracies and mandate nuances till the unthinkable happened.
AAG is concerned that other men/families will also be emboldened to copy this criminal act as this father was not stopped even after stating his intentions publicly. From our perspective at AAG, the new debate about ‘annulling the marriage’ has come too late for Muniratu. Her right of choice has been grossly abused by this marriage as evidenced by the fact that she does not even know her ‘husband’s’ name.
As a child, she needed much more protection when the news broke and we in AAG are not convinced these remedies can rectify the harm already caused to her emotions. How can anyone be sure that her marriage will not be consummated before she turns 18 as ‘promised’ by her ‘husband’? Indeed, how can we be sure the consummation has not already taken place?
AAG demands that:
The state implements her mandate to protect its citizens
The appropriate agencies act to prevent such criminal acts before they are committed
The annulment of this marriage is ensured as a matter of urgency
Legal proceedings are immediately brought against the child’s father and ‘husband’ who colluded to break the law
Muniratu’s human rights to dignity, choice, education and welfare are paramount. She (and all children) MUST be protected by the state to enjoy those rights to the fullest.
