On May 25th, 2017, I was honoured to be invited to a special gathering by young visionaries in what they titled ‘Talk Over Popcorn’ at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). I spoke at large about the negative effects of underage marriages in our society and decided to share some of the thoughts with you.

Generally, and I say this with all certainty, marriage all over the world is celebrated as a joyful occasion; it’s usually between two people who have AGREED to come together to live as one or as a family; for this reason, friends, family of the couple and well wishers all celebrate, Well… except you are the ex that has been dumped… With that fact, I WORRY about the reason behind marrying off a 12 year old little girl, and some have the nerve to call it culture and tradition (I will address this part later). People, let’s be hard on the truth and say it this way, if marriage does not give a man the right to ‘rape’ his wife, then marriage should not excuse pedophilia. Simple, it is a perversion and should be treated with disdain.

Marriage is too complicated a thing to force as a gift to a 12yr old girl. I guess it would have been fine if she was forced to marry a 12yr old boy, but no, we have to make it worse by giving her off to a pensioner in most cases, What kind of imbalance perverted injustice is that. As if that is not enough she is expected to bare him children, all before the age she can vote. Face it, grown women are leaving marriages because they don’t understand it enough to handle it.

Culture and tradition, so if our forefathers were perverts and pedophiles, do we have to keep up that way of life? We might as well start human sacrifice and cannibalism then. Females naturally nurture and men naturally protect; he is not a man if he seeks intentionally and knowingly to harm a little girl. On the other side, what kind of  man does that??

I recently learned about the first female pediatric surgeon in Ghana, Prof. Afua Hesse. She’s also the first female surgeon from her alma mater and recently served as the president of the medical women’s international Association. This is but one of many examples of what our little girls can become .
One cannot over state the need for society to protect our youth, our future, and especially our LITTLE GIRLS. There is nothing to gain by forcing them into such uncomfortable situations, all we do by that is not only stifle their development and potentials, but also make them go through a lot of pain, mentally , physically and emotionally since they’re often treated as prisoners and slaves. MARRIAGE IS NOT THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE or ACHIEVEMENT of a woman….young girls can be inspired to be more than just child bearers. We have no right to limit the potential of the youth, of their minds. This is a plea to all, let the girls grow into something more!!
On the podium, after every achievement, all speeches recognise two beings constantly, a GOD and a MOTHER. This tells us the role and importance of women who become mothers play in our lives. Let us keep that in mind when we require a little girl to become one. What experience would she have to bring up her kids, what experience would she have to support her husband, how would she impact their lives? If she was not allowed to see her full potential.

Let’s ensure the strength of our homes by outlawing and shunning this practice.

Behind every successful man, they say is a woman, not a child.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.💞 (Photos from the event below)