In Ghana today, far too many young girls lose their childhood to forced unions. Picture this: a 14-year-old girl, still finding her voice, suddenly thrust into marriage and motherhood, her education cut short, her dreams fading. This is not just an isolated tragedy—it is a national crisis.
According to the Plan International report Girls’ Experiences of Living Through Child Marriage, child marriage hijacks young lives. It steals safety, health, opportunity and agency. Thousands of girls in Ghana live this reality—married off too early, silenced by stigma, overlooked by society.
At the same time, alarming cases are surfacing: teachers, taxi drivers, farmers and other trusted adults are preying on girls in schools, transport networks and rural communities—so-called “helping hands” turning into threats. This exploitation reinforces the conditions that lead to child marriage: teenage pregnancy, social isolation, diminished schooling, and ultimately, forced union.
Here’s how we can stop this.
1. Keep Girls in School and Safe
Every extra year a girl spends in school lowers her risk of early marriage. Schools must also institute iron-clad safeguarding policies: vetted transport, trained staff, zero‐tolerance for sexual misconduct. When schools are safe and accessible, families have hope.
2. Strengthen Child Protection Mechanisms
Child marriage and sexual exploitation thrive in shadows. Ghana needs 24/7 child-protection hotlines, mobile response teams and community-based reporting hubs. Transport workers (school taxis, buses) must be vetted and licensed with codes of conduct. Teachers and school staff who exploit girls must face legal consequences, not just transfers. Only when perpetrators are held accountable will families believe change is real.
3. Reform Laws, Enforce Them Relentlessly
The law in Ghana — including the Children’s Act 1998 — must be strengthened and enforced with urgency. Every marriage of a child must be illegal and blocked at registration. Courts should have fast-track juvenile and gender desks, and communities must be informed: forced marriage is a crime. Data shows that where prosecutions happen, early marriage rates drop.
4. Shift the Culture, Elevate Girls’ Voices
Traditional norms that insist “a bride by 15 is respectable” must be challenged. Community-based dialogues led by chiefs, faith-leaders and women’s groups are essential. Boys and men must be included as allies in rejecting early marriage. And girls themselves must be heard—through peer networks, media campaigns and youth-led platforms telling the truth about their lives. When girls find their voice, society begins to listen.
5. Provide Economic Alternatives
When poverty drives early marriage, the solution is economic—cash transfers tied to girls’ school attendance, vocational training for girls and caregivers, scholarships for vulnerable youth. Give families a reason other than marriage to invest in their daughters’ futures, and invest Ghana will.
6. Ensure Access to Sexual & Reproductive Health
Teen pregnancy often precedes forced marriage. Comprehensive sexuality education and youth-friendly health services in communities give girls knowledge and means to protect themselves. This is prevention at its roots.
7. Invest in Survivors’ Recovery & Reintegration
For girls already married or abused, we must offer chance and hope: one-stop centres for legal aid, counselling and health services; safe shelters; re-entry to school or vocational training. The future must be open to girls whose childhoods were stolen.
What can you do today?
• Speak out. Share this message with your networks—on Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram.
• Demand policy-action. Write to your MP, district assembly member or local chief: “When will child marriage stop in my district?”
• Support local organisations. Donate your time, money or voice to groups working to protect girls in Ghana.
• Educate and engage your community. Host a talk in your church, mosque, school, or neighbourhood to challenge norms that allow child marriage.
Conclusion:
When we say “No Child Bride. No More.”, we’re not just adopting a slogan—we’re committing to a fundamental value: that every girl in Ghana deserves childhood, education, safety and choice. Ending child marriage is not just a women’s issue—it’s a national imperative. If we keep girls safe, educated and supported, Ghana’s future will be stronger for all of us.
The time is now. Let’s refuse silence. Let’s demand justice. Let’s open the door for every girl to be not a wife, but a child.
Child marriage is more than infringement,it must be stopped now