Accra: The Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs (MLGCRA) is seeking the wisdom, authority, and moral leadership of traditional faith practitioners to help eradicate gender-based violence and harmful practices, including child marriage, in Ghana. Mr. Baafi Nsiah, Director for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs at MLGCRA, emphasized the significant influence these practitioners hold in their communities, noting that their involvement is crucial to safeguarding women and children.
According to Ghana News Agency, the engagement in Accra marks the first time the Ministry has brought together traditional faith practitioners exclusively to forge a coordinated response against practices undermining the dignity and well-being of vulnerable groups. Mr. Nsiah highlighted the dual role of traditional faith practitioners in community development and the challenges posed by some cultural practices such as child marriage, female genital mutilation, and discriminatory widowhood rites.
Mr. Nsiah called on the practitioners to promote values within traditional teachings that respect the rights and dignity of all individuals, advocating for interfaith and intercultural collaboration to support peaceful coexistence and social justice. He urged adherence to Ghana's constitutional and international human rights standards, emphasizing the need for concrete action plans rooted in Ghanaian traditions to address gender-based violence.
Hajia Sophia Tamimu, Head of the Child Marriage Unit at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, pointed out the heightened risk of gender-based violence among young people who marry early. She stressed the urgency of intensifying efforts to eliminate child marriage to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Hajia Tamimu highlighted government efforts, in partnership with United Nations agencies, to address the socioeconomic factors leading to early marriage through interventions like the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme. She urged parents to take advantage of free education programmes to keep their children in school, emphasizing that education is key to breaking the cycle of poverty contributing to child marriage.
The Ministry's dialogue with traditional faith practitioners is seen as a timely intervention to accelerate action against child marriage and gender-based violence, with significant progress already made through various programmes and partnerships.