The announcement sparked a wave of indignation in the country. A 63-year-old Ghanaian priest married a 12-year-old girl this Saturday, March 30, in Accra (Ghana), during a customary ceremony, reports the BBC.
Well known in the country, priest Nuumo Borketey Laweh Tsuru XXXIII is the highest religious dignitary in the Nungua district, located in the Ghanaian capital. The supreme chief of the Nungua community, which brings together members of the Ga ethnic group, "fully approved and justified the union, even if he recognized that his attention had been attracted by the age of the young bride", details the local channel Ablade TV.
Internet users call on the police and the government
Numerous videos and photos of the wedding have circulated on social networks, sparking indignation among Internet users. In particular, we hear women from the community asking the young girl, Naa Okromo, to dress in a seductive way for her husband. She is also advised “to prepare for her duties as a wife and to use the perfumes they gave her to strengthen her sexual appeal to her husband,” transcribed the BBC.
Statements which caused an outcry, and generated broad reactions from Ghanaian Internet users who called in numerous comments for “the arrest of all those who supported this marriage”. They are asking the national police as well as the Ministry of Child Protection to intervene. “How can a 12-year-old girl marry a 63-year-old man in the name of tradition? » protests a man, when a woman points out that the marriage of a child is a violation of human rights.
Nii Bortey Kofi Frankwa II, leader of the local community, said this Sunday that the girl's role as the priest's wife was "purely traditional and customary", but the elements communicated during the marriage do not fit into this sense.
19% of Ghanaian women married before their majority
Indeed, according to Ablade TV, the young girl should also be present during a second customary ceremony “to purify her for her new role as wife of the high priest. This ceremony will also prepare her to take on marital responsibilities such as procreation.” Additional elements which worried Internet users, but also associations campaigning against child marriage.
Although the recurrence of child marriages is decreasing, they continue to occur, notes the BBC. The NGO Girls Not Brides, which fights against forced marriage of children and more particularly girls, affirms that 19% of girls are married before they come of age in Ghana, and 5% before they turn 15. Conversely, only 4% of boys are married under minors.
As in France, Ghana prohibits any minor from marrying. Customary marriages are recognized, but must respect the law which provides that the couple must be at least 18 years old, regardless of the traditions in force within the community in which they are held.