Author: Emelia Naa Ayeley Aryee
The issue of child marriage seems to be less visited in our part of the world, but this is a real canker that has eaten into our society, ruining the lives of many young girls.
Child marriage refers to the marriage of a child before the age of 18. Normally, it is forced and instigated by many factors, of which poverty is leading. This affects mostly girls.
Causes of Child Marriage
People in rural areas practice child marriage than those in urban areas, with girls from rural areas twice more likely to become child brides than those in urban households. A common cause of child marriage is teenage pregnancy.
Other causes include, poverty, where parents believe that marrying off their child relieves them of financial burden.
There is also betrothal and forced marriage, as well parental neglect, zero supervision, among others.
What statistics are there?
Research by World Vision Ghana (WVG), and University of Ghana established the fact that even though the practice has reduced over the past four years, the current numbers show that there is still much to be done.
The research revealed among others that the national average of child marriage for girls aged 20-24 stands at 19.3%, as shown by the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 2017- 2018), which is an improved rate from the previous rate of 21%.
The 2017/2018 Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey indicates that the prevalence of child marriage occurs in the then ten regions of Ghana as follows: Greater Accra – 8%, Brong-Ahafo Region – 17%, Ashanti Region – 17%, Central Region – 22%, Upper West Region – 22% Eastern Region – 23%, Western Region – 23%, Volta Region – 24% Upper East Region – 28% and the Northern Region – 28%.
Issues of child marriage is not only pertaining to Ghana but globally; no wonder the African Union (AU) Commission, United Nation bodies, International NGO’s and Development Partners are committed to joining efforts to eradicate child marriage in Africa and other part of the world.
Beatrice’s narrow escape from child marriage
Child marriage was almost going to be the fate of 17-year-old Beatrice, but for the timely intervention of Ghanaian journalist, and gender advocate Emelia Naa Ayeley Aryee, who also has a keen interest in women and children’s affairs.
Beatrice was in her final year at the junior high school (JHS) level when she found herself pregnant.
She schooled at the Abenta Methodist School in Adawso, in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
Discovery of Beatrice
The photo of a heavily pregnant, fair-complexion young girl in school uniform caught the attention of this journalist. The photo was shared on Facebook by Lord Addo Yobo.
Setting eyes on the photo immediately stared the passionate interest in journalist Emelia to follow up on it.
She downloaded the photo and forwarded to Lord Addo-Yobo with the simple question: “I saw that you posed with this girl, what happened to her? Was she defiled?”. Lord Yobo, also known as King Yobo, was the class teacher of Beatrice.
Yobo was a school mate of the journalist way back in Tema Secondary School, and so, she was able to get the needed information from him without hesitation.
He revealed that Beatrice was not defiled, but got pregnant out of consensual sexual activity with her boyfriend who was also young as herself.
If that was the case, then it would make no sense to take legal action against the boy responsible for the pregnancy. What needed to be tackled was the possibility of the girl ending up being married to him. Something must be done to avert this scenario, journalist Emelia reasoned.
According to Lord Yobo, getting pregnant at teenage is not uncommon in the Abenta village where Beatrice lives. It is almost like a fashion and many teenagers there have fallen victim.
“Here, it is very normal for the girls to get pregnant even before they complete JHS. When this happens, they no longer go to school. Their family marries them off to the boy responsible, and that brings an end to their education. My sister, poverty is the cause of all this,” Lord Yobo disclosed.
He candidly applauded Beatrice, not for getting herself pregnant at age 17, but for deciding to continue to show up in school with her pregnancy, being fully aware of the treatment she was going to get in the hands of her school mates.
The pregnant class girl
Beatrice is a brave girl to have sat in the classroom throughout her 9-month period of pregnancy.
She endured the gossips, backbiting, teasing, insinuations, jeering, among others from her class and school mates. It is worth noting that all that did not move the brave pregnant girl.
In fact, it is this bravery that caught the attention of the journalist.
“Which school girl is this determined and has so much courage to go back to the classroom with a baby bump? This shows how zealous Beatrice is for her education, and she needs all the support to push through,” journalist Emelia said in that conversation with the teacher.
From there, Emelia grew deeper in her desire to help Beatrice get back to school after delivery, and not be married to the boy who got her pregnant. Her story must be different.
Thus, she kept in touch with the teacher, regularly asking for updates on Beatrice’s condition and general welfare.
All that while, the journalist was holding talks with Barbara Asare of World Vision Ghana, about Beatrice. She was trying to solicit for support for Beatrice to continue with her education after her delivery. Plans were being made.
The intervention
Early in May 2022, teacher Lord Addo Yobo broke the news of Beatrice’s delivery to journalist Emelia, and it felt good to be informed that she gave birth naturally without any complications. She had a baby girl.
Emelia and three other friends set a date to visit Beatrice in the village. The plans were to engage the girl herself, her family, and if necessary, the district assembly office. Yes, the district assembly office in the likely event that the family had decided to marry her off once she gave birth.
The day finally came for the team to visit Beatrice and it was on June 23, 2022. The journey to Abenta village wasn’t a stress-free one given the bad nature of the road. Two times, the team’s car got stuck in mud, deep potholes on the road.
And when they finally got to Abenta, the small village where Beatrice’s mud house is situated, they had to park the car and walk for about 15 minutes in the middle of thick bush to get there because there was no way for a car to go!
Beatrice and her family live in a small mud house, as their neighbours. It is a poor small community where everyone knows everyone.
The team, together with teacher Lord Addo Yobo, and a female teacher from the school, met Beatrice sitting in the porch of their mud room with her baby girl in her arms. She was constantly fanning herself and the baby with a piece of cloth in her hand in order to ward off mosquitoes and other insects from biting them.
At the house, journalist Emelia engaged Beatrice and her mother on the subject of her pregnancy, and the future of her education.
In an interview, Beatrice’s mother, Akos Debrah, admitted that she and the family had initially decided that they would marry off Beatrice after her delivery because they could not afford to take care of her and the baby.
However, she changed her mind when teacher Lord Yobo cautioned her that one female journalist was pursuing Beatrice’s case and was against her being married off.
Lord Yobo had revealed that he put some sort of fear in the heart of Beatrice’s mother that she risked being arrested and prosecuted if she carried on with her initial plan of marrying her off.
The mother thus confessed that but for the warning from the teacher, Beatrice would be married just as her mates who got pregnant do. It is nothing new to them.
As a petty trader who makes gari for sale, with four children to cater for, Beatrice’s mother admitted that she could not afford to take care of her granddaughter, Beatrice’s daughter, for her to continue school.
She suggested that Beatrice may have to remain at home till the baby was old enough for her to go back to school.
At this point, the mission of journalist Emelia had been accomplished – Beatrice would not end up as a child bride, she will go back to school. Child marriage was defeated in her case!
Back to school
After a month of delivery, Beatrice was back in the classroom. The determined girl devised a plan to leave her baby in the care of her grandmother and cousin.
Seeing how far she had come with her education, Beatrice could not afford to miss out on the 2022 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and sworn heaven and earth to sit for it.
Her plan was to beg her grandmother who lived near her school to look after her baby, assisted by her cousin.
The grandmother agreed, and this is what Beatrice did from July through to October when she completed her JHS education.
Baby instead of school bag
One could only imagine the looks on the face of school children, others as they see a baby at Beatrice’s back instead of a school bag.
“A lot of people look at me and my baby, especially when she is crying at my back. They wonder why I had the baby there instead of my school bag. Some believe that the baby is my own and others think she is not. They simply cannot come to terms with the fact that I have a baby and going to school,” Beatrice told journalist Emelia.
She would pass by the grandmother’s house and leave the baby there, ensuring that she is well breastfed.
During breaktime, Beatrice would use her break period to run as fast as her legs could carry her to the grandmother’s house to check on the baby.
There are days she would go and meet a crying baby, and there are days she would be met by a sound-sleeping one. When it has to do with the former scenario, Beatrice sat and breastfed the baby till she was fully satisfied. Then, she makes her way back to the school.
Her teachers, as well as school mates, had come to understand and accept her circumstance as a school girl mother, and when they could, they offered her the necessary assistance. The days of gossips, teasing, insulations had all become a thing of the past.
What kept her going
Beatrice, in her interview with journalist Emelia, fondly mentioned her teacher, Mr. Lord Addo Yobo, as the one who kept motivating her never to give up on her education even when that was the only option she had.
Throughout the pregnancy period, the teacher urged her on and she attended school regularly, except on days when her pregnancy would just not allow her.
She owes a great gratitude to her teacher, and she could not this in any other way than naming her baby, Lordina Kenyo, after him.
For the boy who got her pregnant has shirked responsibility, and the teacher offers help when he could.
The future and appeal
Beatrice is an average student. She confided in journalist Emelia that she expects to get aggregate 21 in the BECE.
She gave her top six school as Mampong Presec; Aburi Girls, Larteh Presec, Benkum Senior High School, Adonten Senior High School, and Okuapeman Senior High School.
However, as poor as the family is, her mother has already admitted that she would be unable to help Beatrice further her education to the senior high level.
Beatrice aims to become a health worker in future, a nurse to be precise, and is desperately seeking help to go to school when their BECE results are released.
Journalist Emelia has pledged support, but she cannot do this on her own. Therefore, we appeal to interested ones who read this story, as well as NGOs, and other civil society groups to come to her aid. Please reach the writer/journalist at email: emmyaryee2@yahoo.com/ emmyaryee2@gmail.com. Facebook: Emmy Aryee.
This journalist takes pride in the fact that her swift intervention has changed the entire course of Beatrice’s life. She could have ended up being a child bride!
Despite the challenges with bad road, high cost of fuel, and insect bites that formed scars on the skins of Emelia and her team, we are happy that our journey from Accra to Adawso has yielded positive results!
