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Girl in Mali (symbolic photo)
Photo: Jürgen Bätz / dpa
In Ghana, a 63-year-old traditional healer married a 12-year-old girl - sparking a debate about child marriage in the West African country. The wedding in the capital Accra was broadcast live on television at the weekend. Ghanaians then protested on social media and called in the police, who took the underage bride into custody on Monday.
Ghanaian media published images of the traditional ceremony that took place near the capital Accra over the weekend. The white turbaned healer known as Gborbu Wulomo is seen placing a wreath of green leaves on the head of a girl dressed in white.
Child marriage is officially banned
Child marriage is officially banned in Ghana – as in many other African countries. Nevertheless, they are common on the continent. According to the United Nations Children's Fund Unicef, one in three young African women was married before they reached the legal marriage age of 18. Girls in poor, rural areas in particular are forced into child marriages. However, in urban Accra, a metropolis with a fairly modern society, child marriage is rare.
The twelve-year-old Ghanaian girl is now under police protection, the police said on Tuesday night. The Ministry of Social Welfare was also called in. The girl's mother is also in the custody of the police, it was said. An investigation has been initiated.
An association of traditional healers defended the marriage on the grounds that a traditional healer who uses bones, animal skulls and herbs to invoke the help of ancestors must marry a virgin for cultural reasons. However, the ceremony does not mean that the man will enter into a sexual relationship with the girl.
Ghanaian human rights lawyer Francis Xavier Sosu said a traditional practice that violated the constitution could no longer be practiced and should be prosecuted.
has/kfr/AFP/dpa