Royal Gathering to mark 2015 International Day of the Girl Child in Ghana
It was full of pageantry and colour when the kings and queens from Asanteman gathered at the Okogyeasuo M/A SHS School Park at Kokofu in the Ashanti region on the 17th of November 2015 to mark the International Day of the Girl Child. It was a real royal observance with culture at its topmost display.
Three years ago, the United Nations General Assembly declared 11 October to be observed as the International Day of the Girl-Child annually. The day is set aside to recognize girls’ rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.
Under the theme “The Power of the Adolescent Girl: Vision for 2030” The 2015 observance was used by the international community to assess progress under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) since their implementation in 2000 and to another set of goals to be achieved by 2030, known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The interesting phenomenon is that girls born at the turn of the millennium have reached adolescence, and the generation of girls born this year will be adolescents in 2030. As we reflect on the achievements of the past 15 years and plan sustainable development goals for the next 15, it is an opportune time to consider the importance of social, economic, and political investment in the power of adolescent girls as fundamental to breaking the intergenerational transmission of poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination and to achieving equitable and sustainable development outcomes.
In a welcome address, the queen of Kokofu, Osagyefo Kussiwaa Mmua Baayie said it was a pleasure seeing the town full of traditional leaders as they have a great role to play in curbing child marriage and teenage pregnancy; issues that obstruct the progress of girls.
Dr. Babatunde Ahonsi in a statement said Ghana was celebrating the day under the guardianship of Her Royal Highness, Lady Julia because she was the Guest in the the very first observance in Accra in 2012. He said it was a follow up and a reminder to the United Nations system in Ghana, the Government of Ghana and its partners and the network of Queens and Queen-mothers who pledged to raise awareness, strengthen programming, and galvanize support for a stand against child marriage.
Dr. Ahonsi left the gathering with some ideas to ponder with. He said to address the neglected health and human rights violations perpetrated through child, early and forced marriages, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, continues to work together with partners in Ghana through various platforms and initiatives such as the Global Initiative on Ending Child Marriage of which the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has shown great leadership in charting the way forward but said the Ministry cannot do it all alone. “More soldiers and community champions are needed for the great task ahead”, he concluded.
The Guest of Honour Her Royal Highness, Lady Julia Osei Tutu II told the gathering that no man in present-day Ghana would want to marry a woman who has not gone to school. She therefore entreated all to ensure education of the girl-child to the highest level as a solution to most of the challenges faced by the girl child. She said most of the statements were on point but stressed on one that called on leaders at all levels to join the advocacy campaigns on child marriage prevention and other girls’ empowerment efforts. She said:
“I am ready to do what I can within my influence to ensure girls are girls and not wives or mothers.
She challenged both parents and elders in Kokofu, Asanteman and Ghana as a whole to ensure they play their roles adequately:
“I can foresee girls taking up great positions including the President of Ghana in the near future. But this cannot happen if the pushers do not push”.
She advised parents especially fathers to make their girl children their friends and together with their mothers, give them appropriate sexuality education because they will be amazed at what the 18 year olds of today know about sex.
“Let us all heed to the call of making it known in our communities that marrying young girls before they have finished being children will not be tolerated; that no young girl will be left to decide between becoming a mother too young or seeking the opportunities that will allow her to fulfill her potential”. She concluded.
The event was graced by Kokofuhene Barima Offe Akwasi Okogyeasuo II, the Municipal and District Chief Executives from Bekwai, Bosomtwe and Bosomifreho as well as representatives from the Ministries, Departments and Agencies and the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council.
