A 23-year old Level 100 student of the Institute of Business Management and Journalism (IBM&J), Tamale campus, has been forced into an early marriage, leading to abrupt termination of her education. She is, thus, appealing to the government, non-governmental organizations and all right-thinking members of the society to come to her aid and help her leave the conundrum she finds herself.
Speaking to the Daily Statesman, the lady, whose identity has been concealed by this paper for anonymity reasons, called on all Ghanaians to also condemn the situation she finds herself.
Forced marriage
The incident took place at Janbogni, a suburb of the Yendi municipality in the Northern Region.
The student, before the forceful marriage, was on a one-month internship at Yendi-based Sankara Radio.
She was pursuing Diploma in Journalism at the Institute before she was forced into marriage with one Peter Kaaji. The young lady, according to reports, had never met nor seen the said Peter Kaaji and the first time they saw each other was on the day of the marriage ceremony.
A native of the community narrated that the young lady was given a distress call by the parents to go home on Saturday, June 18, 2021 for a family discussion, only to be greeted with the performance of the marriage rite, which at the time of her arrival had already commenced.
“She was asked to discontinue her education and attachment at Sakara Radio because they want her to get married to a man that she does not know,” a native of the community told the Daily Statesman.
Threat
Speaking to the Daily Statesman, the lady said she was threatened not to reject the arrangement for various reasons. She said the family threatened to discontinue paying her fees, banish her from the family and also disown her, among other threats. She was also warned never to reveal the situation surrounding her marriage to any person. She told this paper that she is poised to continue her education and needs the support of all Ghanaians.
Meanwhile, sources have disclosed that no complaint has been lodged at the offices of the Commission on Human Right and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service in Yendi.
Source: dailystatesman.com.gh
