In Ghana, 12-year-old girl who married high priest, 63, taken into police protection: reports

Post By Diaspoint | April 9, 2024

Thanks to government of Ghana. In Nigeria this will pass without challenge from government

Nuumo Borketey Laweh Tsuru XXXIII, a spiritual leader in the Nungua area of the capital, Accra, wed the unidentified child in a huge ceremony on Saturday.

A 12-year-old girl who was married to a 63-year-old high priest has been placed under police protection in Ghana.

Nuumo Borketey Laweh Tsuru XXXIII, a spiritual leader in the Nungua area of the capital, Accra, wed the unidentified child in a huge ceremony on Saturday.

Footage of the nuptials were shared by a local news channel and showed the young girl in a simple white dress and a matching headpiece.

Her new “husband” was also seen placing a green wreath on her head.

Police were quick to respond, revealing the child has since been placed under their protection, the BBC reports.

In Ghana, the legal minimum age to get married is 18, but the West African country has a complex history with the harmful traditional practice according to the FXB Centre for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University.

Child marriage was explicitly criminalized in Ghana as part of the Children’s Act of 1998.

UNICEF has reported a decline in the act, but notes it is difficult to track due to an absence of birth certificates in some areas and difficulty in proving if a girl is underage.

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