Member of Parliament for Madina and a Human Rights lawyer, Francis-Xavier Sosu has voiced concerns over the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection’s inadequate efforts in safeguarding vulnerable individuals in society.
Highlighting the recent UNICEF 2022 population and housing report’s revelation of two million child brides among 8.3 million total marriages in Ghana, Sosu emphasised the need for urgent action.
Despite Ghana’s constitution prohibiting all forms of child marriage, the concerning statistics underscore a persistent challenge.
Speaking on Ghana Tonight with Alfred Ocansey, Sosu expressed deep worry about the future of young girls and the nation as a whole.
“This is a very worrying trend and for me, I fear for the future of young girls in Ghana, and the future of Ghana because when you have a population that shows that females or women are more and we don’t have enough protection for our women. Then the country is heading to a doom because the female gender is not protected or supported,” Francis-Xavier Sosu stated.
He highlighted the critical role of protecting and supporting women, especially given their numerical strength in the population.
“At the end of the day, you want to count on the same people to be the future leaders or to actually be the people to anchor the future of our generation or the future of this nation, and I think that is a very worrying trend.”
Drawing attention to a specific case of a 12-year-old girl married to a 63-year-old Nungua Gborbu Wulomo, Sosu urged the Ministry to prioritise the protection of vulnerable groups, particularly women and children.
He challenged the Ministry to step up its efforts, noting a perceived lack of progress in the past seven years.
“I want to challenge the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection that they need to really up their games. I mean in the last seven years, I haven’t seen the ministry done much in protecting the vulnerable class, particularly women and children, and that is very worrying.”
Additionally, Sosu hinted at petitioning the Inspector General of Police (IGP) regarding the aforementioned case.
He called for the arrest and prosecution of the individual involved, emphasising that marriage should only occur between consenting adults, not involving minors.
Sosu’s strong stance underscores the urgency of addressing child marriage and enhancing protections for vulnerable groups in Ghana.”