Nearly 80, 000 girls between the ages of 12 and 17 years are into forced marriage, nationwide, the 2022 Report of the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) reveals.
Mrs Angella Kangah, the Bono East Regional Director of the Department of Children who gave the revelation said about 250,000 girls between six to 14 years was also out of school, and therefore called on the government to invest much in girl-child education in the country.
Mrs Kangah gave the statistics when addressing schoolgirls of the Bethel International School Complex to mark the International Day for the Girl-Child in Techiman, on the theme “girls’ vision for the future”.
She indicated that girls also had the potential and therefore called on stakeholders, including parents and development partners to also support the government to improve girl-child education in the country.
“Girls must be given the opportunity to build on their potential”, she stated, and advised girls to be confident too.
Madam Evelyn Yawa Bansah, the Bono East Regional Director of the Department of Social Welfare, urged girls to learn hard to achieve their life careers, and cautioned them against engaging in social ills that could ruin their future.
GNA