There are a number of reasons why many girls marry young in Ghana. They include gender inequality, poverty, traditional and customary practices, social norms, peer pressure and poor parenting. The impact of early marriage on girls’ lives can be negative, especially if they drop out of school and are not ready for adult responsibilities. But some adolescent girls report being happy in their marriages, saying their quality of life is better than it was in their parents’ home. Education is a key factor in giving girls more choice about when they marry.
In this episode of Pasha, Elizabeth Anokyewaa Sarfo Fordjour, a psychologist at Stellenbosch University, presents the reasons for and impact of early marriages in Ghana.
Read more: The psychological effects of early marriage: what I learnt from some Ghanaian girls
Photo: “Woman walks away in a park located in Accra Ghana.” By Gerhard Pettersson Shutterstock
Music “Happy African Village” by John Bartmann, found on FreeMusicArchive.org licensed under CC0 1.
“Space ambient music fragment” by Clacksberg found on Freesound licensed under Creative commons license