KILLING CHILD MARRIAGE IN GHANA, ACROBATIC APPROCH

For once, I thought the issue of child marriage was overhyped. Simply because I saw the act as a mirage in this twenty first century. In view of that I detested the waste of precious time and other resources on a practice which had already been conquered with formal modern education.
The story of a young girl I called Vida which unfolded to me at Kpaachel, a Kokomba village in the Northern Region of Ghana simply enlightened me. I encountered her during my voluntary teaching  service in their village.
Her periodic outside mindedness and sorrowful mood compelled me to intrude my nose into her matter. Her confession simply amazed me.
She explained that at age fourteen, she was forced to marry a fifty year old man. This was done to exchange her for the man's grown up daughter who was to be married by Vida's elder brother.
Vida painstakingly narrated the horrific treatment meted out to her by her imposed husband. Her revealed ordeal killed me emotionally.  Her uncontrollable tears got my cheeks flooded ocean of tears.
Her troubles ranged from periodic rape from her supposed suitor, forced Labour, termination of her education prematurely among others.
She one day reported her agony to DOVSU in Yendi when she noticed that her maltreatment was getting worse. Her parents were subsequently picked up by the police. They were counseled, cautioned and later released. Both were engaged and as a result, excommunicated Vida from her earlier village to stay with her elder sister who was married in Kpaachel.
Her situation became tougher in Kpaachel since almost all the men in the village harassed her sexually.  This was because all the members in the village were related by blood and per their tradition, they were not to have any sexual relationship with one another. They were required to do that with members of the other surrounding villages.
This made almost all the men both young and old chase Vida to satisfy their libido. Troubled Vida could therefore neither concentrate in class nor have a peace of mind at home.
This opened my eyes on the issue. I therefore noticed that the media is not barking enough to ignite the need to stop the canker. Government, agencies and institutions that matter are not biting enough to deter others from the act. Rural community leaders are condoning too much with perpetrators. Individuals are

 too tight lipped over the issue. Let us all rise and terminate child marriage acrobatically.