Four teenage girls have been rescued from forced or early marriages in the Techiman Metropolis of the Bono East Region since the beginning of 2025, with the latest case involving a 13-year-old girl from Tanoso.
This intervention is part of an ongoing campaign led by the Ghana Education Service (GES) in collaboration with the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Police, along with support from other state agencies and civil society organizations.
Speaking to the media, the Techiman Metropolitan Girls Education Officer, Mrs. Ellen White Opoku, who also serves as the CEO of the Ellen White Sustainable Foundation, disclosed that two of the rescued girls have returned to school, while the other two have been relocated to different regions. Their parents were made to sign a formal agreement ensuring their daughters remained in school.
Mrs. Opoku cautioned parents against marrying off their underage daughters, warning that such practices not only destroy their future ambitions but also expose them to serious health risks.
She urged teachers and community members to be vigilant and report any cases of forced marriages.
She also expressed satisfaction with the decline in teenage pregnancies in Techiman, attributing it to the “Re-entry into School after Childbirth Policy” introduced by the previous NPP government.
Additionally, she commended the current John Mahama-led NDC government for reintroducing free sanitary pads for basic school girls, with GH₵292.4 million allocated for the initiative in the 2025 budget.
She emphasized that many economically disadvantaged girls struggle to afford sanitary pads, sometimes leading to school dropouts or involvement in exploitative relationships.
Providing free sanitary pads, she noted, will help keep more girls in school and protect their health.
