Exploration of child marriages in Ghana : experiences of young female spouses, parents, elders and professionals

Date
2020-03
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University.
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Early marriage is the practice of marrying an individual below the age of 18 years. It is a widespread global practice that is believed to have a myriad of effects on its victims, their offspring and the practising communities. While Ghana is one of the many countries worldwide in which early marriage is being practised, literature on the reasons, cultural underpinnings and implications of the practice in this context is sparse. My aim in this study, therefore, was to identify and examine factors that contribute to the practice of early marriage and their related implications on the psychological wellbeing of adolescent married girls in the Northern region of Ghana. Specifically, I sought to gain an understanding of adolescent girls’ reasons for marrying early and their subjective experiences in their marriage. I also sought to understand the social constructions of marriage and adolescence from the perspective of the female spouses’ parents and elders in the community and their respective role, if any, in influencing the early marriage of adolescent girls. Finally, to gain insight into the perspectives of child marriage from professionals working in the area of child marriage, I explored the role of governmental and non-governmental organisations in preventing and engaging with the practice through the possible interventions and measures they have employed in eradicating early marriage in the communities they work in. Twenty-one married girls, eight parents and seven elders from selected communities in the Northern region of Ghana were engaged in individual in-depth interviews to garner their views and experiences on the possible reasons and implications of early marriage on adolescent girls. Nine staff of governmental and non-governmental organisations in the Northern region participated in a focus group discussion on their experiences with working with married girls and the interventions they employed in preventing the practice in the communities they work in. Findings indicated that, although some adolescent girls choose to marry, their motivations were influenced by economic and socio-cultural reasons in addition to their own perspectives of life, personal struggles and difficulties they encountered. Similar to the adolescent girls’ reasons for marrying, parents proffered economic and sociocultural factors as core reasons for marrying their daughters off. Additional reasons for supporting early marriage pertained to difficulty in nurturing their children, power imbalances between child and parent as well as intergenerational differences between parents and children on compliance with cultural norms and values. Early marriage had both positive and negative implications on the psychological health of the young girls and the implications were basically reflective of age at marriage, expectations for marriage and relations with the husband and in-laws, stressful chores and abuse. Findings also indicated a strong influence of cultural values and constructions of marriage, adolescence, gender and sexuality on the practice of child marriage in Ghana. Possible interventions for the prevention or eradication of early marriage among adolescent girls are reflected based on the adolescents’ motivations for marriage, and other interventions suggested by parents and staff of governmental and nongovernmental organisations.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Vroeë huwelik is die praktyk om met 'n individu onder die ouderdom van 18 jaar te trou. Dit is 'n wydverspreide wêreldwye praktyk wat vermoedelik 'n groot aantal gevolge op die slagoffers, hul nageslag en praktiserende gemeenskappe het. Terwyl Ghana wêreldwyd een van die vele lande is waarin vroeë huwelik beoefen word, is literatuur oor die redes, kulturele onderbou en implikasies van die praktyk in hierdie konteks beperk. My doel in hierdie studie was dus om faktore te identifiseer en te ondersoek wat bydra tot die beoefening van vroeë huwelik en die verwante implikasies daarvan op die sielkundige welstand van getroude adolessente meisies in die Noordelike streek van Ghana. Spesifiek het ek probeer om 'n begrip te kry van adolessente meisies se redes waarom hulle vroeg getrou het en hul subjektiewe ervarings in hul huwelik. Ek het ook probeer om die sosiale konstruksie van huwelik en adolessensie te verstaan vanuit die perspektief van die vroulike eggenote se ouers en ouderlinge in die gemeenskap en hul onderskeie rol, indien enige, om die vroeë huwelik van adolessente meisies te beïnvloed. Ten slotte, om insig te verkry oor die perspektiewe van professionele persone wat in die gebied van kinderhuwelik werk, het ek die rol van regerings- en nie-regeringsorganisasies in die voorkoming van dié praktyk ondersoek, deur die moontlike ingrypings en maatreëls wat hulle ingespan het om die vroeë huwelik in die gemeenskappe waarin hulle werk uit te wis. Een-en-twintig getroude meisies, agt ouers en sewe ouderlinge uit geselekteerde gemeenskappe in die Noordelike streek van Ghana was betrek met individuele in-diepte onderhoude om hul siening en ervarings oor die moontlike redes en implikasies van vroeë huwelik op adolessente meisies te bekom. Ses personeellede van regerings- en nie-regeringsorganisasies in die Noordelike streek het deelgeneem aan 'n fokusgroepbespreking oor hul ervarings om met getroude meisies te werk en die ingrypings wat hulle gebruik het om die praktyk in die gemeenskappe waarin hulle werk te voorkom. Die bevindinge het aangedui dat, alhoewel sommige adolessente meisies kies om te trou, hul motiverings beïnvloed word deur ekonomiese en sosiokulturele redes benewens hul eie lewensbeskouing, persoonlike stryd en probleme wat hulle ondervind het. Soortgelyk aan die redes van adolessente meisies, het ouers ook ekonomiese en sosiokulturele faktore voorgehou as kern-redes waarom hulle hul dogters laat trou. Bykomende redes vir die ondersteuning van vroeë huwelike het te make gehad met probleme om hul kinders te koester, wanbalans in die mag tussen kind en ouer, sowel as intergenerasieverskille tussen ouers en kinders oor die nakoming van kulturele norme en waardes. Vroeë huwelike het positiewe sowel as negatiewe gevolge gehad vir die sielkundige gesondheid van die jong meisies, en die implikasies weerspieël basies die ouderdom tydens die huwelik, verwagtinge vir huwelik en verhoudings met die man en skoonouers, stresvolle huistake en mishandeling. Bevindinge het ook aangedui dat die kulturele waardes en konstruksies van die huwelik, adolessensie, geslag en seksualiteit op die praktyk van kinderhuwelik in Ghana sterk beïnvloed het. Moontlike intervensies vir die voorkoming of uitroei van vroeë huwelik onder adolessente meisies word weerspieël op grond van die adolessente se motivering vir die huwelik, en ander ingrypings wat deur ouers en personeel van regerings- en nie-regeringsorganisasies voorgestel word.
Description
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2020.
The published article for this thesis is available at http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/125276
Keywords
Child Marriage -- Ghana, Child Marriage -- Psychological aspects, Child Marriage -- Social aspects, Ghana -- Civilization, Teenage girls -- Psychology -- Ghana, Social Constructions of Marriage, UCTD
Citation