Bizarre: 13-year-old forced into marriage to replace her elder sister

In a bizarre incident on Sunday, a 13-year-old school girl was forced to marry a man originally meant to marry her elder sister.

The 18-year-old refused to marry the man, 25, and ran away on the day of the marriage.

In her place, however, her 13-year-old sister was forced to marry the man at a matrimonial ceremony held at Ablekuma in Accra.

Joy News’ Fred Smith who visited the newly married couple at their residence reported that the girl was looking “innocent” and did not seem to comprehend the implication or otherwise of her current status.

The young girl spent the night with her new husband in the same room; she was also not able to go to school today.

The husband, Mustapha Mohammed, narrated to Joy News the near disgrace the girl’s sister caused both families by absconding on the very day they had agreed to marry, and at a time when elders from both families had gathered and seated ready for the ceremony to commence.

He explained that after a long search without success, and to avoid any embarrassment to either side, he agreed to marry the 13-year old girl after he was prevailed upon to do so.

The man told Joy News, he intends to leave the young girl after a week or so to where he “hustles” for a living, to enable the girl further her education.

Sounding naive, the girl told Joy News she also agreed to be married off because “I don’t want my mother and my father to cry”. She also answered in affirmative when asked whether she concerted because she wanted to save her parents from shame.

She criticised her elder sister’s action, stating, “what my sister did was not good… she ran away” but does not know why the sister did that.

She is, however, willing to go back to school.

Under the Children's Act the legal age for marriage in Ghana is 18 years for girls and 21 years for boys, whether civil or customary. The Marriage Ordinance Law states that where it can be proven that the girl's consent to an early customary marriage was absent, a prosecution for forcible marriage can be carried out. However, many young girls do not know that they have the legal right to refuse early marriages, regardless of their parents' wishes.