Accra: The Greater Accra Regional Department of Gender, in partnership with the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council, has educated over 60 traditional leaders about the risks and negative impacts of harmful cultural practices. The initiative aims to address cultural practices such as child marriage, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), widowhood inheritance, forced feeding of girls, trokosi, and breast ironing.
According to Ghana News Agency, the programme was sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and involved participation from the Ada, Kpone, Ningo, Shai, Osudoku, and Prampram Traditional Councils. Madam Matilda Banfro, Greater Accra Regional Director of the Department of Gender, explained that these harmful practices cause physical or emotional harm, discrimination, or rights violations. She highlighted that such practices are often deeply rooted in tradition, religion, and community norms, making them challenging to eradicate.
Madam Banfro stressed the importance of traditional leaders in shaping societal norms and values, indicating that their cooperation is crucial in dismantling harmful practices from within communities. She noted that a lack of engagement and accountability among leaders hinders the implementation of meaningful change.
Ms. Juliana Abbeyquaye, Eastern Regional Director of the Department of Gender, elaborated on how harmful cultural practices deny individuals, especially women and children, their dignity, integrity, and basic rights, often without their consent. She described breast ironing as a practice that causes serious health issues and urged communities to replace outdated customs with ones that uphold dignity and safety.
Key findings from the programme revealed that taboos and stigma around practices like FGM and child marriage prevent open discussion and access to services. Participants also observed that the diminishing influence of traditional authorities, as modern institutions take on previously held roles, affects the enforcement of cultural norms.
Traditional leaders recommended the formation of a working group to deliberate on cultural reform, enhance legal literacy on human rights, integrate positive cultural practices into advocacy, and encourage the public denouncement of harmful practices by traditional leaders.
