The Phenomenon of Child Marriage Among Muslims in Ghana: Focus on Wala Muslims within Wa Municipality, Ghana

Mohammed Damba ORCID iD

Issue: Vol.5  No.4 Issue Article 14 pp.538-545
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245414 |   Published online 19th April, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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This paper examined the phenomenon of child marriage among Wala Muslims within Wa Municipality in Ghana. The study was largely informed by the popular perception that the phenomenon of child marriage is more common in the northern parts of Ghana and that the Islamic culture endorses it. The study focused on the Wala Muslims as a result of several reasons. Among these reasons is that the Wa Municipality in northern Ghana is predominantly a Muslim settlement and is regarded as a poverty-endemic area. Previous studies on the Wala people have focused on their history, Islam and social change.  However, the role of religion, poverty, illiteracy, and their influence on child marriage seems to escape scholarly attention.  Hence, the a need for this study.  The author employed a multi-faceted approach to examine the issues.  Both primary and secondary sources of data were analysed. The article argued that child marriage is not widely practised in the study area. It is not also endorsed by Islam. Notwithstanding there were manifestations of child marriage practices in various forms. The study recommended that steps should be taken to educate the Muslim public on child marriage issues. The study contributes to knowledge of child marriage in the context of the Wala Muslim setting which received no or very minimal scholarly attention.

Keywords: Child Marriage, Muslims, Wala Muslims, Northern Ghana 

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Dr. Mohammed Damba is an Islamic Studies Lecturer at the Ghana Muslim Mission College of Education, Beposo-Ashanti Region, Ghana.His research focuses on human rights and muslim family law particularly muslims and child marriage related issues. The author graduated from KNUST with a PhD in Religious studies in November 2023.

Damba, Mohammed. “The Phenomenon of Child Marriage Among Muslims in Ghana: Focus on Wala Muslims within Wa Municipality, Ghana,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.4 (2024): 538-545. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245414

© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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