The intervention of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in the Saboba District of the Northern Region has helped to resolve the forced marriage between a 15-year-old junior high school student of Sanguli, a village near Saboba in the Northern Region, to a 70-year-old man in a nearby community. The father of the girl, Mr Wangol Liwalmor, has agreed to allow his daughter to continue with her schooling, until she completes and is 18 years, which is the rightful age for marriage under the laws of the country. The girl was to be married to the old man as a fourth wife, but for the timely intervention of CHRAJ. The Director of CHRAJ in Saboba, Mr Gershon Nagbija, who confirmed the story to the Daily Graphic, said his outfit had educated the girl's father on the legal repercussions of his actions and the impact of the marriage on the girl's development, especially as she was opposed to the marriage. He said the girl's father had promised to support the education of his daughter, since he was now convinced that through education his daughter could have a brighter future and marry the man of her choice. The CHRAJ director said his outfit could, however, not contact the girl's alleged suitor, identified only as Binidam, and gave the assurance that CHRAJ would continue to make efforts to reach the suitor to ensure that he did not pressurise the girl's father to give out his daughter for marriage. Mr Nagbija pointed out that forced marriage was a common phenomenon in rural communities in the northern parts of the country, and therefore appealed to educated persons, politicians and opinion leaders in the area to support CHRAJ to deal with the problem. "Many of our females get caught up in these marriage and they are unable to continue with their education or do something better with their lives," he stated. Meanwhile, the girl had registered to write the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) for this year and would therefore continue with her preparations for the exams. Source: Daily Graphic