Child marriage in Ghana: A problem of social, cultural, and traditional norms or a socioeconomic issue?

Abstract

This article contributes to debates on the drivers of girl child marriage drawing on qualitative research with 15 Ghanaian women who married before the age of 18. The findings show that these women’s entry into marriage emerged less from tradition than from intersecting structural constraints, including poverty, limited access to sexual and reproductive health services, unintended pregnancy, gendered power relations and the absence of viable livelihood opportunities. Participants described entering relationships for material support long before marriage, revealing dynamics akin to survival or transactional sex. Drawing on these narratives, the paper contends that culturalist and tradition-based explanations dominating discussions of child marriage in Ghana oversimplify the issue and obscure the complex interplay of gendered power relations and socio-economic forces that structure girls’ constrained choices. By foregrounding these intersecting factors, the article seeks to reframe the debate and inform public understanding, policy and practice interventions that move beyond cultural blame and instead focus on addressing the deep rooted socioeconomic and gender inequalities that circumscribe young women’s life trajectories.