Ghana: Update to GHA19263.E of 20 December 1994 on the possibility of those facing an Asiwa marriage having the choice of leaving their family or community and moving elsewhere to avoid the Asiwa marriage
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 16 November 1999 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | GHA33090.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ghana: Update to GHA19263.E of 20 December 1994 on the possibility of those facing an Asiwa marriage having the choice of leaving their family or community and moving elsewhere to avoid the Asiwa marriage, 16 November 1999, GHA33090.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad5c70.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
In separate interviews with the Research Directorate, an Administrator at the University of Science and Technology Library in Kumasi, Ghana, and an official of the Gender Awareness Foundation, a non-government organization which sensitizes women about their rights in society,both corroborated the informationcontained in GHA19263.E of 20 December 1994 (11 Nov. 1999). They both emphasized that Asiwa marriage is no longer common in urban centres. The administrator at the University of Science and Technology explained that Asiwa is a traditional practice which used to be common among the Akan. According to the practice, parents can betroth a girl as young as five years old to a man much older than herself. The parents of the man and the parents of the girl enter into an unwritten agreement whereby the girl will marry the man in question when she attains the age of marriage. In turn the man pays a monthly sum of money for the girl's maintenance until she is old enough to get married (ibid.).
The official of the Gender Awareness Foundation and the administrator at the University of Science and Technology Library both stated that in rural areas where such marriages are still common, no state protection is available to women who refuse to get married by Asiwa (ibid.). They both stated that women who find themselves in this situation usually run away to the big cities where their suitors cannot find them (ibid.).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please see below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. 11 November 1999. Telephone interview with administrator.
Gender Awareness Foundation, Accra. 11 November 1999. Telephone interview with official.
Additional Sources Consulted
Africa Confidential [London]. January 1998 -October 1999. Vols. 38-40. Nos. 1-25.
Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series [Oxford]. 1997-1998. Vols. 34-35. Nos. 1-12.
Amnesty International. 1999. Amnesty International Report 1999. New York: Amnesty International USA.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1998 1999 United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Press.
Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. January 1998-January 1999. Monthly. Vols. 44-45.
Electronic sources: IRB databases, LEXIS/NEXIS, World Network Connection (WNC), Internet sites including,