A LOAD TOO HEAVY: KAYAYEI PRACTICE AND GHANA'S CHILD'S RIGHTS OBLIGATION UNDER DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

Authors

Olusola Adegbite

Abstract

As the first country to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 1989, Ghana boasts a robust child rights protection framework. With a blend of laws and institutions, it has continued to demonstrate what its image of child protection is, and how it hopes to bring this to fruition. Much of this has however remained unrealized due to implementation challenges. Mirroring this crisis is the Kayayei practice, an informal sector trade in which women engage in head portering, with a significant population being young and underage girls. The serious implications that the practice has for the future of girls in the country, make it a worrying human rights issue deserving of further academic inquiry. This article presents an analysis of this practice and how it impacts the lives of girls in the country. It focuses on constitutional provisions as well as legislative and policy responses to determine how they engage the practice. Identifying implementation as a major challenge, it makes a number of recommendations, such as public education, strengthening of relevant agencies, and tackling the economic inequality in the north of the country. It submits that this will deepen child’s rights protection in the country.

Recommended Citation

Adegbite, Olusola (2023) "A LOAD TOO HEAVY: KAYAYEI PRACTICE AND GHANA'S CHILD'S RIGHTS OBLIGATION UNDER DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL LAW," Ohio Northern University International Law Journal: Vol. 1, Article 1.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.onu.edu/ilj/vol1/iss1/1