Joyce Bawah Mogtari, Special Aide to former President John Dramani Mahama
• Joyce Bawah Mogtari has called on the Attorney General to arrest men who impregnate teenage girls
•This she believes will curb the menace of teenage pregnancies in the country
• Joyce Bawah Mogtari also said politicians must get involved, through a national dialogue, to find solutions to the problem
As part of the measures to curb the menace of teenage pregnancy in the country, the special aide to former President John Dramani Mahama has called on the Attorney General to arrest and prosecute unscrupulous men who impregnate teenage girls.
Speaking on Joy AM show, Joyce Bawah Mogtari believes the involvement of the office of the Attorney General can best help reduce the increasing number of teenage pregnancy recorded in the country.
“Let me state and with no fear of equivocation that, the Attorney-General’s Department can also lead a campaign to arrest and prosecute on behalf of this Republic, adult men who are caught or found wanting in this regard,” she said.
She added that society has become reluctant in reporting matters regarding teenage pregnancies hence, the rise in the numbers in the country adding that most of the victims are young female hawkers below the age of 18.
In Joyce Bawah’s words, “Society has also become rather passive when it comes to these issues and has become a bit more tolerant. When you look at the young girls who sell along our streets, most of them are pregnant and most of them are below the ages of 20 and 18. Most of them are supposed to be in school but they are not no one seems concerned.”
She, therefore, recommended the need for a national dialogue where key stakeholders, including politicians, come together to discuss how the issue of teenage pregnancy can significantly be reduced and eventually eradicated.
“We really have no business having children raising children. So what we need to do is that there must be a certain political commitment. You know in Ghana, we love our politics so anything that we politicise will actually raise and build awareness. That will also significantly reduce the canker,” the legal practitioner noted.