Female head porters in the Ashanti Region are seeking access to higher education to fight the sexual, economic and verbal abuse they undergo in society.

Some intend to quit parading the Central Business District of Kumasi as they desire to be empowered to contribute to the development of their communities.

Life is hard for 24-year-old head porter, Salah Abudu.

At age 15, she dropped out of school in the rural area of Northern Ghana due to financial difficulties.

In her frustration, she intended to get married to save her predicament, but failed.

“I was almost a victim of child marriage. I felt life was not treating me right. I was stressing myself out and going through a lot. I thought marriage could save me from the things I was going through,” she revealed.

Salah migrated to Accra to improve her life.

Here, she finds herself sleeping on the streets of Tudu as a head porter, battling diseases.

“Even if the load is heavier than me, I would carry it. I have battled malaria and cholera on a regular basis. Where I was sleeping was an open space, so I was bitten by mosquitoes. I suffered cholera because the open space was in front of a gutter,” she said.

Salah Abudu and other groups of adolescent girls and young women, aged 12 to 35 years, carry goods on their heads in large aluminum pans.

They migrate predominantly from the Northern and Upper West Regions, to Southern Ghana in attempts to escape poverty and other harmful practices such as child and forced marriages and female genital mutilation by working in this informal sector.

In crowded and congested areas with limited vehicle access, head porters make important contributions to the economic development of markets.

They play an important role in transporting goods such as yam, plantain, vegetables, fish and clothing.

SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

The head porters are facing much of the worst that urban life can offer.

Many are becoming teenage mothers as they continue to be victims of sexual exploitation.

Beulah Boadwo, is traumatised.

She is sexually harassed and threatened whilst executing her job of assisting male customers with goods to their homes.

“I assisted a gentleman with goods to his home. He directed me to his room to offload them. He entered the room and started making advances at me. He mentioned he wants to have sex with me. I refused, and told him it is not done that way. He insisted and rushed to lock the door.

“I screamed, fought and struggled to get out of his grip. He was much stronger. I almost gave up because I was losing strength. He took a knife and threatened to stab me if I don’t keep quiet and loosen up. I bit him in the process. After minutes of struggling, I gave up because I lost strength.

I could not reveal to anyone what had happened. I was traumatized,” she revealed.

ECONOMIC ABUSE

Elizabeth Pokuaah, a teenage mother at Asokore Mampong in Ashanti, dropped out of Junior high school to cater for her son.

On a good day, she earns 50 cedis carrying loads.

However, local people use 21-year-old Elizabeth for cheap labor while stigmatizing her.

“Someone can request for my services, and we both agree on 5 cedis payment. When we get to the destination, the person decides to pay 3 cedis or 2 cedis.They will start claiming that the distance is not so long.

But honestly, it is far. There is nothing I can do.I have already carried the goods to the person’s home. I can pack it again and take it back to the market,” she said.

Beulah Boadwo, another teenage mother, carries goods that outweigh her strength, but she is determined to carry the goods to earn some coins.

She fights locals who try cheating her during payment.

“Some people speak to us harshly. After carrying their goods, they do not pay the agreed amount. We always end up fighting and they insult us anyhow,” she said.

THE POPULATION OF KAYAYES

The Office of the National Population Council finds teenage pregnancy among head porters worrying.

They are major contributors to overpopulation in the country.

In a 2018/2019 mapping exercise by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MOGCSP), it was indicated that there are more than 100.000 head porters nationwide.

This includes their children, with 85,600 working in the Greater Accra Area, 22,500 in the Ashanti Region and about 1,000 in the Brong Ahafo Region.

These numbers were approximated and it is likely that they are more in number.

The National Population Council plans to manage this overpopulation through sexual reproductive health education.

Mercy Adomaa Besseah is Regional Head.

“If we want to end adolescent pregnancy, child marriages, we need to have special interest in the Kayayes. How do we help them curtail unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortion? That is what the National Population Council comes in to control the population growth,” she assured

PLANS TO ACCESS HIGHER EDUCATION OR LEARN A TRADE

Salah Abudu is a final-year student at the University of Ghana, Legon.

Her dream materialized with support from the United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA).

The human rights group aims to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and ensure young persons like Salah, Beulah and Elizabeth’s potential are fulfilled.

“They helped me purchase university forms. I was admitted to the University of Ghana, Legon, School of Nursing and Midwifery. I am currently a level 400 Public Health student,” she said.

INITIATIVES BY NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATION

Non-governmental organization, Purim African Youth Development Platform Ghana is creating educational and business opportunities for marginalized head porters and addressing challenges they face.

Reverend Aku Xornam Kevi is Executive Director.

“Even though legally child marriage is illegal, it is still happening in Ghana. It is prevalent in some of the communities in the north. The education is to ensure that this is stopped. We also want to give the girls some skills or trade to do. Some of the girls when you listen to their story, you can see they have already gone back to school,” she said.

Women’s rights are recognized as indispensable to development and thus, was at the center of many international agreements reached.

UNFPA Ghana is working with the government and other partners to ensure a comprehensive programme of interventions to improve the lives of women and girls, particularly the vulnerable ones such as the Kayayei.