Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
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Cradling two-month-old Miriam in her arms, Alesha Dixon chatted with her mum, Felicia, about night feeds, lack of sleep and the baby’s colourful shawl.
The singer and TV star told her about her own daughter, Azura, three, who also loves wearing dresses that match her mummy’s. They laughed, bonding over their shared experiences of motherhood.
But moments later Alesha wept as the teenager told how her dream of being a nurse was shattered and she was condemned to a life of poverty as a schoolgirl mum, after trying to avoid the even worse fate of being a child bride.
“I was just looking at her baby and thinking about my baby, and it broke my heart,” said Alesha. “She and her baby were sleeping on a hard floor with no toilets or running water.
“Her future was taken from her, her rights as a woman were violated, because men think they can own and control women, and treat them like second-class citizens. It has to stop.”
Tragically, Felicia was right to be fearful. Every year, thousands of girls are abducted and at risk of being drugged and raped, then forced into marriage.
Alesha went to the African republic of Ghana with Actionaid to see how the charity is tackling the practice, in which girls are enslaved and abused by older men and their families.
Every minute, 28 girls worldwide are forced to marry. More than 250 million alive today have been made brides before 15 – one in nine of them in Ghana.
In the Upper West Region, 50 young girls are forcibly abducted each year, some on their way to school. To avoid this, Felicia agreed to marry a man who promised her a better life. But he got her pregnant and dumped her.
Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha, 38, met other young victims now being helped by Actionaid-run teams.
Juliette, 18, was tricked by men who offered her a lift to a festival two years ago and held hostage as a potential bride. But local women who, helped by Actionaid, have formed communitybased anti-violence teams raised the alarm.
The teams, known as COMBAT squads, educate girls on their rights, report cases to police, rescue girls and make sure perpetrators are held to account.
Charity volunteers Mary Lily and Abiba contacted a local chief to help educate the community about the dangers of forced marriage.
With Mary Lily and the chief ’s help, Juliette’s uncle was able to rescue her and she is now back at school.
Alesha says: “I had no idea how big a problem this is in Ghana. But there are some real angels in the community trying really hard, with Actionaid’s help,
ON CHILD KIDNAP GANGS
to teach them their rights. Girls’ clubs show them how be aware and protect themselves. And they’re shifting the mindset of whole communities as well as re-educating the men.”
The former Miss-teeq singer backs many charities, feeling a responsibility to use her fame to help empower women. In 2010, she made a BBC documentary on domestic violence, Don’t Hit Mum, and revealed that as a child she saw her own mum suffer at the hands of an abusive partner.
But by the time she was 15, Alesha had developed the confidence and determination that made her a star – which is why another girl in Ghana touched her heart.
Cynthia was 15 when she was abducted on Christmas Day and held hostage.
She told Alesha: “The next morning an elderly man informed me I had been brought as a new wife.
On the third day, the men went to my uncle to report to him they have taken me as a wife. My uncle said, ‘No, this is a schoolgirl, bring her back.’
“I was just thinking if my father doesn’t rescue me, I’ll live there and a time will come that I will not even get food to in that house. They locked me insid
Actionaid volunteer Mary Lily he Cynthia’s family get her home. Ale says: “She was 15. We can all remem
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