Ghana’s Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, will attend the first Girls’ Summit to be hosted by United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday, July 22.

Mrs Lithur will be joined by the Queenmother of Asante Mampong Traditional Area, Nana Agyarkomaa Dufie II. The Summit, to be co-hosted by UNICEF, will bring together girls, women and community leaders from across the world “to agree on actions to end” Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and child early and forced marriages (CEFM).

“The summit will also share success stories and spread good practice in tackling these issues,” a release from the British High Commissioner, Jon Benjamin, on Thursday, July 17 said.

“It will hear from girls and women who have lived through the ordeal of FGM or CEFM, and from individuals from affected communities who are driving change so that other girls and women can enjoy greater opportunities in the future.”

In Ghana about 4 per cent of women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49 have been subjected to FGM while 1 in 4 women are married before the age of 18.