Kumasi, Jan 6, GNA - Muslim parents have been urged to avoid giving their teenage daughters out for early marriages They should instead, invest in their education to enable them to contribute meaningfully to the development of their communities and the nation as a whole.

Mr Umaru Farooq Gado, Unit Committee Chairman of Nima-Adukrom, explained that giving teenage girls out for early marriage jeopardises their future development and impedes their chances of ever becoming assets to their nation or community.

Mr Gado made the call at the closing ceremony of a Koranic commentary and translation programme held by Muslims at Nima-Adukrom, a suburb of Kumasi to mark the end of the Ramadan, on Wednesday. He disagreed with the notion that the woman's place is in the kitchen, and that her role should be confined to domestic activities.

He said that perception should give way to a more constructive and productive attribute to the feminine gender. Mr Gado commended the Member of Parliament for Asokwa-East, Alhaji Ahmed Musah, for devoting a greater part of his share of the MPs' Common Fund to support education and making secular education more accessible to his constituents, most of who are Muslims.

He urged Zongo and Muslim communities within the Asokwa-East to take advantage of the numerous schools in the area and enrol their children of school-going age. Those present at the ceremony included Alhaji Zakari Shaibu, Chief of Nima, Alhaji Hassan Hamani, Zabrama Chief of Kumasi and Mallam Shaibu Bawa, Imam for Nima. GNA