Eastern Equatoria Gender and Social Development ministry launched a campaign against early and forced marriage due to persistent practice of the vice.
Child Welfare Inspector Oting Elizeo told Emmanuel Radio that the campaign ‘Sell a cow, not a girl’ followed reports of two recent cases of forced marriage, one in Lafon/ Lopa County where a 14-year old girl was forced to marry a 56-year old man after the family received 12 heads of cows.
He said the girl was tortured to accept marrying the old man against her will.
The Inspector reported that another girl in Kapoeta was also forced to marry a 65-year old man so that one of her step brothers uses the dowry to marry a wife.
State Child Welfare Director Jane Gama Surur revealed another case of a girl forced to marriage a teacher who suffered from fistula and advised to stay for three years without sexual contact.
She explained that the girl could not return to her parents after the caregiver faced challenges from the father who insisted that she should go back to the man because of dowry paid.
The director advised parents to sell cows, goats and chickens to get money rather than giving out girls for marriage before reaching 18 years.
Mrs Surur advocated for girl child education, self-reliance, saying forced marriage affects mothers who wanted their daughters to live a good life.