Ouahigouya (Fides Service) - Ouahigouya diocese in Burkina Faso has set about to eliminate the unhappy custom of fixed marriages. Bishop Philippe Ouedraogo is leading a programme to rid his diocese of this tragic tradition. Very often girls of 12 are forced to marry men twice or three times their age. This is a violation of the rights of the person, as well as a violation of canonical principles which say marriage is a contract of reciprocal freely given love.
The plan aims to go to the roots of the problem, to identify the "local leaders" who defend and encourage the custom, village chiefs, head of families, and also to help people realise the suffering caused by the practice of fixed marriages.
To promote information and formation, in every parish in the diocese leaders have formed 30 villagers to lead the programme in 150 local villages. Each village leader will set up a local committee to increase awareness of the problem and stop the custom. The committees will organise debates, discussion groups and workshops on the issue using also videos, plays and pictures. These activities will be followed by meetings with local chiefs, and parish and village leaders. The video material will be periodically updated.
The programme hopes by 2004 to achieve the following objectives: 40% increase in consensual marriages; 60% reduction of girls repudiated by their families when they refuse to marry the man chosen by the family; 30% increase of girls who go to school; local committees in each of the 150 villages covered by the programme.
Burkina Faso has an area of 274,400 sq. km., and a population of 11,540,000 of whom 1,324,000 are Catholics. There are 12 dioceses, 123 parishes, 15 bishops, 481 diocesan priests, 143 religious priests, 189 Brothers and 1078 Sisters, and 9,584 catechists. LM (Fides Service 15/4/2003 EM lines 31 Words: 375)