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The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has called for the abolishing of customs and traditional practices that hinder development. The Commission cited early and forced marriage as one of such practices which needed immediate abolishing. At a forum organised by the Agona East Directorate of the Commission at Agona Mensakrom, the Commission pointed out that early child and forced marriage was retarding the nation's development. The Agona East District Director, Neenyi F.K.A. Tagoe, urged Ghanaians to discard using poverty as an excuse for ushering their daughters into early marriage. He said good education must be used to eradicate poverty in a family, but not early marriage. Neenyi Tagoe said according to a United Nations Law, marriage must be contracted with the consent of the spouses. He said those who contract marriage at the age of 16 with the consent of the girl�s parents, are doing so against the 1992 Constitution which pegs adult�s age at 18. Mr Richmond Mensah, Effutu District Director of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) who was the resource person said, rights which are inimical to the mental well-being of a person must be discarded. He quoted Article 28 of the 1992 Constitution and Article 14 of the Child�s Rights, Act 560 to buttress his case. He said early marriage lowers education, and appealed to school authorities to intensify adolescent health education in schools. Mr Cletus Abang, Central Regional Director of NCCE, pointed out that early child marriage was a worry to the Commission, and urged Ghanaians to help the Commission to find an antidote to it. He called on religious organisations which use early marriage to test the girl�s virginity to refrain from such practice. �Tradition, cultural and religious practices which are used to ascertain the virginity of girls must not be encouraged, the regional director said, adding that some parents take delight in proving that their daughters were virgins before marriage. The forum called on parents to counsel and guide their children to use their freedom and rights judiciously. It called on government to resource organisations well to enable them to fight early child and forced marriage. Mrs Jemima Mensah, Programmes Officer at the National Secretariat of the NCCE, called on Ghanaians to be well educated on the freedoms enshrined in the 1992 constitution in order to use them judiciously and responsibly.