Police at Somanya in the Yilo Krobo District of the Eastern Region have granted bail to the 14 girls who were picked up over the weekend for going through the ‘dipo’ puberty rite.
Their arrest, according to police, stemmed from the fact that the performance of the rite was in breach of the president’s directive on social distancing to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The ‘dipo’ puberty rite is a coveted ceremony among the Krobo speaking Adangme people, to prepare young girls against teenage pregnancy.
The Somanya District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr Isaac Oteng, in a telephone conversation with this reporter stated that the girls were sent to the priest by their parents for the initiation.
He, therefore, deemed it fit to rather invite them, hence the granting of the bail to the children.
According to DSP Mr Oteng, he has extended invitation to the traditional authorities and opinion leaders in the community for them to discuss how the rites could be performed without any conflict with the law, since we are not in normal times.
Social media was over the weekend awash with reports of the arrest of the 14 girls at Somanya whilst undergoing the ‘dipo’ initiation.
The post Police grant bail to 14 ‘dipo’ girls after being arrested for flouting social distancing rule appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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