Witch camp explained

Witch camps are settlements where women in Ghana who have been accused of being witches can flee for safety. Women in such camps have been accused of witchcraft for various reasons, including mental illness. Some camps are thought to have been created in the early 20th century.[1] The Ghanaian government has enacted measures to eliminate such camps.[2]

Description

Women suspected of being witches sometimes flee to witch camp settlements for safety, often in order to avoid being lynched by neighbours.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

Many women in such camps are widows; relatives are believed to accuse them of witchcraft in order to seize their late husbands' possessions. Many women in the witch camps also suffer from mental illness, a poorly understood phenomenon in Ghana.[9] In one camp in Gambaga in the north, women are given protection by the local chieftain, and in return, pay him and work in his fields.[10] [11]

In 2015, the Anti-Witchcraft Allegations Campaign Coalition-Ghana (AWACC-Ghana) reported that the number of outcasts residing in witch camps was growing, and that food supplies there are insufficient. A 2022 report by the Humanist Global Charity noted that conditions were still very difficult with inadequate housing and infrastructure.[12]

Locations

In 2012 there were at least six witch camps in Ghana, housing a total of approximately 1,000 women. The camps are located in Bonyasi, Gambaga, Gnani, Kpatinga, Kukuo and Naabuli, all in Northern Ghana.[13] Some of the camps are thought to have been created over 100 years ago.[14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

In 2012, the Ghanaian government announced its intent to close the witch camps and educate the public that witches do not exist.[19] [8] In December 2014, Minister for Gender and Social Protection Nana Oye Lithur disbanded the Bonyasi camp located in Central Gonja District and re-integrated its residents into their communities.[20] As of 2015, the Ghanaian government had shut down several witch camps.[21]

By 2020, there were four camps at Gambaga, Kukuo, Gnani and Kpantiga,[22] housing over 500 people.

Legal changes

In July 2023, the Ghanaian Parliament passed a Bill to proscribe witchcraft accusations; this Bill criminalised the practice of accusing or labelling people as witches.[23] This came after the 2020 murder of 90-year-old Akua Denteh in Kafaba, who had been accused of witchcraft.[24]

However, at April 2024, the Ghanaian president had not yet given assent to the Bill.[25] [26]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Igwe . Leo . Witch Camps and Politics of Witchcraft Accusations In Ghana News Ghana . 2022-08-14 . newsghana.com.gh/ . 13 June 2022 . en-US.
  2. Web site: Meryer . Naa . 2022-06-03 . TSI visits alleged witch camps with ActionAid Ghana and members of parliament . 2022-08-14 . TSI - The Sanneh Institute Offering scholarship as a tribute to God . en.
  3. Book: Briggs. Philip. Ghana. Connolly. Sean. 5 December 2016. Bradt Travel Guides. 9781784770341. 14 November 2017. Google Books.
  4. Web site: In Ghana's witch camps, the accused are never safe. Dixon. Robyn. 9 September 2012. LATimes.com. . 14 November 2017.
  5. Web site: Ghana: witchcraft accusations put lives at risk - Africa. dw.com . Suuk. Maxwell. July 10, 2016. . 17 March 2017.
  6. News: Jacqueline . Murray. Lauren . Wallace. 2013-11-25. In Africa, accusations of witchcraft still a reality for many women. . 2016-09-15.
  7. Web site: In Ghana, Witch Villages Offer Safe Haven From Superstition . Los Angeles Times. 25 January 1998 . latimes.com. May 23, 2014.
  8. News: 1 September 2012. Ghana witch camps: Widows' lives in exile. bbc.co.uk . BBC. September 1, 2012.
  9. Web site: Breaking the spell of witch camps in Ghana. CBC.ca . . 14 November 2017.
  10. Web site: 'Spellbound': Inside the witch camps of West Africa. . 24 October 2010. 14 November 2017.
  11. News: 25 November 2010. Ghana: the Witches of Gambaga. Yaba . Badoe. London . The Guardian. September 1, 2012.
  12. https://www.newsweek.com/witch-camps-elderly-women-die-ghana-1754907 News Week website, The Witch Camps Where Hundreds of Elderly Women Are Left To Die, article by Robyn White dated October 30, 2022
  13. News: Bonyase witches' camp shuts down on Dec. 15 . Citifmonline . 8 December 2014 . April 1, 2015 . Ansah, Marian Efe.
  14. Npong. Francis. Witch Camps of Ghana. Utne Reader. 2014. Winter. 48–49. 10 January 2015.
  15. News: Cameron Duodu . Why are 'witches' still being burned alive in Ghana? | Cameron Duodu | Opinion . . 2016-09-15.
  16. Web site: Women still accused of witchcraft, lynched in Ghana. Whrin.org. 14 November 2017.
  17. Web site: Condemned without trial . Actionaid.org.uk. 14 November 2017.
  18. Web site: Spellbound: the stigma of witchcraft in Ghana. Lucy Adams. Ec.europa.eu. 14 November 2017.
  19. Web site: Ghana's witch camps: last refuge of the powerless and the persecuted. Independent.co.uk. 26 August 2012. 14 November 2017.
  20. Web site: Gov't disbands Bonyase witch camps. Naatogmah, Abdul Karim. 16 December 2014. Citifmonline.com. April 1, 2015.
  21. Web site: Ghana news: Witchcraft accusation. Igwe. Leo. Graphic Online. 13 September 2017.
  22. https://globalfundcommunityfoundations.org/blog/the-women-who-stood-up-for-the-witches-of-northern-ghana-community-philanthropys-role-in-challenging-stigma-and-discrimination/ Global Fund Community Foundations website, The women who stood up for the “witches” of Northern Ghana: Community philanthropy’s role in challenging stigma and discrimination, article by Lamnatu Adam dated June 14, 2022
  23. https://www.songtaba.org/wp-content/uploads/Press-Release_antiWitchcraftBill-28072023.pdf Songtaba website, Parliament Passes Anti-Witchcraft Bill, press release dated July 28th July 2023
  24. https://www.ghanasomubi.com/blog/ghanas-witches-camps-a-situation-of-unmet-mental-health-needs Ghana Somubi website, Ghana’s witches’ camps: A situation of unmet mental health needs, article by Dorcas Efe Mensah
  25. https://chraj.gov.gh/news/chraj-wants-criminal-offences-amendment-bill-2022-assented-to-to-ban-witchcraft-accusation/ Ghanaian Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice website, CHRAD Wants Criminal Offences Amendment Bill 2022 assented to, to Bank Witchcraft Accusation, article by Cecilia Lagba Yada, Gomoa Fetteh, dated April 10, 2024
  26. https://gna.org.gh/2024/03/amnesty-international-calls-for-presidential-assent-to-the-anti-witchcraft-bill/ Ghana News Agency website, Amnesty International calls for Presidential assent to the Anti-witchcraft Bill, article by Hamza Sulemana dated March 10, 2024

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Witch camp".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.