The Ghanaian government has been urged by Amnesty International (AI) to gradually dismantle witch camps and reintegrate the alleged accused into society.
With limited access to food, secure shelter, water, and security, the nation’s several witch camps were portrayed as symbols of societal neglect rather than a haven. It further stated that “reintegration must be accompanied by support systems, including housing, healthcare, and economic empowerment programs.”
“These so-called ‘witch camps’ are not places of refuge; they are symbols of fear, exclusion, and deep-seated injustice,” it said.
Yesterday, during the introduction of the Research Report on Witchcraft Accusations in Ghana, Ms. Genevieve Partington, the Country Director of AI Ghana, made the call in Accra.
titled “Branded for Life: How Northern Ghanaian women’s human rights are violated due to accusations of witchcraft.”
Additionally, she urged the Speaker of Parliament to give the passage of the Criminal Offenses (Amendment) Bill—officially known as the Anti-Witchcraft Bill—priority.
The purpose of the law, which was reintroduced as a private members bill in February under the leadership of Madina Member of Parliament Mr. Francis Xavier Sosu, is to protect victims and to criminalize the act of naming, accusing, pronouncing, or labeling people as witches.
Additionally, Ms. Partington called on the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection to step up efforts to educate the public, particularly the younger generation, about the risks associated with accusing vulnerable women of witchcraft and excluding them from society.
“We call on CSOs to increase public education and awareness campaigns to challenge myths, educate communities, and promote the rights of elderly women to help reduce and eventually end witchcraft accusations, this requires dismantling the harmful beliefs that fuel them,” she stressed.
She also called for more enforcement of current laws protecting human rights, saying that the government must stop talking the talk and take action to put an end to this injustice.
According to the research, which was presented by Michele Eken of Amnesty International’s West and Central Africa Regional Office, the state violates the rights of women who are accused of witchcraft or who are in danger of being accused by failing to offer adequate protection.
She added that an AI study that interviewed 93 people accused of witchcraft, including 82 women from four camps in the Northern and North East Regions, between November 26 and December 9, 2023, and April 21 and May 8, 2024, revealed that they were scared to report abuses related to witchcraft to the police.
She pointed out that just one of the 93 people interviewed tried to report the occurrence, but no thorough investigation was carried out.
“Under international law, religious beliefs are protected, and as such the belief in witchcraft shall not be condemned, however, harmful practices linked to a belief are not protected and should be criminalised to serve as a deterrent and prevent future incidents, unfortunately, there is currently no law criminalising witchcraft accusations and related abuses in Ghana,” she noted.
In addition to complaining that the payments were frequently delayed and insufficient for their requirements, she pointed out that some women were not registered in the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty Programme (LEAP) even though they qualified for it.
Source: newsthemegh.com