Witch camp

A witch camp is a settlement where women suspected 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 set up over 100 years ago. The Ghanaian government has policies directed to eliminate camps.

Description

A witch camp is a settlement where women suspected of being witches can flee for safety, usually in order to avoid being lynched by neighbours.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Many women in such camps are widows and it is thought that relatives accused them of witchcraft in order to take control of their husbands' possessions.[6] Many women also are mentally ill, a little understood problem in Ghana.[7][6] In one camp in Gambaga, the women are given protection by the local chieftain and in return, pay him and work in his fields.[8][9]

The Anti-Witchcraft Allegations Campaign Coalition-Ghana (AWACC-Ghana) has reported that the number of outcasts in witch camps is growing, and that food supplies are insufficient.[10]

Locations

Witch camps exist solely in Ghana, where there are at least six of them, housing a total of around 1000 women.[6] Such camps can be found at Bonyasi, Gambaga, Gnani, Kpatinga, Kukuo and Naabuli, all in Northern Ghana.[11] Some of the camps are thought to have been set up over 100 years ago.[6][10][12][13][14][15]

The Ghanaian government has announced that it intends to close the camps and educate the population regarding the fact that witches do not exist.[16][17] In 2014, the Minister for Gender and Social Protection took initiatives to disband and re-integrate inmates of the Bonyasi witch camp located in Central Gonja District.[18] As of 2017, the Ghanaian government is shutting down many witch camps.[19]

See also

References
  1. Briggs, Philip; Connolly, Sean (5 December 2016). Ghana. Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN 9781784770341. Retrieved 14 November 2017 – via Google Books.
  2. Dixon, Robyn (9 September 2012). "In Ghana's witch camps, the accused are never safe". Retrieved 14 November 2017 – via LA Times.
  3. Suuk, Maxwell (July 10, 2016). "Ghana: witchcraft accusations put lives at risk - Africa". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  4. Jacqueline Murray; Lauren Wallace (2013-11-25). "In Africa, accusations of witchcraft still a reality for many women". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  5. "In Ghana, Witch Villages Offer Safe Haven From Superstition - Los Angeles Times". articles.latimes.com. 25 January 1998. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  6. "Ghana witch camps: Widows' lives in exile". BBC. 1 September 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  7. "Breaking the spell of witch camps in Ghana". Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  8. ""Spellbound": Inside the witch camps of West Africa". 24 October 2010. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  9. "Ghana: the Witches of Gambaga". London: Yaba Badoe. 25 November 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  10. Npong, Francis (2014). "Witch Camps of Ghana". Utne Reader (Winter): 48–49. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  11. Ansah, Marian Efe (8 December 2014). "Bonyase witches' camp shuts down on Dec. 15". Citifmonline. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  12. Cameron Duodu. "Why are 'witches' still being burned alive in Ghana? | Cameron Duodu | Opinion". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  13. "Women still accused of witchcraft, lynched in Ghana" (PDF). Whrin.org. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  14. "Condemned without trial" (PDF). Actionaid.org.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  15. Lucy Adams. "Spellbound: the stigma of witchcraft in Ghana" (PDF). Ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  16. "Ghana's witch camps: last refuge of the powerless and the persecuted". 26 August 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  17. "Ghana witch camps: Widows' lives in exile". BBC. 1 September 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2012.
  18. Naatogmah, Abdul Karim (16 December 2014). "Gov't disbands Bonyase witch camps". Citifmonline.com. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
  19. Igwe, Leo. "Ghana news: Witchcraft accusation". Graphic Online. Retrieved 13 September 2017.


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