Witch camp
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] Witch camps exist solely in Ghana, where there are at least six of them, housing a total of around 1000 women.[2] Such camps can be found at Bonyasi, Gambaga, Gnani, Kpatinga, Kukuo and Naabuli, all in Northern Ghana.[3] Some of the camps are thought to have been set up over 100 years ago.[2][4]
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.[2] Many women also are mentally ill, a little understood problem in Ghana.[2] In one camp in Gambaga, the women are given protection by the local chieftain and in return, pay him and work in his fields.[5]
The Ghanaian government has announced that it intends to close the camps and educate the population regarding the fact that witches do not exist.[2] 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.[6]
The Dagomba, Konkomba, and Mampurugu tribes have an especially strong belief in witchcraft. 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.[4]
See also
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References
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