In Ghana, there are at least six Witch Camps, housing a total of around 1000 women!
Contrary to the popular view that the camps are a place of torture, it is rather a place of refuge for those neglected due to them being branded as witches and excommunicated from their families.
Such camps can be found at Bonyasi, Gambaga, Gnani, Kpatinga, Kukuo and Naabuli, all in Northern Ghana.
Some of the camps are thought to have been set up over 100 years ago!
In 2014, the government created a plan to shut down the camps in an effort to stop the stigma and mistreatment of these women and reunite them with their communities.
The Ghanaian government began the shutdowns with the Bonyasi camp.
However, activists feared that communities would refuse to re-accept these “witches” and the women would no longer have a home.
The government has since halted its plans to shut down the camps, as many of the accused witches fear returning to the communities that sent them away.
WHY ARE THEY CALLED WITCHES?
Communities often accuse such women (the old folks) of witchcraft because they believe they are guilty of circumstances like bad weather, disease and livestock death.
Some communities exile women simply for appearing in someone’s dream!
Showing signs of dementia or mental illness also leads to witch accusations.
Often, communities’ accusations are based on superstition.
In 2014, a woman received an accusation of witchcraft and her community compared her to Maame Water, a sea goddess that lures men to their deaths, because a man drowned beside her.
The method that communities use to determine if a woman practices witchcraft involves slaughtering a chicken and taking note of its posture as it dies.
Women are not the only ones who reside in the witch camps in Ghana!
Children occasionally accompany women to the camps.
A child may go with the accused witch in order to protect them. Often, a woman’s own children accompany her.
These children suffer greatly from the discrimination of their previous communities.
The camps have no access to education, little access to water and insufficient food.
Most of these children go their whole lives with no formal education and spend their time completing chores.
While the camps may not have the best living conditions, the inhabitants believe it is better than facing discrimination and possible violence.
