Hundreds of women banished to 'witch camps' in Ghana

Six such 'witch camps' in the country's impoverished Northern Region have been established where women have sought refuge from beating, torture even lynching to live a life in exile, ostracised from their families and left to fend for themselves, reports telegraph.co,uk 

Many of the women in the camps have been blamed for using black magic to cause some misfortune in the community, whether a death, illness or drought. 

Denied the opportunity to defend themselves, they are chased into these camps where, exiled from their families for up to thirty years, they live in appalling conditions where food and running water is scarce. 

Eighty year old Zeneibu Sugru was accused of being a witch after her nephew became seriously ill and died. A mob beat her with sticks claiming she had used a spell to kill him. 

"I knew it wasn't true. I have never used witchcraft," she said. "But when I heard that they were planning to bury me alive in boy's grave, I knew I had to escape." 

Zeniebu did escape with her life eight years ago but left behind her grandchildren, all her possessions and her former life for ever. 

The witch camps appear to be unique to Northern Ghana. But the country shares with other African countries an endemic belief in witchcraft. 

Accusations are however almost all made against older women. 

Professor Dzodzi Tsikata of the University of Ghana claims that older women are targeted because they are no longer useful to society. 

"When women are bearing children and being dutiful wives, they conform to what society requires" she says, "But once they become menopausal, they become marginalised." 

Zeneibu, however, believes that the accusation against her stemmed from a bubbling resentment among villagers at her success as a trader who would travel hundreds of miles on business. 

"I used to bring back nice clothes for my grandchildren," she said "But people hate to see a woman prospering. It's pure jealousy." 

After a visit to the camps, Ghana's Deputy Minister for women's and children's affairs, Hajia Hawu Boya-Gariba, admitted her shock. "I can't deny the witchcamps are an embarrassment in a modern progressive nation like ours" she said. She is now calling for the eventual disbanding of the camps. 

But a new report by charity ActionAid says that the dismantling must take place gradually preceded by an education campaign teaching communities about the true causes of illness and natural disaster. 

"What is happening here is an abuse of human rights," according to Adwoa Kwateng-Kluvitse, country director of ActionAid Ghana, who says the camps are effectively women's prisons where the inmates are given a life sentence