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Gnani, Ghana – Songtaba in partnership with Actionaid Ghana, UNFPA, STAR-Ghana and Ma Yurlim Foundation, has marked this year’s International Women’s Day with the provision of free health screening to 113 alleged witches and residents of Gnani.
The poor, hopeless and frail looking women, mostly in their sixties were also served with meals and toiletries by the organisations.
Executive Director of Songtaba, Hajia Lamnatu Adam in an interview with journalists, reiterated calls for the reintegration and restoration of dignity to all alleged witches confined in camps in the Northern Region.
She also urged the youth of Northern Ghana especially those in communities where there were rampant incidents of witchcraft accusations, to desist from banishing such victims from their communities but rather learn to coexist peacefully with them.
Hajia Lamnatu also called on the leadership of the four District Assemblies where the alleged witch camps were located to factor into their medium-term development plans, the needs of the women in order to alleviate their sufferings and hardships which include lack of food, shelter, water and clothes.
There are five alleged witch camps dotted across remote and poor communities in the Northern Region. The camps are Gnani and Kpatinga camps in the Yendi Municipality, Kukuo in Nanumba North District, Gambaga in East Mamprusi District and Nabuli in Gushegu District.
Over 300 old women alleged to be witches live in these camps with the Gnani camp having the largest number of inmates. Between 2010 and 2017, about 200 women have been facilitated by the Alleged Witches Reintegration Committee to go back home and live with peacefully with their families and communities.
Programme Specialist and Head of the UNFPA Tamale Office, Mammah Tenii, told Savannahnews that, the stress of menopause largely contributes to the strange behaviour of many women which most people misconstrue to witchcraft.
According to him, menopause is the reverse form of the adolescent period of a young woman, which means, losing her beautiful guitar body shape, developing sagging breast and shrinking buttocks and having wrinkles all over her body among others.
Mr Tenii said nongovernmental organisations advocating for the rights and safety of victims of witchcraft accusations ought to understand how menopause was largely contributing to the strange behaviour of many women thereby leading to them being accused of witchcraft by family members or communities.
He urged them to sensitise communities where witchcraft accusations were rampant on the strange behaviours associated with menopause, because that in his estimation would enable the people to understand women in their menopause better.
All 113 alleged witches were screened for diabetes, hypertension, cataract and other medical conditions associated with old age. They were provided with free medicines and those who might need further treatment or surgery were to be taken to the Yendi Government Hospital.
Meanwhile, International Women’s Day, usually celebrated on March 8 each year, is a day set aside to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women all over the world.
The global theme for the 2018 IWD is “#Press for Progress” – a push for gender equality worldwide. But Songtaba and its partners chose: “#Press for Progress; Let The Reintegration And Security of Alleged Witches Be Our Priority”.
By savannahnewsonline.com
