Witchcraft accusations putting hundreds at risk of "physical attacks or even death" in Ghana, Amnesty says
Hundreds of people suspected of witchcraft in Ghana, especially older women, face rampant human rights abuses including murder, Amnesty International said Monday, asking the government to criminalize accusations and ritual attacks.
"The accusations, which can lead to threats, physical attacks or even death, usually start within the family or among community members following a tragic event such as an illness or a death," Amnesty said.
"Older women living in poverty, with health conditions or disabilities are at greater risk, as well as women who do not conform to stereotypical gender roles. In some cases, accusers even base their claims on having had a bad dream about a person," it added.
Earlier this year, two men in Zambia were charged with practicing witchcraft and possessing charms intended to harm the country's president.
"The authorities should pass legislation specifically criminalizing witchcraft accusations and ritual attacks, including protective measures for potential victims," said Genevieve Partington, Amnesty's country director in Ghana.
Partington is also a member of the Coalition Against Witchcraft Accusations, an association set up following the lynching of a 90-year-old woman in July 2020 in northern Ghana.
Similar attacks occur in other parts of Africa.
Eight women blamed for the death of two ailing boys in Guinea Bissau last year were forced to drink poison and died.
Also last year, two women in their sixties were publicly stoned and their bodies burnt in the Democratic Republic of Congo for allegedly causing the deaths of several people.
Last year, police said about 50 people died in Angola after being forced to drink an herbal potion to prove they were not sorcerers.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/witchcraft-...rnational/
Hundreds of people suspected of witchcraft in Ghana, especially older women, face rampant human rights abuses including murder, Amnesty International said Monday, asking the government to criminalize accusations and ritual attacks.
"The accusations, which can lead to threats, physical attacks or even death, usually start within the family or among community members following a tragic event such as an illness or a death," Amnesty said.
"Older women living in poverty, with health conditions or disabilities are at greater risk, as well as women who do not conform to stereotypical gender roles. In some cases, accusers even base their claims on having had a bad dream about a person," it added.
Earlier this year, two men in Zambia were charged with practicing witchcraft and possessing charms intended to harm the country's president.
"The authorities should pass legislation specifically criminalizing witchcraft accusations and ritual attacks, including protective measures for potential victims," said Genevieve Partington, Amnesty's country director in Ghana.
Partington is also a member of the Coalition Against Witchcraft Accusations, an association set up following the lynching of a 90-year-old woman in July 2020 in northern Ghana.
Similar attacks occur in other parts of Africa.
Eight women blamed for the death of two ailing boys in Guinea Bissau last year were forced to drink poison and died.
Also last year, two women in their sixties were publicly stoned and their bodies burnt in the Democratic Republic of Congo for allegedly causing the deaths of several people.
Last year, police said about 50 people died in Angola after being forced to drink an herbal potion to prove they were not sorcerers.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/witchcraft-...rnational/
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
