A Ghanaian official, the Oti Regional Director of Gender Department Esther Hammond, called on traditional and religious leaders to help stop child marriage and harmful cultural practices such as “ritual killing of innocent children on the basis of witchcraft accusation.” Her plea came during a consultative meeting held at Kpassa, in Nkwanta North District of the Oti Region, a newly created region, in December 2018, carved out of the northern part of the Volta Region.
The meeting was organized by the Oti Regional Department of Gender, in collaboration with the Oti Regional Coordinating Council, and funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Its objective was to to tackle early child marriage and other harmful cultural practices that impede the development of the area.
The fate of children in Ghana – as of those in other countries – who are accused of witchcraft is saddening. It leads to their exclusion, to discrimination, and other harmful practices including death. It should be stopped. I wish to thank Mrs Hammond for raising her voice against these outdated and cruel practices. (FVDK).
Stakeholders discuss child marriage, harmful cultural practice in Nkwanta area
Published: June 11, 2024 By: Times reporter – Ghanaian Times
A consultative meeting has been held at Kpassa, in Nkwanta North District of the Oti Region, on Tuesday, to tackle early child marriage and other harmful cultural practices that impede the development of the area.
The meeting sought to raise awareness about negative effects of child marriage, deepen stakeholders’ understanding of the issues, and equip community leaders with knowledge and skills needed to advocate policy changes and local interventions.
It was organised by the Oti Regional Department of Gender, in collaboration with the Oti Regional Coordinating Council, and funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFP).
The event was attended by he Oti Regional Department of Gender, in collaboration with the Oti Regional Coordinating Council, and funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFP). among others.
The meeting was held against the backdrop of the 2023 Ghana Statistical Service Report that showed that in the Nkwanta North District, 1,014 children aged 12 to 17 years had ever been in union, with 43.0 per cent being boys and 57.0 per cent being girls.
The report indicates that such early unions often led to poor health outcomes, increased risks of maternal and child mortality, disrupted education, entrenched poverty and gender inequality.
The Oti Regional Director of Gender Department, Esther Hammond, said despite global and national efforts to eliminate harmful unsafe practices, it remained a significant challenge, particularly impacting the lives of young girls.
She noted that child marriage was denying adolescent girls and boys education and apprenticeship, resulting in deprivation and poverty.
Ms Hammond appealed to parents and guardians to desist from forcing their girls into early marriage, and rather support them to pursue education.
She called on traditional and religious leaders to help stop child marriage and harmful cultural practices such as “ritual killing of innocent children on the basis of witchcraft accusation.”
The Oti Regional Director of Social Welfare, Innocent Komla Agblosu, advised parents to seek the welfare of their children and give them proper training, to become responsible citizens.
He urged children to study hard, obedient and responsibilities, “because rights goes with responsibilities”.
The Nkwanta North District Chief Executive, William Nawugona, in a speech read on his behalf, gave the assurance that the assembly would collaborate with other stakeholders to tackle issues of child marriage and harmful cultural practices.
The District Public Health Nurse, Erasmus Awlime, sensitised the participants to health dangers of child marriage and teenage pregnancy.
The Nkwanta District Police Commander, Chief Superintendent of Police, Henry Ayisi Mensah, cautioned community leaders against handling crime, especially defilement, rape, and encouraged that such cases should be promptly reported to the police for the necessary action.
Sometimes information on the occurrence of ritual likings or specific ritualistic murders is hidden in articles and/or books. One has to read between the lines to discover a reference to these age-old, cruel, outdated and criminal practices.
Such was the case when I recently read an article written by Martha Mukaiwa, a writer and journalist based in Windhoek, Namibia. She is also a writer in residence at the International Writer Program.
Martha Mukaiwa recently gave us her view on Namibia as a peaceful country. In fact, she provides many examples to the contrary.
In an article published by The Namibian, she presents a picture of Namibia which is different from what we expect. The at times gruesome facts she presents are shocking and convincing. Besides, it is my honest view that one always has to listen to what people who know a country well have to say about their native country.
Martha Mukaiwa provides us with an insight in this southwestern African country which is not known in detail to the outside world. In particular she focuses on gender-based violence and the plight of LGBTQI+ people in Namibia. I fully share and support her plea for a more peaceful Namibia.
Therefor I wish to recommend her article. Moreover, Namibia does not often strike headlines with respect to ritualistic killings. Hence another reason why Martha Mukaiwa’s article deserves reading. For that reason I’ve included it below. (webmaster FVDK)
Peace in Namibia?
Published: May 18, 2024 By: Martha Mukaiwa – The Namibian
The tale many of us like to tell is that Namibia is a peaceful country.
It’s a mantra we repeat, as if saying it incessantly will make it entirely true, as if to be at peace is simply to not be at literal war.
When struggles for independence near their end, most nations begin the work of penning promises and predicting the future.
They compose constitutions. They write about themselves in golden, glowing terms, assuring things like freedom, prosperity and peace.
But just because a nation is not at war does not mean it’s not beset with a spirit of violence.
The same beating, bloody compulsion that shouts from daily newspapers as they speak of countless murdered women, six slain LGBTQI+ citizens in the last nine months and myriad of unnamed rape victims violated on their way to work, on their way to school, on their way to anywhere.
So where, pray tell, is this peace?
This peace of mind, freedom from violence, from murder and from vanishing?
Is it in Kavango East, where a string of murders, many victims missing body parts, remain unsolved as locals whisper of ritual killings? (italics added by the webmaster FVDK)
Is it in the traumatised soul of the eight-year-old boy at Okalale village who, in less than a decade on this earth, has learnt that the punishment for stealing food is to be beaten with an electrical cable before being doused in boiling water?
I don’t dare look for peace in the life of a Windhoek woman who seemed to foresee her own fate.
“Gender-based violence has always been there. It has become a norm to some men. When the beating stops, they resort to killing, mind you, this should not be called passion killing ’cause there’s nothing passionate about it,” she wrote on Facebook in 2019.
“As a country we have turned a blind eye to the growing issue, this needs to be curbed before it escalates beyond return.”
And return she shall not.
Helen Onesmus was murdered in February this year.
Reports about her death allege she was killed by her husband and that they were in the process of divorcing.
Perhaps Onesmus’ peace was on the other side of such a separation, but no one and, most tragically, she will never know.
Onesmus joins a growing list of women murdered by local men this year.
Sixty-four-year-old Helena Wemmert was reportedly robbed, raped and murdered at her home at Rehoboth in January, when the suspect was out on bail regarding another murder case.
Reports say Lizelda Xoagus’ husband murdered her with a kitchen knife at their home at Grootfontein, stabbing her multiple times before pouring acid on her body in April.
Later that month, Delia Weimers-Maasdorp’s body was found wrapped in a blanket at her home in Klein Windhoek. A male suspect has been arrested for her murder.
Peace?
Pekakurua Sylvia Kaimu, mother of nine-year-old Avihe Cheryl Ujaha, says Avihe’s death will haunt her forever.
Avihe’s raped, mutilated and partially dismembered body was found dumped in a riverbed in 2018 and the case remains cold. (italics added by the webmaster FVDK)
Unlike Avihe, two teen girls raped in a riverbed at Rehoboth survived to tell their tale of returning from a prayer session only to be violated at knifepoint in January.
Ask the women, children and LGBTQI+ people of this country about peace and you’ll find there is, in fact, little to be had.
There is no peace when you fear rape and murder in your own home or in your community.
There is no peace in cold cases, in perpetrators roaming among us or when your country has zero functional safe houses for adult victims of gender-based violence.
There is even less when you worry your child won’t come home after going out to play.
There is certainly no peace when six members of your community have been brutally murdered in the last nine months and calls to criminalise your LGBTQI+ identities blare in the hate speech stoked by political and religious leaders in online comment sections, in malicious WhatsApp groups and in the street.
Namibia is a peaceful country, we say, as if many of its people, most often men, are not regularly, brutally and, at times, fatally violent.
Once, maybe, this brave and undeniably beautiful land may have been every bit of its post-independence ideals.
Perhaps, it was even the epitome of peaceful.
But years pass, promises fade and we must eventually see our current selves for who we truly are.
The first step in recovery is admitting we have a problem.
– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter and Instagram; marthamukaiwa.com
This post is about harmful widowhood practices and belief in witchcraft. It’s not about a ritual murder.
It all happened in Umunankwo, a village in the Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, in south-east Nigeria. The story goes back to April last year, when three brothers chased and banished their widowed sister, a 53-year old mother of two children, from the community accusing her of being a witch. The incident was filmed and went viral. Subsequently, the three men were arrested. For briefness sake I may refer to the second and third articles below.
The incident drew once more attention to existing harmful widowhood practices and the plight of women in Anambra State in general.
Moreover, also in Anambra State the belief in the power of supernatural forces exist, though it is unknown at which scale. Related superstitious practices may go hand-in-hand with ritualistic killings (‘money rituals’) and trafficking in human organs which unfortunately also occur in this state in South-East Nigeria. See my February 19, 2023 post ‘Anambra State Police Officers in alleged ritual killing, organ harvesting ring arrested‘.
Anambra State is located in the South East geopolitical zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Federal Republic of Nigeria is divided into six geopolitical zones commonly called zones.
Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones
Anambra State is an inland state and one of Nigeria’s smallest states with a surface area of only 4,844 km2 (only Lagos State is smaller). Anambra ranks number 14 by population with an estimated population of 8 – 10 million people (2024), most of them christians though traditional beliefs continue to exist. The majority of the population belong to the Igbo ethnic group (in the 1960s, Anambra State was part of the failed secessionist Republic of Biafra). The region nowadays known as Anambra State has a a rich cultural history.
I already mentioned a prime reason to post this item, the existence of harmful widowhood practices, another major reason is the wish to draw attention to local initiatives and organizations to end these outdated and cruel practices which in fact represent human rights violations.
In this context I wish to mention the commendable work of the organization Advocacy for Alleged Witches, an interventionist group leading campaigns to end witch persecution in Africa. The organization’s Director is the well-known Leo Igbe, more than once mentioned on the present site. His work cannot be overrated and I wish to congratulate him once more with his work and achievements.
Last but not least I wish to congratulate Genevieve Osakwe, the Magistrate of the Children, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Court, in Awka, the state capital, and the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in the state, Ify Obinabo, for their swift actions.
Thanks to them the perpetrators of the crime are being prosecuted and the victim, Nneka Uzor, can now start a new life in a new apartment. (webmaster FVDK)
Anambra State, Nigeria: widow initially banished over alleged witchcraft gets new apartment
The widow, Nneka Uzor, a 54-year-old mother of two, was banished by her three brothers from Umunankwo Community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of the south-east state on 30 April 2023.
Map of Anambra State
Published: February 25, 2024 By: Chinagorom Ugwu – Premium Times Nigeria
A widow in Anambra State, who recently returned to her community after she was banished for allegedly being a witch, has gotten a new apartment.
The woman, Nneka Uzor, a 54-year-old mother of two, was banished by her three brothers from Umunankwo Community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of the south-east state on 30 April 2023.
PREMIUM TIMES, last year, reported (see below – webmaster FVDK) how the widow was spotted in a video clip being led out of the Umunankwo by the community members who hurled abuses at her while two masquerades flogged her.
The three brothers —- Lazarus Uzor, Anozie Uzor and Valentine Okwuosa —- were later arrested and arraigned before the Children, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Court in Awka.
The arrest and arraignment of the suspects were facilitated by the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in the state, Ify Obinabo, who promised to ensure that the woman was reunited with the community.
This newspaper also reported that Mrs Uzor, the banished widow, returnedto the community in January and reconciled with the villagers, following the commissioner’s intervention and the traditional ruler of the community, Fidelis Nsofor.
New apartment
Mrs Uzor has now gotten a self-contained apartment through the assistance of Advocacy for Alleged Witches, an interventionist group leading campaigns to end witch persecution in Africa.
The Director of the group, Leo Igwe, told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday that the group decided to help Mrs Uzor after they learnt that the widow had been staying with a relative after her return to the community.
“We found out that while she returned to the community, she had no money, no apartment; her business had collapsed. Nothing. She was almost displaced,” Mr Igwe said, recalling that the widow also made the request when the group reached out to her.
“So, we raised some money and we sent it to her to rent an apartment,” he said.
The group director commended PREMIUM TIMES, saying it was the paper’s report that made them aware of the widow’s travail.
Joy overflow
Mrs Uzor expressed joy while she shared a video clip of the new apartment with the group director.
“You people have met me in my point of need,” she said in the three-minute video clip, almost shedding tears of joy.
“This is wonderful,” the widow exclaimed as she showed the inner part of the apartment.
“So, at last, I can boast of saying this is my own.”
She asked God to bless members of the group who secured the apartment for her.
Widow banished over alleged witchcraft returns to community
The woman, a 54-year-old mother of two, was banished by her three brothers from Umunankwo Community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Published: January 23, 2024 By: Chinagorom Ugwu – Premium Times Nigeria
A widow in Anambra State, who was banished for allegedly being a witch, has been reunited with her community.
The woman, Nneka Uzor, a 54-year-old mother of two, was banished by her three brothers from Umunankwo Community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of the south-east state on 30 April 2023.
PREMIUM TIMES, last year, reported how the widow was spotted in a video clip being led out of the Umunankwo by the community members who hurled abuses at her while two masquerades flogged her.
In the clip, the people, who were heard accusing Mrs Uzor of poisoning the community’s food and refusing to go for appeasement, led the woman to a road junction where they pronounced her banished from the community.
At the time they pronounced her banished, the widow had collapsed in the middle of a road, apparently due to fatigue.
The three brothers – Lazarus Uzor, Anozie Uzor and Valentine Okwuosa – were later arrested and arraigned before the Children, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Court in Awka.
The arrest and arraignment of the suspects were facilitated by the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in the state, Ify Obinabo, who promised to ensure that the woman was reunited with the community.
Reunion
Mrs Uzor, the banished widow, has been reconciled to the villagers and brought back to the community, according to a statement on Monday by Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, a media aide to the commissioner.
Ms Ikeanyionwu said the reconciliation took place at the palace of the traditional ruler of Umunankwo, Fidelis Nsofor.
She said the commissioner, heads of men and women groups in the community, community leaders and the suspects, among others, attended the event.
The statement indicated that following the traditional ruler’s directive, community members gathered at the junction, where they had earlier banished the widow, to bring her back.
Masquerades also accompanied her back to the community.
Brothers label their widowed sister witch, banish her from community
The victim is a mother of two .
Published: May 22, 2023 By; Chinagorom Ugwu – Premium Times Nigeria
Three people have banished their widowed sister from their community for allegedly being a witch.
The incident happened on 30 April in Umunankwo, a community in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, south-east Nigeria.
Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, a media aide to the Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare in the state, Ify Obinabo, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
The widow, Nneka Uzor is a 53-year-old mother of two. She is also a caterer.
Ms Ikeanyionwu gave the names of the suspects as Lazarus Uzor, Anozie Uzor and Valentine Okwuosa.
She said the suspects’ arrest was facilitated by the commissioner, Mrs Obinabo, after a video clip showing the widow being abused and banished from the community went viral on social media.
Viral video
In the clip, seen by PREMIUM TIMES earlier this month, the widow was spotted being led out of the community by members of the community and two masquerades.
As she walked, the community members hurled abuses on her, while the two masquerades flogged her.
“On this day, Nneka (Uzor) committed an atrocity. She poisoned the food of the community, and she refused to go for appeasement. On that purpose, masquerades have arisen to say a final goodbye to Nneka to the boundary of no return,” a voice was in the background of the video was heard saying.
“Nneka, you shall not come back again (to the community). You have been ostracised. Today, marks her last day (in the community). The masquerade has ostracised her,” the voice added.
Apparently exhausted and weak, the widow collapsed in the middle of a road and the people abandoned her there.
Arraignment
Ms Ikeanyionwu said the suspects were later arrested and arraigned before the Children, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Court, in Awka.
The statement was silent on the details of the charges against the suspects.
When the charges were read and interpreted to the defendants, they pleaded not guilty of the charges, she said.
Ruling on bail application by the suspects, the Magistrate, Genevieve Osakwe, held that the matter was a bailable offence.
Ms Osakwe, consequently, granted them bail in the sum of N700, 000, but demanded that the suspects should provide the traditional ruler of the Umunankwo Community, the parish priest of the community’s Catholic Church or the president-general of the community as sureties.
In her reaction, the commissioner, Mrs Obinabo, expressed satisfaction with the decision of the court, Ms Ikeanyionwu said.
The commissioner assured that she would get justice for the widow and other widows in the state who are going through such ill-treatment.
She warned residents of the state to desist from any form of harmful traditional practices against widows, pointing out that Anambra State Government has zero tolerance for such “inhumane acts.”
Banished widow speaks
Mrs Uzor told the commissioner that she began living in her parents’ house in the community nine years ago after she lost her husband.
The widow regretted that her brothers and other family members had been abusing her since she began living with them in their parents’ house.
On the issue of being banished from the community, she narrated that someone had died in the community and that on the day of the person’s burial, she was invited like others, which made her pass a night there.
She said she was surprised that her brothers and other family members woke her up the next morning at about 5:30 a.m. with the masquerades and subsequently chased her out of the community.
Nkiru Uzor, a sister to the widow, alleged that it was one of the suspects, Lazarus, the immediate past president-general of the community, that instigated the banishment while Nnamdi, another suspect, coordinated the act and also filmed the incident.
Although not the main focus of this website I find it useful and necessary to draw attention to this phenomenon which is based on superstition, violates human rights and creates many innocent victims – not only elderly women and men but also children, just like ritual murders.
I wish to commend Charlotte Müller and Sertan Sanderson of DW (Deutsche Welle) – see below – for an excellent article on this topic. It’s an impressive account of what happens to people accused of witchcraft and victims sof superstition. (FVDK)
World Day Against Witch Hunts: People With Dementia Are Not Witches
Witch camps in Ghana
Published: August 4, 2023 By: The Ghana Report
August 10 has been designated World Day against Witch Hunts. The Advocacy for Alleged Witches welcomes this development and urges countries to mark this important day, and try to highlight past and contemporary sufferings and abuses of alleged witches in different parts of the globe.
Witchcraft belief is a silent killer of persons. Witchcraft accusation is a form of death sentence in many places. People suspected of witchcraft, especially women and children, are banished, persecuted, and murdered in over 40 countries across the globe. Unfortunately, this tragic incident has not been given the attention it deserves.
Considered a thing of the past in Western countries, this vicious phenomenon has been minimized. Witch persecution is not treated with urgency. It is not considered a global priority. Meanwhile, witch hunting rages across Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
The misconceptions that characterized witch hunting in early modern Europe have not disappeared. Witchcraft imaginaries and other superstitions still grip the minds of people with force and ferocity. Reinforced by traditional, Christian, Islamic, and Hindu religious dogmas, occult fears and anxieties are widespread.
Many people make sense of death, illness, and other misfortunes using the narratives of witchcraft and malevolent magic. Witch hunters operate with impunity in many countries, including nations with criminal provisions against witchcraft accusations and jungle justice.
Some of the people who are often accused and targeted as witches are elderly persons, especially those with dementia.
To help draw attention to this problem, the Advocacy for Alleged Witches has chosen to focus on dementia for this year’s World Day against Witch Hunts. People with dementia experience memory loss, poor judgment, and confusion.
Their thinking and problem-solving abilities are impaired. Unfortunately, these health issues are misunderstood and misinterpreted. Hence, some people treat those with dementia with fear, not respect. They spiritualize these health conditions, and associate them with witchcraft and demons.
There have been instances where people with dementia left their homes or care centers, and were unable to return or recall their home addresses. People claimed that they were returning from witchcraft meetings; that they crash landed on their way to their occult gatherings while flying over churches or electric poles.
Imagine that! People forge absurd and incomprehensible narratives to justify the abuse of people with dementia. Sometimes, people claim that those suffering dementia turn into cats, birds, or dogs. As a result of these misconceptions, people maltreat persons with dementia without mercy; they attack, beat, and lynch them. Family members abandon them and make them suffer painful and miserable deaths. AfAW urges the public to stop these abuses, and treat people with dementia with care and compassion.
Accusations of witchcraft typically affect the most vulnerable — such as this refugee living in the DRC Image: Getty Images/AFP/F. Scoppa
Published: August 10, 2023 By: Charlotte Müller | Sertan Sanderson – DW
Witch hunts are far from being a thing of the past — even in the 21st century. In many countries, this is still a sad reality for many women today. That is why August 10 has been declared a World Day against Witch Hunts.
Akua Denteh was beaten to death in Ghana’s East Gonja District last month — after being accused of being a witch. The murder of the 90-year-old has once more highlighted the deep-seated prejudices against women accused of practicing witchcraft in Ghana, many of whom are elderly.
An arrest was made in early August, but the issue continues to draw attention after authorities were accused of dragging their heels in the case. Human rights and gender activists now demand to see change in culture in a country where supernatural beliefs play a big role.
But the case of Akua Denteh is far from an isolated instance in Ghana, or indeed the world at large. In many countries of the world, women are still accused of practicing witchcraft each year. They are persecuted and even killed in organized witch hunts — especially in Africa but also in Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Many women in Ghana are pushed to live in so-called witch camps because they are rejected by society Image: picture-alliance/Pacific Press/L. Wateridge
Witch hunts: a contemporary issue
Those accused of witchcraft have now found a perhaps unlikely charity ally in their fight for justice: the Catholic missionary society missio, which is part of the global Pontifical Mission Societies under the jurisdiction of the Pope, has declared August 10 as World Day against Witch Hunts, saying that in at least 36 nations around the world, people continue to be persecuted as witches.
While the Catholic Church encouraged witch hunts in Europe from the 15th to the 18th century, it is now trying to shed light into this dark practice. Part of this might be a sense of historical obligation — but the real driving force is the number of victims that witch hunts still cost today.
Historian Wolfgang Behringer, who works as a professor specializing in the early modern age at Saarland University, firmly believes in putting the numbers in perspective. He told DW that during these three centuries, between 50,000 and 60,000 people are assumed to have been killed for so-called crimes of witchcraft — a tally that is close to being twice the population of some major German cities at the time.
But he says that in the 20th century alone, more people accused of witchcraft were brutally murdered than during the three centuries when witch hunts were practiced in Europe: “Between 1960 and 2000, about 40,000 people alleged of practicing witchcraft were murdered in Tanzania alone. While there are no laws against witchcraft as such in Tanzanian law, village tribunals often decide that certain individuals should be killed,” Behringer told DW.
The historian insists that due to the collective decision-making behind these tribunals, such murders are far from being arbitrary and isolated cases: “I’ve therefore concluded that witch hunts are not a historic problem but a burning issue that still exists in the present.”
A picture of so-called witch doctors in Sierra Leone taken roughly around the year 1900 Image: Getty Images/Hulton Archive
A pan-African problem?
In Tanzania, the victims of these witch hunts are often people with albinism; some people believe that the body parts of these individuals can be used to extract potions against all sorts of ailments. Similar practices are known to take place in Zambia and elsewhere on the continent.
Meanwhile in Ghana, where nonagenarian Akua Denteh was bludgeoned to death last month, certain communities blamed the birth of children with disabilities on practices of witchcraft.
Screenshot – to watch the video please consult the source
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is usually the younger generations who are associated witchcraft. So-called “children of witchcraft” are usually rejected by their families and left to fend for themselves. However, their so-called crimes often have little to do with sorcery at all:
“We have learned of numerous cases of children suffering rape and then no longer being accepted by their families. Or they are born as illegitimate children out of wedlock, and are forced to live with a parent who no longer accepts them,” says Thérèse Mema Mapenzi, who works as a mission project partner in the eastern DRC city of Bukayu.
‘Children of witchcraft’ in the DRC
Mapenzi’s facility was initially intended to be a women’s shelter to harbor women who suffered rape at the hands of the militia in the eastern parts of the country, where rape is used as a weapon of war as part of the civil conflict there. But over the years, more and more children started seeking her help after they were rejected as “children of witchcraft.”
With assistance from the Catholic missionary society missio, Mapenzi is now also supporting these underage individuals in coping with their many traumas while trying to find orphanages and schools for them.
“When these children come here, they have often been beaten to a pulp, have been branded as witches or have suffered other injuries. It is painful to just even look at them. We are always shocked to see these children devoid of any protection. How can this be?” Mapenzi wonders.
Thérèse Mema Mapenzi is trying to help women and girls accused of being “children of witchcraft” Image: missio
Seeking dialogue to end witch hunts
But there is a whole social infrastructure fueling this hatred against these young people in the DRC: Many charismatic churches blame diseases such as HIV/AIDS or female infertility on witchcraft, with illegitimate children serving as scapegoats for problems that cannot be easily solved in one of the poorest countries on earth. Other reasons cited include sudden deaths, crop failures, greed, jealousy and more.
Thérèse Mema Mapenzi says that trying to help those on the receiving end of this ire is a difficult task, especially in the absence of legal protection: “In Congolese law, witchcraft is not recognized as a violation of the law because there is no evidence you can produce. Unfortunately, the people have therefore developed their own legal practices to seek retribution and punish those whom call them witches.”
In addition to helping those escaping persecution, Mapenzi also seeks dialogue with communities to stop prejudice against those accused of witchcraft and sorcery. She wants to bring estranged families torn apart by witch hunts back together. Acting as a mediator, she talks to people, and from time to time succeeds in reuniting relatives with women and children who had been ostracized and shamed. Mapenzi says that such efforts — when they succeed — take an average of two to three years from beginning to finish.
But even with a residual risk of the victims being suspected of witchcraft again, she says her endeavors are worth the risk. She says that the fact that August 10 has been recognized as the World Day against Witch Hunts sends a signal that her work is important — and needed.
Hunting the hunters — a dangerous undertaking
For Thérèse Mema Mapenzi, the World Day against Witch Hunts marks another milestone in her uphill battle in the DRC. Jörg Nowak, spokesman for missio, agrees and hopes that there will now be growing awareness about this issue around the globe.
As part of his work, Nowak has visited several missio project partners fighting to help bring an end to witch hunts in recent years. But he wasn’t aware about the magnitude of the problem himself until 2017.
The first case he dealt with was the killing of women accused of being witches in Papua New Guinea in the 2010s — which eventually resulted in his publishing a paper on the crisis situation in the country and becoming missio’s dedicated expert on witch hunts.
But much of Nowak’s extensive research in Papua New Guinea remains largely under wraps for the time being, at least in the country itself: the evidence he accrued against some of the perpetrators there could risk the lives of missio partners working for him.
Not much has changed for centuries, apart from the localities involved when it comes to the occult belief in witchcraft, says Nowak while stressing: “There is no such thing as witchcraft. But there are accusations and stigmatization designed to demonize people; indeed designed to discredit them in order for others to gain selfish advantages.”
Maxwell Suuk and Isaac Kaledzi contributed to this article.
Screenshot – to watch the seven images please consult the source
I rarely read news reports on ritualistic killings and murders in Cameroon. This is partly due to a bias in the methodology of my research and the selection of news reports which in particular focus strongly on anglophone news media. This however does not mean that there are no ritual murders committed in Francophone and Lusophone African countries.
I recently came across a news article on Cameroon which indicates the occurrence of ritualistic violence including murders in this West / Central African country. In particular, I read (I quote): “Every week in Cameroon, there is a report of femicide, ritual killing, rape case, or any other form of violence resulting in the death of a woman or girl.” (Unquote).
The main focus of the article being on femicide and the plight of women and young girls in Cameroon, I will refrain from elaborating on the horrible crime of femicide since this topic is not this site’s focus.
For research purposes I present the original article below, as usual accompanied by a reference to its source. (webmaster FVDK)
Cameroon: Calls mount for comprehensive legislation to combat femicide
Published: May 16, 2023 By: Business In Cameroon (Yaoundé)
The alarming rate of femicide in Cameroon has prompted women’s associations and stakeholders to raise their voices to demand comprehensive legislation to combat the phenomenon.
“Since January 2023, we have recorded no less than 27 women and young girls who have died as a result of violence perpetrated against them by men, in most cases a spouse or a relative,” regretted the Minister of Family and Women’s Empowerment (Minproff), Marie Thérèse Abena Ondoa. She was speaking during an advocacy session held in Yaoundé on the sidelines of the International Day of Families on May 15.
Even more alarming, the figures reported by Minproff, although already very high, are only the tip of the iceberg. According to women’s rights organizations, the situation is much worse than that because in many cases deaths related to gender-based violence are not reported as such. Hence the urgent need for a legal framework to stop the mass killings of women and girls because of their gender.
“A specific law against violence against women is a must in Cameroon. The head of State made that promise to us in 1997. And I now realize he knew such a law is crucial. We’ve always thought our current legal law was enough. Many things have indeed been done, many mechanisms have been put in place but that is not enough. Perpetrators must be deterred, especially when they are intimate partners or family members,” said the national president of the Association to Fight Violence Against Women, Élise Pierrette Mpoung Meno.
Grim picture
Many of Cameroon’s development partners also support this initiative. They call for the strengthening of the legal framework to put a definitive end to GBV. The UN Women’s resident representative in Cameroon, Marie Pierre Raky Chaupin, said femicides “are the most brutal and extreme manifestation of a continuum of violence against women and girls”.
“Cameron lacks a legal framework against GBV, but there are many provisions that punish different forms of gender-based violence. We may need to examine the existing strong legal framework in Cameroon and better coordinate it with comprehensive legislation. This is an advocacy that UNFPA has started,” says Noemie Dalmonte, Deputy Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). This UN agency supports the government in its efforts to combat GBV through prevention and risk reduction actions and activities.
Every week in Cameroon, there is a report of femicide, ritual killing, rape case, or any other form of violence resulting in the death of a woman or girl. “The situation is gruesome, given the recent news,” acknowledges Minproff, who also wishes to see specific legislation that will “severely punish” GBV perpetrators.
Pending the adoption of the law, Marie Thérèse Abena Ondoa said new strategies will be swiftly put in place. The success of this approach requires the involvement of everyone, including communities, she said.
The following article contains two interesting aspects to which I would like to draw the readers’ attention.
First, I was struck by the public declaration of Chief Zoe, Ma Wrote Musa, to continue certain traditional practices of the ancestors, including the practicing of FGM, female genital mutilation. My interpretation of these remarks is that traditional values and behavior are still undisputed in Liberia, at least at the highest level.
Secondly, almost causal the Chief Zoe mentions ritual killings. Shocking, it’s a public acknowledgement that these age-old practices still occur in this West African country. I found it shocking – which it is not really, in the sense that everyone in Liberia knows of the existence of these crimes, based on greed, superstition and the disrespect of the rule of law and of the human rights of the victims – including the government. (FVDK)
Liberia: “We’ll Continue the Sande Bush Practice of Our Ancestors” – Zoes in Margibi Vow
“We will continue the Sande Bush practice of our ancestors in Liberia. We inherited this practice, and in no way, we are willing to end it. And, if the government and others want to force us, we will traditionally resist. If they want us to leave our ancestors’ practice, let them be equally prepared to let go other practices such as same-sex, the UBF, the Free Masons and ritualistic killings, etc,” said Chief Zoe, Ma Wroto Musa.
Published: August 30, 2022 By: Mae Azango – Front Page Africa
MONROVIA – Hundreds of Liberian school-aged girls and young women stand the risks of being initiated into the Sande Society, also known as the bush school, because, traditional leaders of Margibi County pledged to continue their ancestors’ traditional heritage.
Chief Zoe, Ma Wroto Musa, Chief Samuel Kollie and other traditional leaders in Weala Margibi County vowed to continue Sande activities admit the three-year suspension on the practice.
“We will continue the Sande Bush practice of our ancestors in Liberia. We inherited this practice, and in no way, we are willing to end it. And, if the government and others want to force us, we will traditionally resist. If they want us to leave our ancestors’ practice, let them be equally prepared to let go other practices such as same-sex, the UBF, the Free Masons and ritualistic killings, etc,” said Chief Zoe, Ma Wroto Musa.
Speaking in Weala Margibi County, during a recent town hall in meeting, organized by HeForShe Crusaders Liberia, the West Point Women for Health and Development Organization and Community Healthcare Initiative, the zoes, along with over 20 traditional leaders, said even though they are knowledgeable of the three years suspension on FGM activity in Liberia, but they will continue until same-sex and UBF is abolished as well.
During the ongoing dialogue, in affirmation of their support, all the invited traditional participants raised their hands in support of FGM continuation in Liberia.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is the umbrella entity responsible for regulations of all traditional affairs, is unaware of the violation by many traditional leaders. When contacted regarding the wave of FGM activities going on after the three-year ban placed on the practice, Assistant Minister for Culture and Customs, Joseph B. Jangar, said he is surprised and shock at the same time such activities but promised to follow up with superintendents of the various counties that are said to be violating the three-year moratorium.
“The zoes and traditional leaders are all aware of the three-year suspension and not one of those zoes operating the bush schools will be able to show you any certificate from the Ministry of Internal Affairs because we are aware of the ban,” said Minister Jangar.
It can be recalled that in late February 2022, Chief Zanzan Karwor, Chairman of the National Traditional Council of Liberia, announced a three-year suspension of the practice of female genital mutilation in Liberia. The three-year ban which started with immediate effect came amidst campaigns by human rights groups for a total ban on the practice. But it seems since the declaration was made, many traditional leaders are openly violating the ban.
“FGM/C is not only a human rights violation, but undermines the peace and security of each and every female. Access to bodily autonomy is a right to every woman, end FGM and its not cultural but harmful suppression,” Saye Tamba F. Johnson, National HeForShe Crusaders Liberia. Johnson said Margibi County is the second county that has challenged the three-year suspension of FGM. The first was Grand Cape Mount in February of 2022. However, Lofa, Gborpolu, Grand Bassa, Bong, Montesrrado and Rivercess Counties are reportedly still carrying out the act, too.
According to this newspaper’s Nimba County Correspondent, two zoes in that county paid dearly for disobedience to the three-year ban when they were arrested in Sanniquellie, Nimba County, for forcing over 8000 school-going aged girls into the Sande Bush. The girls, who had gone to prepare for 2022/2023 school year, were all captured and forced into the Bush School by the two traditional leaders. And the report added that the practices are presently taking place in the 19 administrative districts in Nimba County.
HeForShe Crusaders Liberia, Lofa County Coordinator Boakai Yamah reported on the increase of FGM activities and listed towns and villages that are carrying out the practice during the three-year suspension.
“I reported earlier from Lofa County, on the increase in the numbers of Sande Bushes in operation across the county. Here are the names and locations where Sande Bush activities are ongoing.
2. Lawalazu Town, Lower Workor Clan, Voinjama District
3. Zawoadamai Town, Lower Workor Clan, Voinjama District
4. Borgondu Town, Quardu Gboni District
5. Korlelar Town, Quardu Gboni District
6. Kamolahun Town, Ngolahun Clan, Lukambeh District
7. Manena Town, Hembeh Clan, Lukambeh District
8. Lehuma Town, Wanwoma Clan, Wanhassa District.
However, for Lehunma Town all preparations have been put in place to take the children,” concluded Coordinator Yamah. Back to the Weala Meeting in Margibi, following the intense awareness on the importance of maintaining all positive attributes of the Sande Bush, making away with the circumcision aspect, the leaders and supporters disagreed. “Our leaders at the national level are seeking money and forgetting the values of our heritage. They are seeking their own personal interest and not us. They don’t consult us on issues; we only hear about them, which is a disservice to us. Hence, there is a need for you all to keep engaging us and let us know who are directly involved with the bush and speak out on what is possible,” said Chief Samuel Kollie.
Also in Ghana, the Volta Region office of the Department of Children under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), in collaboration with Plan International, Ghana, celebrated this year’s African Union Day of the African Child.
Mr Seth Kwasi Agbi, the District Chief Executive for South Tongu, in a keynote address, condemned all harmful acts such as child trafficking, child labour, and ritualistic murders which also victimize children. (webmaster FVDK)
NHRC advocates strong mechanisms to fight harmful practices against children
Published: June 17, 2022 By: Michael Olugbode, This Day – Nigeria
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has reiterated the need to devise and strengthen national accountability mechanisms that will deter harmful practices against children, so as to enable them to attain all-around development in life.
The Executive Secretary of the commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu, stated this in his welcome remarks at the commemoration of the 2022 Day of the African Child (DAC).
He noted that the celebration was an opportunity to take stock of what has been done with regards to the adoption of policies and practices targeted at eliminating harmful practices affecting children in Nigeria.
Ojukwu, who was represented at the event by the Director of Monitoring Department, Mr. Benedict Agu, said the 2022 theme of the celebration: ‘Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy and Practice since 2013’, is appropriate as it seeks to address the peculiar human rights challenges affecting children.
He noted that these challenges, are negative harmful practices such as early/forced marriage, female genital mutilation, child trafficking among others.
He stated that against this background, the commission’s role in advancing the campaign to end harmful practices affecting children is hinged on its mandate to promote, protect and enforce the rights of all persons in Nigeria.
According to him, “Notably, the commission was a critical partner in the advocacy for the passage of the Child’s Rights Act 2003, and has been involved in continued advocacy for its adoption into Child Rights Laws of about 26 states of the federation.
“It is also a member of the State Child Rights Implementation Committee of several states in Nigeria and has continued to advocate for the mainstreaming of children’s rights in relevant policies of the government.”
Ojukwu stated that the commission has further prioritised Child Rights in its work through the creation of the Department of Women and Children, and the thematic team on the Rights of the Child, which have enabled it to take action against pervasive child rights abuses such as child marriage, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV), infanticide, child trafficking among others.
In her key message, a member of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, Ms. Aver She said the commemoration of DAC is an opportunity to sensitise duty bearers on the importance of engaging children in their own issues and promoting participation as well as inclusion in line with the principles of child participation.
Gavar, who is also the director of Human Rights Education and Promotion in the commission, said the focus of the DAC 2022 is also to respond to the high prevalence of harmful practices affecting children in different parts of Africa, including rape, FGM, child marriage, infanticide among others.
She urged the government to strengthen its child protection system through increased budgetary lines across sectors dealing with child rights implementation and through the establishment of one-step centres for integrated response to child survivors of rape, child marriage, FGM and all forms of violence against children.
In her remarks, the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, disclosed that the ministry has made progress in spearheading a range of policy documents to address harmful cultural practices, like the implementation of the Child’s Rights Act (CRA) 2003, National Guidelines on Establishment of Child Care Institutions, and National Strategy on Elimination of Child Marriage.
The Volta Region office of the Department of Children under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP), in collaboration with Plan International, Ghana, have celebrated this year’s African Union Day of the African Child with a call to end harmful practices affecting children.
In an address, Mr Israel Akrobortu, the Volta Regional Director of the Department of Children, said some traditional customs and practices conflicted with children’s rights and were harmful to their development.
“Child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation are two of the most discriminatory harmful cultural practices that have been committed regularly over long periods that some communities and societies have come to accept,” he said.
Mr Akrobotu called on duty bearers to take urgent steps to stop such negative practices, which were affecting children, especially female genital cutting, to protect the vulnerable, especially girls from all unnecessary and dangerous practices.
Mr Seth Kwasi Agbi, the District Chief Executive for South Tongu, in a keynote address, said it was important to focus on the vital efforts of communities and child rights activists working on policies and practices to eliminate “these harmful practices affecting children on the continent.”
He explained that the acts, such as child trafficking, child labour, ritual murder, and defilement, if not curbed and eventually eliminated, would be detrimental to the growth and development of the continent.
Mr Alfred Dzikunoo, Programmes Coordinator, and a representative from Plan International, Ghana, said Plan Ghana had made many contributions to end the canker against the Ghanaian Child.
The interventions include empowering girls with life skills, knowledge and networks to become empowered agents of change in their own lives, engagement of duty-bearers such as GHS, DOVVSU, and DSW to improve education on child marriage FGM, and child labour.
Torgbi Atsugah Sogah Il, a Divisional chief from Fieve Traditional Area, implored participating students to be good ambassadors and serve as role models for other children in their communities as well as cultivate the habit of championing the right to education.
The 2022 celebration was on the theme: “Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy and Practices since 2013.”
Comboni Senior High Technical School garnered 18 points against 15 by Sogakope Senior High School (SOGASCO) to win the debate on the topic: “Has the policies on harmful socio-cultural practices affecting children since 2013 curbed the menace,?”
The “Day of the African Child” dates back to 1991 when the African Union (AU) initiated a remembrance of the children who lost their lives in a peaceful protest in Soweto, South Africa, in 1976.
The event attracted school children, officials from the South Tongu District Education Directorate, teachers, local government staff, and traditional rulers within the South Tongu District.
Let me first of all state here that Bayelsa State isn’t an exception in Nigeria when it comes to ritualistic murders. My impression is that these heinous crimes occur in every state of Nigeria. But it is, however, exceptional, that high placed people raise their voices against such practices.
The year 2022 started promising in Bayelsa State when the wife of the Bayelsa State governor, Dr Gloria Diri, led a coalition of civil society organization to campaign against ritual killings and the harvesting (as it is called locally) and trafficking of human organs in some parts of the state. Moreover, she called on state security agencies to step up the protection of innocent children. The campaign started with the slogan “No To Ritual Killings.”
My congratulations to Dr Diri for this initiative and I wish her and her fellow Nigerians success in their endeavors to end ritualistic killings, at least in Bayelsa State! (FVDK)
Diri’s Wife Leads Campaign Against Ritual Killings, Others
Published: January 21, 2022 By: Osa Okhomina – Leadership, Nigeria
Wife of the Bayelsa State governor, Dr Gloria Diri, has led a coalition of civil society and girl-child welfare advocacy groups to campaign against ritual killings and harvest of human organs in some parts of the state.
She called on security agencies to step up the protection of the girl-child in the state. The campaign started as early as 7am with an estimated 12-kilometre road walk to publicly declare “No To Ritual Killings.”
The various groups and stakeholders under the umbrella of the State Gender Response Initiative Team (GRIT) noted that though two cases of attempted ritual killings have so far been detected in the state, the state would no longer condone the mysterious killing of young girls.
Among the groups which participated in the 12 kilometer walk against ritual killings are the coordinator, Committee for Democracy and Environmental Dividends ( CODED ), Mr Keme Opia ,the chairman Collins Cocodia Foundation and special adviser , political to the state governor, High Chief Collins Cocodia, wife of the chairman of the State Traditional Rulers Council, HRM, Mrs Josephine Diette-Spiff, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Women Wing of Christian Association of Nigeria, the chairman of the state chapter of the NUJ, Comrade Samuel Numonengi, Gloria Diri Foundation, Do foundation, Child Protection Network, Ethanrose Foundation, National Council of Women Society, Medical Women Association of Nigeria ( MWAN), Do Foundation international, Starrz Safety initiative and others.
The women groups were armed with placards with inscription such as “save the girl child from ritual killings”, “Together we CAN”, “Join GRIT to stop senseless killings”, “Bayelsa is peaceful not for harvesting human parts”, and “ Our girls ,our pride.”
Mrs Diri, who expressed concern over the strange cases recorded and the alleged participation of young boys in aborted cases in the state, said the land of Bayelsa rejects such dastardly act and that by the peace walk, the stakeholders in the state reject such acts.
She also called on the mothers and the men to protect the girl child against such evil acts, “For everyone that enters the state, the gods of the lands and the security agents are watching. Let us watch and protect one another against ritual killing. For those caught in the act, we will ensure that the law takes its course. We are also now against out-of-court settlements and we want the law to punish the perpetrators. Ritual killing is a distraction because if a child goes missing, government will abandon what they are doing and go in search of the missing child.”
Bayelsa First lady leads public campaign against ritual killers, ‘Yahoo-Yahoo’ boys
Published: January 20, 2022 By: Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa – The Sun, Nigeria
Disturbed by the recent cases of attempted ritual killings in Bayelsa State, the wife of Bayelsa governor, Dr Gloria Diri on Thursday led other groups on a public campaign against ritual killing and activities of Yahoo-yahoo boys in the state.
A Niger Delta University (NDU)student, Deborah Emafidion and a 13-year-old girl (name withheld) were recently rescued from suspected ritualists in the state.
The public campaign put together by the Gender Response Initiative Team (GRIT) and Committee for Democracy and Environmental Dividends (CODED) and other groups armed with placards with inscription such as ‘Save Our Children from Ritualists’ ‘No to Ritual Killings,’ Join GRIT to stop senseless killings’, ‘Bayelsa is peaceful not for harvesting human parts”, commenced with a 12 kilometre walk and distribution of flyers from Ekeki Park, Azikoro road to the Peace Park, opposite the Bayelsa State Government House.
Dr Diri, who incidentally is the initiator of GRIT, expressed concern over the strange cases recorded and the involvement of teenagers in attempted ritual killings in the state.
“The land of Bayelsa rejects such a dastardly act and by this peace walk, the stakeholders in the state reject such acts. The youths and women of Bayelsa reject it. I urge everyone to be their brothers’ keeper. If they try it in other states, Bayelsa will not condone it any longer. For everyone that enters the state, the gods of the lands and the security agents are watching. Let us watch and protect one another against ritual killing. For those caught in the act, we will ensure that the law takes its course. We are also now against out-of-court settlements and we want the law to punish the perpetrators,” she said.
The Chairperson of GRIT, Dise Ogbise, pointed out that with the peace walk against ritual killings; Governor Douye Diri led prosperity Government has once again made history by bringing together key actors in its fight against ritual killings and cultism in the state.
“The state Government has once again reiterated its resolve to end all forms of violence in the state as perpetrators of ritual killing and cultic groups will be prosecuted,” she said.
hairman of the Collins Cocodia Foundation and Special Adviser, Political to Bayelsa Governor, Chief Collins Cocodia, also expressed concern over the cases of ritual killings and called for a concerted effort to nip it in the bud.
Queen of Twon Brass Kingdom and Chairperson, Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Wives Association, Bayelsa, Queen Josephine Diette-Spiff said the case of Deborah underscored the danger facing girls and women in the state.
While commending GRIT and CODED for putting the campaign together, she called on security agencies to step up operations to be able to track perpetrators of all forms of violence.
Other groups that participated in the solidarity walk include International Federation of Female Lawyers (FIDA), Gloria Diri Foundation, Collins Cocodia Foundation, Do foundation among others.
Women and girls who end up ‘Missing and Murdered’ were the focus of two international webinars organized in the context of 16 days of activism to end gender-based violence. The Lutheran World Federation (LWF),in partnership with the World Council of Churches (WCC), ACT Alliance and the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) tried to find an answer to the question what the churches can do to prevent the rising crime of femicide.
Among those speaking about the problem in Nigeria were Rev. Emmanuel Gabriel, Nigeria’s national coordinator of the LWF’s Symbols of Hope project, and Rev. Dr Kehinde Babarinde, of the Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria (LCCN) and adjunct lecturer at West Africa Theological Seminary.
Rev Babarinde asked attention for the issue of ritual killings of women whose body parts are believed to possess mystical powers and hence they are sacrificed by unscrupulous murderers for the well-being of unknown businessmen, politicians, and others. He appealed to the church to speak out against this and other abuses.
Published: December 7, 2021 By: The Lutheran World federation, Geneva, Switzerland,
Webinars hear how faith-based organizations must step up action to change cultures and stop gender-based violence
(LWI) – The dramatic plight of women and girls who end up ‘Missing and Murdered’ was under the spotlight during two webinars organized in the context of the 16 Days of activism to end gender-based violence. The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) partnered with the World Council of Churches (WCC), ACT Alliance and the Young Women’s Christian Association(YWCA) to ask what the churches can do to prevent the rising crime of femicide.
The two-part event focused on different areas of the world, presenting first-hand testimony from panelists working with women and girls who have been trafficked, abused or forced to flee their homes in fear of their lives. Among those speaking about the problem in Indonesia on 25 November was Faye Simanjuntek, a young Lutheran activist who set up her own safe house called Rumah Faye for sexually abused children. Noting that the center cares for trafficked victims as young as six, she spoke of the work to empower survivors through reproductive health education, as well as creative skills training including art and cooking workshops.
Simanjuntek also addressed the underlying cultural problems that allow violence against women and girls to thrive in her country, citing recent comments from a police chief who said wives should be confined to the “well (fetching water), the kitchen and the sheets.” Though Indonesia is a vast and diverse country, she said, women are largely viewed as “second-class participants” in family and public affairs.
Combating patriarchal cultures
Rev. Emmanuel Gabriel, Nigeria’s national coordinator of the LWF’s Symbols of Hope project, spoke about the work to support and reintegrate survivors of trafficking through psycho-social counselling and livelihoods activities. Women are the most vulnerable to exploitation in his country, he noted, often because of gender-based violence in their communities which motivates them to migrate and fall victim to the traffickers. Churches must be part of the solution, he said, raising awareness of the dangers and advocating for a bible-based approach to gender equality.
Another Nigerian panelist, Rev. Dr Kehinde Babarinde, adjunct lecturer at West Africa Theological Seminary, addressed the issue of ritual killings of women whose body parts are believed to possess mystical powers to bring prosperity to others. He said the church must speak out against this and other abuses such as widow inheritance, where women can be forced to marry another family member following the death of their husbands. Many women prefer to commit suicide, he noted, stressing that this must be recognized as a form of femicide too.
Speaking about the widespread violence and killings of women in the Pacific region, Stephanie Dunn of the Fiji Women’s Crisis Center said churches have at times reinforced the problems of a patriarchal culture which create barriers to prevent women from coming forward to denounce the perpetrators of violence. While global statistics show one in every three women has suffered from intimate partner sexual violence, in Fiji and the Pacific, she said, that figure rises to two out of every three women experience gender-based violence.
Building a ‘Gender-competent Church’
South African Catholic theologian Nontando Hadebe, international coordinator of the faith-based gender justice network Side by Side, spoke of the interconnected legacies of patriarchy, colonialism and apartheid in her country. Women, she said, are still “socialized to be submissive” and the church must do more to highlight positive role models of women in the bible.
Frantseska Altezini, a lawyer working with the YWCA in Greece, spoke of the way that the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent economic crisis have brought the underlying problems that women face into the spotlight. She and other participants stressed the need to teach children gender justice in schools, as well as developing curricula for theological institutions in order to “build a gender-competent church.”
A second webinar on 2 December highlighted the scale of this ‘shadow pandemic’ of gender-based violence in Latin America, North America and the Caribbean. Valéria Vilhena, a researcher with Mulheres EIG (Women Evangelicals for Gender Equality) highlighted the work that organization has been doing since 2015 to support survivors and their families. Her country, Brazil, ranks fifth in the world for the highest levels of femicide after El Salvador, Colombia, Guatemala and Russia, she said.
Protecting the most vulnerable
Dr Imani Ama, a research fellow at the University of the West Indies, spoke of the challenges of “indifference and impunity” for perpetrators in Jamaica where the “subordination of women is normative.” Easy access to guns and a “de-sensitization to the value of life” have helped to rank Jamaica “among the murder capitals of the world,” she said. Demilitarization and de-colonialization are necessary, alongside “theologies to dismantle patriarchy,’” she added.
Ebony Rempel, chief executive officer of the YWCA in Banff, Canada, spoke of the increased threats facing indigenous women and girls who are seven times more likely to be victims of femicide. Her organization runs an emergency shelter, as well as longer terms support and affordable housing for survivors of domestic violence. Their crisis helpline has seen a 71% increase in calls during the pandemic, she said, with trans women also running higher risks of femicide.
In conclusion, First Nations Cree artist Amanda Wallin shared her experience of supporting two daughters who were on the Missing Persons’ list in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the province with the highest femicide rate in Canada. She spoke of the pain of witnessing her daughters in abusive relationships, saying there is a need for greater legislative efforts to protect women from violence and femicide, especially among the indigenous communities.
Last week, the author of the article ‘Enough with muti killings‘ referred to above, Eric Naki, who is the Political Editor of The Citizen, a South African online newspaper, wrote a feature article reflecting his personal concern over the ritual killing of women and children for muti purposes in the Limpopo area of the country. His article, published with the shocking heading ‘Muti murders: ‘Genitals only work if cut from live victims’, was presented as ‘Shocking details of ‘muti’ murders‘ on May 21.
Naki’s feature article did not lead to any action of the authorities. For this reason he wrote a follow-up to his article, ‘Enough with muti killings‘.
Because of its message and Naki’s cry to stop the carnage based on superstition I consider it extremely important to promote a distribution as wide as possible of his article. All forces should be joined to help ending muti killings.
I cannot present the entire article here because only subscribers have access to it, but I am including a reference to it, hoping that it may encourage readers to take the necessary steps to gain acces to the article.
Let the muti murders stop! (webmaster FVDK)
Enough with muti killings
Simdlangentsha Magistrate’s Offices which was torched by community members after Lungisani Ntuli’s body was found on 10 July 2014 in Pongola. Community members set the church alight after the four-year-old’s mutilated body was found there. Ntuli went missing and his mutilated body was discovered in a room in the church. Picture: Gallo Images
Published: May 27, 2021 By: The Citizen, South Africa – Eric Naki
The ritual killing of women and children in Limpopo needs a joint effort by police, citizens, government, traditional leaders and neighbouring SADC nations.
