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06.12.2014 Feature Article

What Farmers’ Day means for Smallholder Farmers at the Witch Camps

Witch CampsWitch Camps
06.12.2014 LISTEN

In resplendent and gorgeous dresses, our nation's gallant and hardworking farmers would take majestic steps to receive their awards on every Farmers' Day. From the big national award winners who control large acres of land and cattle, to regional and district level contestants who have a few bags of maize to show, Farmers' Day is a moment of pride and a testament to our collective obligation to appreciate hard work. In all, 71 farmers will be awarded with various prizes at this year's event at Sefwi-Wiawso in the western region. The winners include scientists, fishermen and researchers.

The 2014 Farmers' Day is on the theme: “Eat what you Grow.” While we remain an import-dependent economy, our famers give us hope that with the necessary support from government and other institutions, we would soon make our labour count towards building a country that would grow what we eat and eat what we grow. If we patronise what we grow and import only what we cannot produce here, we would be achieving food and economic security, which would eventually reduce poverty and injustice.

For the smallholder farmer at the witch camps in the northern region of Ghana, this year's Farmers' Day, like the previous Farmers' Days, is not a moment to celebrate. The women at the camps cannot eat what they grow, because they cannot grow much on their small plots of land. They live in a patriarchal society where women do not have access to land and other productive resources. In these communities, women are obligated to help their husbands on their farms to plough, plant and harvest their crops, but they do not have any share in the proceeds, except the leftovers they can gather to feed their children. Their husbands dictate how their labour is dispensed. Women, therefore, remain dependent on men for economic and financial survival.

The poor and vulnerable women at the camps face even worse discrimination and suffer stigmatization due to the witchcraft accusations. Even as weak and frail mothers and grandmothers, the only available occupation in their communities is small-scale farming. Yet, they do not have access to land to grow what they eat. They usually scavenge on leftovers after those who hold land have harvested their produce. As smallholder farmers in deprived communities, they cannot access any credit facilities or engage in any profit-making economic venture. What would Farmers' Day mean for a vulnerable old woman who can hardly provide food for herself?

Witchcraft allegations and the belief in other forms of spiritual influences have caused many people, especially women, to suffer dehumanising human rights violations and cultural violence in many African countries. In Ghana where more than 90% of the population believes in witchcraft and the power of witches, the treatment of suspected witches has ranged from physical and psychological abuse, public ridicule, economic discrimination and banishment to isolation centres traditionally known as witch camps. In some cases, alleged witches are beaten to death or are denied their natural share of opportunities and resources necessary for a normal and dignified life.

As a signatory to international legal agreements such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and many others, Ghana has a legal obligation to protect all her citizens, especially women and children, against any form of discrimination and human rights violations. However, even after passing the Domestic Violence Act (Act 732) in 2007 and the Mental Health Act (Act 846) in 2012, Ghana has the unenviable record of being the only country in the world that has witch camps where alleged witches, mostly old women, are kept. This is the greatest form human rights abuse.

There are six of these camps in the Northern region: Kukuo, Gnani-Tindang, Kpatinga, Nabuli, Gambaga and the Bonyase camps. All together, the inmates number about 681, most of whom are poor and vulnerable old women between 60 and 70 years. The Gnani-Tindang camp has 42 male inmates, accounting for 19.6% of the total population of the camp. Under very deprived conditions where potable water and food remain unaffordable luxuries, some of the inmates live in the camps with their children and grandchildren who help them in their daily chores and small-scale farming.

With the interventions of ActionAid Ghana, Songtaba and other partners, and with the collaboration of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs, about 199 inmates of the camps have been reintegrated into their communities. This has followed series of sensitisation programmes in the communities of the alleged witches and the implementation of livelihood interventions such as the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP). The First Lady, Mrs. Lordina Mahama, recently initiated a housing project as a response to the accommodation needs of the women. These are laudable initiatives, but until the women are reintegrated into their communities, their dignity remains mortgaged.

While a roadmap for the reintegration of the alleged witches has been developed by ActionAid Ghana and the concerned ministries, witchcraft allegations and its associated insecurities of unemployment and gender discrimination have perpetuated the cycle of poverty in the affected communities. These discriminatory cultural and traditional treatments of spirit-related problems deny innocent women and girls their right to liberty, freedom, and respect, and also affect their physical and mental health.

To reduce poverty, injustice and other forms of discrimination against vulnerable people in Ghana, especially women and children, there is the urgent need for a public conversation on why people in our communities face social and economic exclusion because of our suspicions and allegations. On this year's Farmers' Day, ActionAid is calling for support for our women in the six witch camps, and all vulnerable women and girls who suffer cultural injustices such as witchcraft allegations, widowhood rites and other forms of gender-based violence, to enable them contribute to the development of their societies.” This will be their best Farmers' Day.

Kwesi Tawiah-Benjamin
[email protected]
The author is the Communications and Public Relations Manager of ActionAid Ghana.

ActionAid is anti-poverty global movement of people working together to defeat poverty and end injustice around the world.

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