In northern Ghana, hundreds of women live in exile after being accused of witchcraft, cast out to remote settlements often called “witch camps.” These camps (six of them remaining today) are touted by some as sanctuaries, but in reality function as sites of gender-based violence and human rights abuse (Pulitzer Center). Those banished are overwhelmingly women, usually elderly, widowed, or otherwise vulnerable, scapegoated for misfortunes ranging from illness to crop failure (Pulitzer Center). Accused, shunned by their communities, and effectively exiled, they find themselves in a paradoxical refuge that doubles as a prison without walls.

Life inside Ghana’s witch camps is characterized by deprivation and neglect. The women sleep on dirt floors in dilapidated mud huts, surviving on sparse donations from N.G.O.s or churches (Pulitzer Center). Clean water, food, and healthcare are woefully inadequate, and there is no government support program for these women (Amnesty International). “I miss a lot from home… I had everything. Now, if someone doesn’t feed me, how would I eat?” laments one elderly woman who fled to a camp, describing a leaking roof and an inability to survive on her own (Amnesty International). The camps offer fragile protection from lynch mobs, yet no escape from stigma: as one observer notes, they are “neither a refuge nor a prison – they are something in between” (Al Jazeera). In this climate of isolation, abuses continue with impunity. Some camp leaders have exploited the women’s labor and even sexually abused them – one priest fathered children with multiple camp residents, according to reports (Pulitzer Center). Humanitarian aid meant for the women is sometimes diverted by those in charge. As Professor John Azumah, a Ghanaian activist-scholar, puts it, “These are not safe havens. They are places where society has abandoned its most vulnerable” (Pulitzer Center).

Belief in witchcraft runs deep in Ghanaian society, but the phenomenon of witch camps is unique to the impoverished north (Al Jazeera). Here, entrenched superstition merges with patriarchal norms to put a target on the backs of marginalized women. “It is violence against women – a demonisation of women,” Azumah says of witchcraft accusations (Al Jazeera). Notably, while men may also be accused of witchcraft, accusers often claim men use mystical powers for good, whereas women are used for harm, reflecting a sexist double standard (Al Jazeera). Almost any misfortune, from a child’s illness, a bad harvest, to simply a dream, can be twisted into “evidence” of a woman’s sorcery (Pulitzer Center). These allegations often serve as a cover for deeper conflicts or misogynistic motives. “Sometimes people are just accusing others maliciously, or to get them out of the way,” Azumah explains, citing jealousy or disputes over property as common triggers (Al Jazeera). In a society where women are expected to be submissive, those who defy norms or lack a male protector are easy scapegoats. One resident of Kukuo camp noted that community members “always have plans of putting allegations against you, especially if you are hardworking and still strong and doing well as a woman” (Amnesty International). In another case, a village chief allegedly accused a woman after she refused to marry off her daughters to him, showing how witchcraft claims are wielded to punish women who assert autonomy (Amnesty International). In effect, a mix of superstition, poverty, and misogyny continues to drive vulnerable women from their homes into exile.

Despite the grim situation, survivors and activists are speaking out and pushing for change. Women in the camps themselves understand too well that the accusations are baseless weapons. “He doesn’t want me in the community, that’s why he accused me,” says Fawza, a resident of Gnani camp, recalling how a neighbor’s bad dream was twisted to drive her out (Amnesty International). Their voices, once silenced by fear, are now being amplified by local civil society groups. Organizations like Songtaba and ActionAid Ghana have spent years advocating for these women – educating communities, providing support, and lobbying for policy change (Pulitzer Center). After the public lynching of 90-year-old Akua Denteh in 2020, a coalition of activists and human rights groups galvanized to demand stronger laws and protections (Al Jazeera). These efforts bore fruit in the form of Ghana’s proposed Anti-Witchcraft Bill, a landmark legislation that would criminalize accusing someone of witchcraft and outlaw the violent “rituals” that often follow (Pulitzer Center). Crucially, the bill also calls for rehabilitation and reintegration programs to help exiled women return safely to society (Pulitzer Center). Amnesty International, UN experts, and local advocates have all urged Ghana’s parliament to pass the law without delay, stressing that each day of inaction leaves hundreds at risk of further abuse (Amnesty International). The Ghanaian state must accompany legal reforms with robust enforcement and nationwide awareness campaigns to dismantle the stigma against accused women.