The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and the Parliamentary select committee on gender have paid formularization visit to alleged witches camps in the Northern region.
The visit which was led by the sector minister, Mrs Cynthia Mamle Miorison and chairman of the committee, Dr Appiah Kobi was to carry out an assessment of Gnani in the Yendi Municipality and Kpatinga in the Gushegu Municipality alleged witches camps.
The visit offered the committee members opportunity to have first-hand information about the camps and also engaged the fitish priest, the women and men on possible closure or changed of the name of the camps.
The assessment according to the gender ministry will inform a decision to close down all the remaining camps and find appropriate ways of reintegrating the alleged witches to their communities.
The committee first paid a courtesy call on the overlord of Dagbon, Ndan Ya Na Abukari Mahama II at the Gbewaa palace in Yendi to seeks his blessings and support for the ministry’ decision to ensure the safety and well-being of the women and children at the camps.
The sector minister, Mrs Cynthia Mamle Miorison expressed satisfaction with the responds of Dagbon overlord and said the committee will go back and brief him about the outcome of their engagement.
Mrs Cynthia Morison told journalist at Gnani camp that her ministry was deeply concern about the women situation, particularly their children and will do all they can to ameliorate their current conditions.
The Gender minister stated that even though the decision to close the camps goes beyond her as minister, her position is that it must be closed.
The committee, Mrs Morison said will put their report before the speaker of parliament for consideration when the house resume because it was raised before parliament went on recess.
She promised that the alleged witches who are not benefiting from the Livelihood Empowerment Against poverty will be enrolled onto the program.
” We will look into their economic activities so that we can help them improve it”; We are think of putting them into groups to engage shea butter processing and other income earning activities, Mrs Morrison assured.
The ministry, Mrs Miorison added will advocate strongly the change of the name of the camps because the name alone conodes negativety.
She admitted that even though the reintegration back to the communities will face some challenges, closing the camps was the surest ways of preventing lynching of old women.
” I will wish that we closed this camp because I don’t even like the name witches camp. It is a negative tag in the first place”, Mrs Cynthia Morrison stated.
One of the alleged witches at Gnani who lived there for over 4 years, Mrs Fuseina Wumbei Danaa who narrates events that landed her to the camp told the media that her child was thrown into water and when she complained she was attack and brutalized.
” I was unjustifiable without any provocation attacked while I was on my farm by those who accused me of being a wictche simple because I said my child shouldn’t be thrown into the river” she recounted.
She continued ; That my child has completed BECE in 2019 and now waiting to attend SHS.
On the reintegration, Mrs Fuseina was emphatic that they can only return to their communities if there is accommodation and sustain income activity.