Hundreds of women in northern Ghana who have been accused of witchcraft are living in appalling conditions, following years of violent expulsions from their communities, a new report by Amnesty International has found.
Titled “Branded for Life: How Witchcraft Accusations Lead to Human Rights Violations of Hundreds of Women in Northern Ghana”, the report sheds light on the lives of over 500 people — mostly elderly women — forced to take refuge in informal camps. The camps, which have existed for more than a century, offer basic shelter but lack adequate food, water, healthcare, and safety.
The research, carried out between July 2023 and January 2025, is based on interviews with 93 individuals, including 82 women, many between the ages of 50 and 90. Amnesty International visited the Gnani, Kukuo, Gambaga, and Nabuli camps in November 2023 and April 2024, uncovering evidence of widespread neglect, discrimination, and state inaction.
Many of the accused women were targeted following illness, death, or misfortune within their communities. Accusations often stemmed from family disputes, social nonconformity, or poverty — and in some cases, dreams.
“My neighbour said he dreamt I was trying to kill him,” said Fawza*, a resident of the Gnani camp. “He doesn’t want me in the community — that’s why he accused me.”
The report criticises Ghanaian authorities for failing to provide legal protection or basic services to victims. The camps operate without state oversight or long-term support programmes, and there is no legal framework criminalising witchcraft accusations or ritual attacks.
“These women were banished, stripped of agency, and forgotten,” said Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s Interim Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “The state has a duty — a legal and moral one — to protect and support them. Yet it has fallen shamefully short.”
In February 2025, Amnesty International held discussions with the Office of the Attorney General and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection. The outcome was a reintroduction of a private members’ bill to criminalise witchcraft accusations — though no official response had been received by the time the report was finalised.
While some sensitisation efforts have taken place, Amnesty International stresses that legal reform alone is not enough. The organisation is calling for a national strategy that includes public education, social reintegration, and reparations for survivors.
“This is not just about legislation — it’s about restoring dignity to women whose lives have been destroyed by fear and superstition,” said Genevieve Partington, Country Director of Amnesty International Ghana.
The report concludes that unless structural and cultural changes are urgently implemented, older women in northern Ghana will continue to be at risk of violence, exclusion, and state neglect.
*Names have been changed to protect identities.
