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Ghana's MPs pass bill criminalising witchcraft accusation

69 points by ohjeez 3y ago

chasing 3y ago
They prefer the term "wiccan."
breadwinner 3y ago
Witchcraft is on the rise in the US as well: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/paganism-witchcraft-are-making-comeback-rcna54444 https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/paganism-witchcraft-ar...
- pavel_lishin 3y ago
  Why do you say "as well" as if the original article claimed that witchcraft was on the rise in Ghana?
- garciansmith 3y ago
  The article has nothing to do with modern Wiccan religion like the one you posted, but rather accusations of traditional witchcraft as something superstitions people fear and claims of which are used to attack others (often women, the elderly, and outsiders).
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
tlb 3y ago
Knowing little about it, I assume most accusations of witchcraft are a way of eliminating rivals, like in business or love triangles. But elderly women aren’t the demographic you’d expect to see accused. Can someone explain the reasons (cynical or ideological) why people do this?
- tarboreus 3y ago
  They tend to be low status outsiders, and historically witchcraft has been associated with older people and women.
- achates 3y ago
  I would assume most witchcraft accusations are made by people who believe in witchcraft and believe that the person they're accusing is a witch.
  - jackmott42 3y ago
    [flagged]
- TeMPOraL 3y ago
  Inheritance / accumulated wealth?
  - gilcot 3y ago
    Like the Salem case…
- mickdeek86 3y ago
  The idea in medieval Germany is that when farm yields were low, they were looking to reduce the number of mouths to feed and post-childbearing women were deemed sufficiently 'worthless'. It also could be that during these times they were eating moldy grain they otherwise wouldn't, and the mold may have been ergot, with potent psychedelic/hallucinogenic properties (it's LSD, basically).
  - SenAnder 3y ago
    At the height of the witch panic, in the years 1450-1750, 0.19 witches were executed per year, per 100k people. The homicide rate in Norway, today, is 0.5 per 100k people, 1.1 in Sweden, 3.0 in Europe overall, and 22.4 in Brazil: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intention... With the aid of modern medicine, the rate of cancer deaths is 158.3 per 100k per year: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics Compared to that, witchcraft executions had a negligible impact on number of mouths to feed. Sources: European population in year 1500: 90M - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_demography#Demographic_tables_of_Europe%E2%80%99s_population https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_demography#Demographi... Executed for witchcraft in 1450-1750: 50k (upper estimate) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-hunt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-hunt
mock-possum 3y ago
> Over 500 of people are being held in safe houses, so-called witch camps, that are spread across the country where they fled for safety after being accused of involvement in witchcraft, according to local media. What the fuck is going on in Ghana?
- MisterTea 3y ago
  Lack of education combined with superstitious spiritual/religious beliefs.
- BoorishBears 3y ago
  [flagged]
gnulinux 3y ago
I don't know about this news article but please note that TRT World (in this case TRT Africa) is a biased media source as it's known to be close to Turkish government and its president Erdogan. Also worth noting its parent TRT is the national public broadcaster of Turkey, stands for "Turkish Radio and Television". I would strongly discourage everyone from treating it as a reliable news source. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRT_World https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRT_World https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Radio_and_Television_Corporation https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Radio_and_Television...
throwaway84940 3y ago
[dead]
- IanCal 3y ago
  > I'm not sure this bill is a good idea. Africa has a problem with witchcraft and human sacrifice. They don't have a problem with actual witches though do they? > https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-15255357 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-15255357 This is about killing children, and I doubt the bill here would prevent someone from accusing someone of killing a child. > https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15280776 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15280776 This is about trafficking children, cutting and abusing them. All things you can accuse someone of. > The case of 'adam' in the UK is also a good read. Heads up to anyone that this is a disturbing read about a particularly horrible murder of a young boy. The crimes are not being witches. The crimes are crimes regardless.
  - throwaway84940 3y ago
    >The crimes are not being witches. The crimes are crimes regardless. Of course it is a crime regardless but it would be dishonest to the reader to not mention the connection to witchcraft which was the impetus.
    - IanCal 3y ago
      "I accuse you of being a witch" is a massively different statement to "I accuse you of murdering a child because of some witchcraft related bullshit"
      - throwaway84940 3y ago
        I don't think you are understanding the cultural context. In english "witch" brings to mind witch trials and a culture of accusation. In african and carribean witch doctor is just a job and would be better termed "voodoo". Accusing someone of being a witch would be like accusing someone of being a plumber. They're quite open about it. It's not a witch hunt if they're in the phone book.
prmph 3y ago
Post an article about social, tech, or cultural innovation in Africa, get zero votes and comments. Post another about witchcraft, war, disease, FGM... get immediate interest. I've seen this trend for a long on here, and it seems very weird to me. It's almost as if people need articles that confirm their beliefs about how life in Africa must be like, even though they may not have ever set foot there (and do not intend to at any time)
- amazingman 3y ago
  It would be just as generically interesting to people if it were Canada or Australia. Witchcraft is a fundamentally interesting topic because it touches on deep-rooted fears and superstitions that probably evolved in humans tens or hundreds of thousands of years ago.
- bathtub365 3y ago
  It effectively closes Ghana as a market for Witchcraft as a Service (WaaS) companies
  - 19870213 3y ago
    Or opens it! Since nobody can now accuse you of doing witchcraft.
greentext 3y ago
If the country collapses in the next couple months we'll all know why.
elwell 3y ago
Why focus on criminalizing "witchcraft accusation" rather than simply focus on enforcing the already criminal associated activities (e.g., "lynching of people")?
- 19870213 3y ago
  You generally want to prevent a crowd from getting to that point. It's a bit difficult for a handful of police to stop a crowd from lynching as it's happening.
  - elwell 3y ago
    It's a slippery slope, though. Should we criminalize kitchen knives because by the time someone starts stabbing someone it's too late?

69 points by ohjeez 3y ago

They prefer the term "wiccan."

Witchcraft is on the rise in the US as well: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/paganism-witchcraft-are-making-comeback-rcna54444 https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/paganism-witchcraft-ar...

pavel_lishin 3y ago
Why do you say "as well" as if the original article claimed that witchcraft was on the rise in Ghana?
garciansmith 3y ago
The article has nothing to do with modern Wiccan religion like the one you posted, but rather accusations of traditional witchcraft as something superstitions people fear and claims of which are used to attack others (often women, the elderly, and outsiders).
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]

tlb 3y ago

Knowing little about it, I assume most accusations of witchcraft are a way of eliminating rivals, like in business or love triangles. But elderly women aren’t the demographic you’d expect to see accused. Can someone explain the reasons (cynical or ideological) why people do this?

tarboreus 3y ago
They tend to be low status outsiders, and historically witchcraft has been associated with older people and women.
achates 3y ago
I would assume most witchcraft accusations are made by people who believe in witchcraft and believe that the person they're accusing is a witch.
- jackmott42 3y ago
  [flagged]
TeMPOraL 3y ago
Inheritance / accumulated wealth?
- gilcot 3y ago
  Like the Salem case…
mickdeek86 3y ago
The idea in medieval Germany is that when farm yields were low, they were looking to reduce the number of mouths to feed and post-childbearing women were deemed sufficiently 'worthless'. It also could be that during these times they were eating moldy grain they otherwise wouldn't, and the mold may have been ergot, with potent psychedelic/hallucinogenic properties (it's LSD, basically).
- SenAnder 3y ago
  At the height of the witch panic, in the years 1450-1750, 0.19 witches were executed per year, per 100k people. The homicide rate in Norway, today, is 0.5 per 100k people, 1.1 in Sweden, 3.0 in Europe overall, and 22.4 in Brazil: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intention... With the aid of modern medicine, the rate of cancer deaths is 158.3 per 100k per year: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics Compared to that, witchcraft executions had a negligible impact on number of mouths to feed. Sources: European population in year 1500: 90M - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_demography#Demographic_tables_of_Europe%E2%80%99s_population https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_demography#Demographi... Executed for witchcraft in 1450-1750: 50k (upper estimate) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-hunt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-hunt

mock-possum 3y ago

> Over 500 of people are being held in safe houses, so-called witch camps, that are spread across the country where they fled for safety after being accused of involvement in witchcraft, according to local media. What the fuck is going on in Ghana?

MisterTea 3y ago
Lack of education combined with superstitious spiritual/religious beliefs.
BoorishBears 3y ago
[flagged]

gnulinux 3y ago

I don't know about this news article but please note that TRT World (in this case TRT Africa) is a biased media source as it's known to be close to Turkish government and its president Erdogan. Also worth noting its parent TRT is the national public broadcaster of Turkey, stands for "Turkish Radio and Television". I would strongly discourage everyone from treating it as a reliable news source. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRT_World https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRT_World https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Radio_and_Television_Corporation https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Radio_and_Television...

throwaway84940 3y ago

[dead]

IanCal 3y ago
> I'm not sure this bill is a good idea. Africa has a problem with witchcraft and human sacrifice. They don't have a problem with actual witches though do they? > https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-15255357 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-15255357 This is about killing children, and I doubt the bill here would prevent someone from accusing someone of killing a child. > https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15280776 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15280776 This is about trafficking children, cutting and abusing them. All things you can accuse someone of. > The case of 'adam' in the UK is also a good read. Heads up to anyone that this is a disturbing read about a particularly horrible murder of a young boy. The crimes are not being witches. The crimes are crimes regardless.
- throwaway84940 3y ago
  >The crimes are not being witches. The crimes are crimes regardless. Of course it is a crime regardless but it would be dishonest to the reader to not mention the connection to witchcraft which was the impetus.
  - IanCal 3y ago
    "I accuse you of being a witch" is a massively different statement to "I accuse you of murdering a child because of some witchcraft related bullshit"
    - throwaway84940 3y ago
      I don't think you are understanding the cultural context. In english "witch" brings to mind witch trials and a culture of accusation. In african and carribean witch doctor is just a job and would be better termed "voodoo". Accusing someone of being a witch would be like accusing someone of being a plumber. They're quite open about it. It's not a witch hunt if they're in the phone book.

prmph 3y ago

Post an article about social, tech, or cultural innovation in Africa, get zero votes and comments. Post another about witchcraft, war, disease, FGM... get immediate interest. I've seen this trend for a long on here, and it seems very weird to me. It's almost as if people need articles that confirm their beliefs about how life in Africa must be like, even though they may not have ever set foot there (and do not intend to at any time)

amazingman 3y ago
It would be just as generically interesting to people if it were Canada or Australia. Witchcraft is a fundamentally interesting topic because it touches on deep-rooted fears and superstitions that probably evolved in humans tens or hundreds of thousands of years ago.
bathtub365 3y ago
It effectively closes Ghana as a market for Witchcraft as a Service (WaaS) companies
- 19870213 3y ago
  Or opens it! Since nobody can now accuse you of doing witchcraft.

greentext 3y ago

If the country collapses in the next couple months we'll all know why.

elwell 3y ago

Why focus on criminalizing "witchcraft accusation" rather than simply focus on enforcing the already criminal associated activities (e.g., "lynching of people")?

19870213 3y ago
You generally want to prevent a crowd from getting to that point. It's a bit difficult for a handful of police to stop a crowd from lynching as it's happening.
- elwell 3y ago
  It's a slippery slope, though. Should we criminalize kitchen knives because by the time someone starts stabbing someone it's too late?