Global Conscience discusses human rights and
witchcraft on Ocean City RadioHuman Rights Hour on Ocean City Radio on Tuesday July 15 th focused on the issue of witchcraft and human rights. Four international interns from Global Conscience Initiative ( GCI ) discussed the positive and negative uses of witchcraft in Cameroon and compared attitudes towards the practice of witchcraft in Africa and the West.
There was a discussion of the positive uses of witchcraft, particularly the practice of traditional medicine by witch doctors. The interns regarded this as useful, when practiced correctly, because many in Africa cannot access modern medicine. The interns also explored the parallels between western and traditional medicine. Some concepts, such as treating the whole person, paying attention to the mind as well as the body, are increasingly being adopted in western medicine. In Africa the combination of traditional and modern medicine can be beneficial. For example, in South Africa , traditional healers, who are highly trusted, have been instrumental in persuading many citizens to get tested for HIV.
The rights to freedom and belief mean that people should be allowed to practice witchcraft, but as with all human rights, these may only be enjoyed to the extent that they do not infringe on the rights of others. If witchcraft is practiced in order to harm another person, it becomes a tool for the violation of human rights.
Similarly, false accusations of witchcraft, made with malicious intentions, constitute harassment. This is relevant not just in Africa , but in the historical and international context too. For example, during the Salem Witch Trials which happened in Massachusetts , USA , many innocent people were killed.
If a person uses witchcraft to cause harm, it is acceptable to take action against this, but it must be done in the proper way. Evidence must be brought before a court of law. It is not fair to accuse someone of witchcraft without following the proper legal procedures.
Beliefs in witchcraft have also been misused by those in power, for example to influence the outcome of elections. This is not a criticism of Africa because such abuse of power happens all over the world, but those who associate with witchcraft in Africa must be vigilant to the potential for misuse.
On a lighter note, the interns speculated about the connection between witchcraft and football. In the 2002 African Cup of Nations Cameroon's Indomitable Lions attributed their victory in part to the use of witchcraft. Some recommendations for a football victory are rather extreme. For example, burying a live cow in front of the goal before a match would probably not be very easy! Rituals to bring good luck are practiced in all cultures. For example, in the US players will cross themselves three times before crossing the touch line.
Witchcraft is an important part of culture for many people in Africa , as well as for some in the west, and when approached with care and vigilance, it can be instrumental helping to protect human rights.
Tune in to Human Rights Hour on Ocean City Radio on Tuesday July 22 at 11am to hear Global Conscience's next discussion of human rights in Kumba.
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Read below some of the issues and questions raised during the radio show
Barrister Ajebe and Access to Justice Team
Before we speak about this eternally pertinent topic that has saturated our history books, I would like to strongly emphasize Global Conscience Initiative's and our personal neutrality/impartiality on the subject. We are not here to condemn or condone witchcraft. It is not up to us to decide whether or not witchcraft exists. We are instead interested in exploring the ways in which unjustifiable accusations of witchcraft breach legal, social, and political boundaries, as these accusations are all too commonly provoked by envy, or used as political and social control mechanisms. Therefore, the purpose of this show is to commence a communal dialogue that will help our friends, family, neighbors, acquaintances, and strangers learn to treat each other respectfully by surrendering their animosity towards each other. In this way, it is our hope that false accusations of witchcraft may diminish, as it will cease to be a simple justification for envy or social or political control. Additionally, we would like to present a more optimistic perspective on witchcraft since, when accepted and appreciated, it may serve to uphold social structure and may be a source of healing.
When discussing any subject, it is imperative to establish a common definition of that subject. I would thus like to begin by defining witchcraft. I have searched far and wide for a definition of witchcraft. Unfortunately, not one person I spoke to could actually define it, because its definition is entirely contextual. If I were in the United States , I might say that witchcraft is Wicca, a neo-pagan practice. If I were in Sierra Leone , I would say its marabou. Depending on where you are, witchcraft could be anything from a magical belief to something as tangible as technology. It could be a religious credence or a folklore. It is almost impossible to establish one single definition of witchcraft, so for the sake of today's discussion, let us separate witchcraft into two categories. There is the negative side of witchcraft, which entails falsely accusing someone with the ulterior motive of deceiving an individual, of being a diabolic witch who seeks to harm others. It is especially negative when the accused person has no evidence against him/her and still becomes a victim of harassment. There is also a more positive definition. “Traditional healing” is another way to describe a positive outlook on witchcraft, whereabouts the healer provides natural and spiritual remedies to his/her clients.
- Stephanie, what do you believe appeals to people in witchcraft?
- Stephanie, could you explain what is at the base of the positive outlook on witchcraft, namely traditional healing?
4. What lessons do you think modern medicine has to learn from traditional healing?
5. Hannah, could you explain the negative ways in which people use the belief in witchcraft to manipulate others?
After researching witchcraft for quite some time, I came to realize that people use the accusation of it to ostracize, intimidate, and manipulate. Witchcraft may exist, sure, but certain individuals exploit the fact that certain people believe in witchcraft by threatening to use it against them if they do not follow certain orders. This tactic is often the most apparent during elections in certain parts of Africa , when one party will threaten to use witchcraft if it does not receive votes from individuals. In other circumstances, somebody may even be envious of another person and decide to accuse him/her of being a witch just to justify harassing that person and ostracizing him/her. Many people also claim to be practicing “traditional healing” when they are actually scamming clients to extort money by offering expensive, ineffective treatments that only appear to be remedial. Finally, the fear of witchcraft has led to infanticide all over the world, which violates human rights law in many countries.
I would like to begin this part of the discussion by presenting a quote from the BBC from a Liberian man:
We are having major problems at the moment in the region where I am based in southern Liberia . Traditional and local leaders use witchcraft and the threat of punishment for its use to strengthen their position ahead of elections in October [2005]. Leaders are pretty much free to accuse people of using witchcraft and punish them with beatings, imprisonment and sometimes death with no proof due to a lack of a strong legal system in the hinterlands. Lack of education means many believe that certain people in their community are witches and should be punished, when told so by their leaders. - Alex El Jundi (UN), Liberia
This quotation exemplifies a key issue that witchcraft raises. Jundi's government was exploiting the fact that many Liberians believe in witchcraft by threatening to use it on the population unless it received votes.
The BBC also quoted another woman who said:
Witchcraft is a means of social control, just like the police and the courts in our countries. If any murder has been committed or a person tortured by witchcraft, then they should be punished by the laws of the land. But I don't think witchcraft itself should be banned. This is because it serves important sociological and psychological functions and could have positive effects of making one feel secure, etc.
Gayatri Thampy , USAGayatri has a very important point. Although people abuse the belief in witchcraft, it does serve to uphold societal and cultural values that are truly important for many countries.
GCI also received a complaint recently about a woman in Cameroon who was being accused of witchcraft in her village. She was being harassed and threatened without any viable evidence being brought against her. She was suffering greatly. Her family speculated that the accusations stemmed from the fact that her son married a white woman, which may have spurred envy within her community. The issue here is that there was no evidence to prove this woman was a witch, thus breaching human rights law.
With regards to traditional healing scammers, I have spoken to a number of Cameroonians who say that REAL traditional healers absolutely exist but amongst them are a number of individuals who are simply seeking to make money by selling illegitimate medicine.
Finally, a BBC report quoted a woman who said;
Alarming how many people use witchcraft as an excuse to their shortcomings. And when this happens innocent people pay the price. Mostly the ones who cannot defend themselves, like children.
Similarly, I discovered a report on infanticide in Benin , a small country sandwiched in between Nigeria and Togo . In 2005, IRIN news reported that unless a baby is born head first and face upwards, many communities in northern Benin believe the child is a witch. According to Benin 's tradition, this infant is killed, often by having its head bashed against a tree trunk. And the children accused of witchcraft who are not put to death are ostracized from their communities and made to feel guilty for being born in such a manner. Certain human rights groups are currently working to eradicate this issue since it violates human rights because there does not seem to be any credible evidence that these children are in fact witches. There is nothing that further proves these children are harmful to their societies.
Therefore, it is important to be careful with how you approach witchcraft. It is absolutely acceptable to believe in it, but if you would like to accuse someone of being a witch, it should be for the SOLE purpose that you actually believe they are a witch and not because you are envious of that person or want to exploit him/her. Be careful with how you use it. And if you want to accuse someone of witchcraft, you must do it properly and lawfully by bringing forth evidence in a court of law.
6. Karen, as a law student you must understand the more legal side of witchcraft. Can you discuss witchcraft in the legal context? What is Cameroon 's stance on human rights law in relation to the way witchcraft is handled?
7. I also understand there is a strong cultural aspect of witchcraft. Dave, can you address this? –Media and Sports
8. Now that we have addressed witchcraft in Cameroon , I am curious as to the way witchcraft has been treated in other parts of the world. Dave, can you begin by describing witchcraft and its relation to albinos in Tanzania ?
9. Hannah, can you discuss the origins of witchcraft in Western Europe and its relationship to the negative impact false accusations of witchcraft are having in certain societies?
I would like to first offer a brief historical overview of witchcraft in Western Europe . As soon as Western Europe began industrializing, a capitalistic work ethic arose and called for body reform as means to promote strict adherence to this work ethic. The body then became equated with the machine, and all free-will had to be eliminated by the State's order. As a means of suppressing any person who did not adhere by these guidelines by rebelling against the main order, the State would accuse this person of being a witch. More often, women were targeted as witches for two reasons: one was to subordinate women and ensure the patriarchy remained powerful, and the other was to guarantee industrial success since women often rebelled more than men and posed a threat to Western Europe 's economic system. In these ways, the accusation of witchcraft became a social, political, and economic control tactic. People who were accused of witches did not have justifiable evidence brought before them and were unjustly murdered.
This story has all too many parallels with what we see today in many countries. I previously presented examples of the way in which people exploit the belief in witchcraft to gain political dominance in parts of Africa , as was done in Western Europe . Additionally, European authorities used the accusation of witchcraft to subordinate a certain population. This could be compared to the ways in which, in Cameroon for example, one might use the accusation of witchcraft to isolate another person. This shows that witchcraft is often used as a tool, and has been used this way for centuries. It is not simply in Africa that this has become an issue.
I want to raise a final point. I believe there is something to be said about the relationship between witchcraft and the body. From speaking with Cameroonians, I have learned about totems, where people who allegedly practice witchcraft will transform into either an animal or some other being during the night in order to harm another person. It is thus that in this respect, the body has a direct relationship with this type of witchcraft. This is similar to the body's close ties to witchcraft in industrializing Western Europe . I would like to investigate this idea further because I believe one motivation for accusing someone of witchcraft may have to do with suppressing the body.
- Karen, I understand witchcraft participated in America 's history as well. As an American yourself, can you discuss its role in your country?
11. Stephanie, you have investigated traditional healers in the modern health care system in South Africa . What can you say about that?
*I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO THE THANK THE POST NEWSPAPER, ESPECIALLY MS. OLIVE, WHO HAVE BEEN SO COOPORATIVE IN HELPING OUR WORK BE KNOWN.
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