Old age is generally characterized as a period for rest and reflections, but that is not the case for many women in the Bongo District of the Upper East Region.
These aged women are often blamed for misfortunes that hit their families, including the death of a spouse.
Most of these women are negatively tagged, stemming from primitive cultural and traditional beliefs, because of their old age.
The bongo community which is home to the Frafra people sees these women as outcasts and cursed, thus subjecting them to isolation.
80-year-old Mmabila Nyaaba was accused of killing her husband some years ago.
She was driven away and now forced to survive each day on the benevolence of people.
Aside that, she lives in a dilapidated roofless building several kilometres from others with no electricity.
“I am always at the mercy of the weather. Sometimes I am forced to sleep at any place I feel is convenient and safe,” Mmabila Nyaaba lamented.
Another victim of the primitive cultural practice is 90-year-old Awunperiba Atiah.
Abandoned by most of her family members, she now shares a single room with three other people, thus denying her of any privacy and comfort.
“People are scared to help me because they think I’ll bewitch them. This breaks my heart because I’m not a witch and I can’t even hurt a fly. I wish someone could come to my aid,” she bemoaned.
Her grandson, Abugre Evans who had initially migrated to seek greener pastures came back to take care of her.
“Despite my hard work, I don’t earn enough to give her a comfortable life,” Abugre Evans sighed.
There is also Atonkoge Nsoh, who is in her 80s.
After the death of her husband decades ago, she is forced to sleep at anywhere she feels safe and comfortable.
Despite her frail condition, she picks and gathers stones to survive.
“Anytime I approach people for help, they drive me away because they see me as a witch who is going to harm them,” the over eighty-year-old asserted.
According to Amnesty International, over 13, 000 women are often accused of witchcraft annually in Ghana.
Most of these accusations are predominately perpetrated by pastors and families.
By Frederick Kunzote-Ani
