Sunday, February 20, 2011

Witchcraft Accusations in Africa


Witchcraft is quite common in many parts of the world by now. In Africa, things have taken a different turn and has become a social issue of concern. It is becoming a norm in Africa to accuse people of witchcraft and because of such accusations people end up in prison, they can lose their property and can also be banished from their village. Most of the accusations are baseless.

There is an NGO and human rights program being conducted in Malawi to focus on this issue and to raise awareness amongst people to not ruin anybody's life by accusing them with such things. Mostly, there is no proof that the people accused do perform witchcraft in the first place. In fact, people are resistant to this program.

Witch hunts have taken place in Europe, India, America, Rome, Mexico, Russia and India. But it is said that witchcraft is normally practiced in poor communities and rural settings. People in Africa are accusing those whom they want to get rid of due to enmity or for personal gains. For instance, in some case a son accused  his mother of being a witch and when she was banished, he took over all her lands.

According to the law in Malawi, the government does not have issues if people believe or don't believe in witchcraft but it does not want witchcraft accusations that can harm and ruin lives for personal gains. Well, it seems more of a psychological and social issue and changing corruptible mind sets is a much longer process.