As women age in rural Ghana, signs of dementia, mental health issues or even menopausal symptoms can result in them being declared ‘witches’ and pushed out of their community. Around 80 women live in such exile in Kukuo ‘witch village’
All photographs by Robin Hammond
Safia Wumbi, 69, was suffering from debilitating migraines when she was accused of being a witch and driven out of her home and her village. She found refuge in an alleged ‘witch village’ in Kukuo in the district of Nanumba, northern Ghana. Many of the women are accused of being witches because they have mental health conditions, while others developed illnesses after being ostracised by their communityAdamu Mahama, 63, was accused of being a witch after her son died in a motorbike accident directly after the two of them were heard arguing. ‘He was my firstborn and when they chased me out of my community I couldn’t even go to see him buried. My husband pleaded with the chief, but there was nothing he could do,’ she says. ‘My life is not good now. I sit and worry. People are like this, creating stories. Most of the accusers are men because if you accuse your fellow woman then tomorrow it will be you’Adamu’s mother, Abiba Mahama, also lives in Kukuo village. ‘My mother was accused and sent to Kukuo and I stayed with my brothers but it wasn’t very pleasant. There were accusations about me every time someone was sick or something went wrong,’ she says. ‘In Africa, people are always looking for someone to be the cause and to point the finger. They go to the soothsayer and the chief and the woman has to go. She cannot ever return unless everyone has died’Zinaba Shei, 60, lives in the village. Her family face stigma if they visit her, but one of Zinaba’s daughters braves the taboo to come to see her when she can. ‘Dementia is the key issue here,’ says Musa Atta Tanimu, a local politician who supports the villageZinaba says she suffers from ‘forgetfulness’ and often feels very low about being cast out from the place she has lived all her life. When women are banished they take nothing but the clothes they are wearingMariama Wumbi has been accused of being a witch. She is among around 80 accused women living in Kukuo villageAbiba Mahama doesn’t know her age. She was accused of being a witch after someone in her village saw her in a dream poisoning another person. She has been in Kukuo for 13 years. Her daughter was also stigmatised and thrown out of her villageMariama Yakubu, 63, says she was accused of being a witch because she became very bad-tempered‘I don’t know why [I became bad-tempered], I tried not to argue with my relatives,’ says Mariama. She took herbal medication for her mood swings but nothing worked and her family reported her for witchcraftZina Wumbi, 61, was accused of being a witch and thrown out of her village, many miles from Kikuo. She does not talk any moreWumbi Yindana, 71, lives in Kukuo. ‘Some [women] are neglected, something bad has happened to them and most of them are very depressed,’ says local politician Musa Atta TanimuAlhassan Sana, 68, is a talented singer and leads the other women in song to pass the time at KukuoAyishetu Fuseini, 60, was accused of being a witch when she was grieving for her husband. After his death she became very low. Her brother-in-law has since moved his family into her empty houseAzara Wumbi, 61, has been accused of being a witch. When women are accused, the local chiefs will hear the accusations against them and judge whether they should be cast out
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