Latest News

France: Togolese Man Who Raped Three Teenage Girls During Voodoo Exorcism is Jailed for 14 Years

30th November: The uncle and mother of three teenage girls have been sentenced to 14 and 7 years in jail respectively, for raping and assaulting them in voodoo exorcism sessions. The man, a 28-year-old from Togo, claimed to have been ‘chasing out an evil spirit’ when he assaulted his niece and her two older sisters between 2010 and 2011. The victims’ mother, 41, was found guilty of complicity as she had even supplied the condoms used in the crime. Read more here.

India: Inclusion of Witch-Hunting Under Laws on Domestic Violence and Sexual Harassment Favoured

30th November: Contrary to popular belief, widows and single women are not the only ones vulnerable to witch hunting. In fact, witch-hunting appeared to be a prevalent form of violence used to target middle aged women fully ensconced in their marital homes, according to a study. This indicates the need to think about witch-hunting also as a form of violence against women and be brought under the purview of Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013. Studies suggest witch-hunting draws upon superstition and involves gendered targeting of women, is embedded in disputes, jealousies and tensions that fester between intimates and arises in contexts where affordable accessible quality health care and education are largely absent. Read more here.

India: Sullia human sacrifice: Kemar Swamiji Urges Re-examination of Child’s Body

29th November: The case of human sacrifice of one and a half year old Sharika has led to speculations of seeking hidden treasure in a forest in Sullia. Kemar Swamaji urges the case should be reopened and the matter taken very seriously due to a chain of recent unnatural deaths in the region. Read more here.

South Africa: No Bail For ‘Witchcraft’ Uncle

28th November: Khulekani Msindo (36) is facing two counts of murder after the bodies of his niece Nosiphiwa (3) and nephew Lindokuhle (9) were found buried in a shallow grave at their home in Madlankala last week. The police also found blood stains and traditional medicine in a clay drinking bowl (ukhamba) in the suspect’s room. Read more here.

India: Four Assaulted for “Practising Witchcraft”, Rescued

28th November: The police rescued four persons, including two women, who were assaulted – tied up, taken to the prayer hall (‘namghar’) and beaten in order to confess practising witchcraft – in the world’s largest river island Majuli in Assam’s Jorhat district. Read more here.

Nepal: Witchcraft Accused Woman Driven Out of Home

28th November: At a time when the country is celebrating a 16-day campaign to end violence against women (VAW), a Dalit woman, who was displaced from her village after being charged with witchcraft by her own family members, struggles for justice. Read more here.

Mexico: Modern Mexican Witchcraft

Blog post: The witchcraft business is thriving like never before in Mexico, as Internet marketing and media-savvy shamans hitch centuries-old tradition to modern commercialism. Read more here.

 

India: Three Family Members Killed for Alleged ‘Witchcraft’ in Assam

27th November: Three members of a family, two brothers and one brother’s wife, have been allegedly killed on the suspicion of practicing witchcraft and their bodies recovered in Assam’s Nagaon district. 20 villages were arrested. Read more here.

Ghana: Witch Camps Of The Northern Ghana To Be Eradicated

27th November: The Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection in collaboration with the Songtaba Actionaid Committee has set up a reintegration module to eradicate witchcraft in the northern part of Ghana. The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur said, her outfit will support the inmates to access the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) cash dispersion to enable them to flee their minds from the act. Read more here.

Tanzania: Ignorance Links Diabetes to ‘Juju’

16th November: Conspicuous traditional healer signboards, especially in urban areas, some luring customers with ‘inspiring’ messages, seem to have won the hearts of a section of the community because many victims of curable diseases associate their conditions with witchcraft. Low community awareness of symptoms of diabetes has triggered the association of the disease with witchcraft. Read more here.

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