NGO Reports: Women

Nepal: WOREC Annual report 2012

WOREC Nepal (Women’s Rehabilitation Centre) since its inception in 1991, is actively engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights, campaigning on violence against women and trafficking of women as well as economic social and cultural rights. This year, WOREC jointly with NAWHRD (National Alliance of Women Human Rights Defenders) was actively engaged in 100 days campaign on violence against women and 60 days campaign on violence against women alleged as witches.  This annual report highlights the major accomplishment and achievements during 2012. To read more click here

Nepal – INSEC Situation of Human Rights in 2012: Overall assessment

During the six year long journey of the peace process, the year 2012 has become a darker one from a human rights perspective. Compared to previous years, more incidents of violence against women were recorded in INSEC documentation this year, with a total of 52 women victimized in the name of practising witchcraft. To read more click here

Nepal – A study on violence due to witchcraft allegation and sexual violence

Violence against women is a serious problem which often recieves less attention. Nepali women are no exception to this with 60-70% threatened by violence. The Informal Sector Service Centre (INSEC) have presented their overall description and details of incidents of rape, sexual violence and accusations of the practice of witchcraft practices in their 2012 report. To read full report click here

Ghana: Witch Camp Report

Report discussing the plight of women accused of witchcraft and highlighting the necessity of education in combating these accusations.  Witch Camp Report 2011

Burkina Faso: Discrimination against older women in Burkina Faso (HelpAge)

The following report, sets out the context in which poor older women live and highlights the discrimination that they experience. It then focuses on Articles 5 (Measures to combat social and cultural behaviour conducive to discrimination against women) and 11 (Social security and employment), providing recommendations for Government action for each of these articles. Full report here.

NEPAL: Witchcraft as a Superstition and a form of violence against women in Nepal

A lot of Nepalese women fall victim to accusations of witchcraft and are tortured despite the fact that the accusations are based on superstition. Belief in witchcrafts has prevailed in the underdeveloped and developing countries since ancient times and it is always women who are considered as the practitioner with supernatural powers (i.e. the negative energy that can hepatize the man, animals and other living things and responsible for making them ill or even killing them). It is the result of religious practices and the mentality of the society that it is the women who are always accused. Despite the arrival of the 21st century, the community views towards women has not changed yet and still they are vulnerable to being accused of practicing witchcraft and being tortured by members of their own community. Mostly widows and the elderly with low economic status, especially those who belonged to so called lower caste of Dalits and other marginalized communities are accused of witchcraft. Some people in the Nepalese society continue to believe that the magical powers of these women are responsible for the infirmity of the people.

This report carried out by Human Rights Asia, discusses the continuing abuse of women accused of  witchcraft, calling for the Nepalese government to establish  a law which would never let any person to accuse the women on such a way where she is not only tortured in the name of tradition but also loses her dignity.

Please click here to see the full report

Nepal: Legislating Against Witchcraft Accusations in Nepal

A report carried out by the Asia foundation discussing the limitations of domestic legislation to combat against witchcraft accusations in Nepal. In the absence of a dedicated witchcraft bill that removes any ambiguity regarding punishment of perpetrators and provides victims with concrete legal backing for protection and justice, the following article calls for closer coordination and information flows between state and non-state agencies in continuing to combat this heinous practice. Full report here.

Nepal: A Study on Violence due to Witchcraft Allegation and Sexual Violence

Nepal, as a member state of the United Nation, has ratified various International human rights treaties and convention related to the
rights of women which explicitly shows Nepal’s commitment towards protecting and promoting the rights of women. However, the situation of women doesn’t seem satisfactory. More than 50 per cent of Nepal’s population is women but their status is still very poor. They have a lower status than men in each aspect of the Human Development Index. Illiteracy, patriarchal society and the economic dependency of women on man create grounds for male domination over woman. Accusations of the so-called practice of witchcraft, rape and incidents of sexual violence are some of the examples of violence against women which occur in Nepalese society.

The following article explores the widespread violence that occurs against women as a result of witchcraft allegation in the context of domestic and international legislation. Full article here. 

Condemned without trial: Women and Witches in Ghana

A report conducted by Action Aid in response to the Ghanaian Governments announcement of their intention to close all witch camps. The report looks into the conditions of the camps, and provides recommendations regarding how to safely reintegrate alleged witches back into society. See the full report here: Condemned without trial, Women and witches in Ghana

Help Age International: Using the law to tackle accusations of witchcraft

HelpAge International and its partners have considerable experience of tackling
and reducing accusations of witchcraft and related violence against older women
and men though community based interventions. We do not, however, have the
same level of experience or expertise in the use of legislation in this area.
To address this gap, we requested, through the organisation Advocates for
International Development, pro bono guidance from lawyers on the use of
legislation to address accusations of witchcraft and related violence. Three law
firms offered to review relevant legislation in a total of nine countries: Burkina
Faso, Cameroon, India, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, South Africa and
Tanzania. We also asked the law firms to provide general guiding principles to
help inform our position on the use of the legislation in this area.
This report presents the main findings of the review and our position in relation to
the issues raised. It also presents a summary of key issues from the review in
each of the nine countries. See the full report here