Natives of communities where Trokosi is practiced still find it difficult to accept the act as a human rights violation. To them, it is a quick way of dispensing and maintaining social justice as an adjunct to the formal judicial system.
A research on Trokosi practice in Ghana and sponsored by Australian Aid Agency (AusAID) revealed that the concept of Trokosi has not changed within the practicing communities, ten years after the enactment of laws by parliament to abolish the practice.
Trokosi, a traditional practice involves young girls taken to shrines as slaves in compensation for offenses allegedly committed, or debts incurred, by a member of the girl’s family, or as payment for favours sought from the shrine.
The word Trokosi comes from the Ewe word “tro”, meaning deity or fetish, and “kosi”, meaning female slave. Trokosi literally means “wife of the gods” in the local Ewe language.
The research was conducted in seven districts namely Dangme East and West, North and South Tongu, Ketu, Keta and Akatsi districts.
A National Dissemination Workshop in Accra on the Study of Trokosi Practice in Ghana explored the current status of Trokosi. “We all need to be concerned about this practice,” said Mr. Vincent Von Vorjorgbe, Research Associate and Lecturer at the University of Ghana. Females tend to bear the burden of major human rights violations he added.
Mercy, a liberated Trokosi shared her story of living and working in the shrine through the help of a translator. At eight years old, she said her family told her she would have to go to a place where she would no longer see them anymore.
After briefly running away to the bush out of confusion and fear, Mercy returned to her home where her parents escorted her to the shrine. As her parents left, she cried but the priest scolded her and said, “We don’t cry here, we don’t weep.”
And thus Mercy began her life as a Trokosi where she woke at down and cleaned the shrine and worked on the farm. She was fed with only grinded pepper and any staple she could get.
When she was between 12 and 13 years old, the priest began to have an affair with her and impregnated her. She had four children while at the shrine. On several occasions when she tried to escape, she was unsuccessful, in part because when she returned home they returned her to the shrine.
Mercy continued living at the shrine and taking care of her children year after year until she was liberated. Now, she lives with her children who are attending school. “The Trokosi system is not good,” she said. “My generation and the generation before mine missed out in education.”
What was the crime that caused her confinement in the shrine? Her grandma stole an ear ring from another Trokosi who then reported the crime to two different shrines. For reparation, each of the shrines demanded a girl. Mercy’s aunt and sister were taken to the shrines but after her aunt died, Mercy was forced to replace her.
The President of the National House of Chiefs, Odeneho Gyapong Ababio commended Mercy for her braveness and emphasized the constitutional mandate to outlaw all cultural practices, including Trokosi, female genital mutilation and widowhood rites that cause harm.
In 1997, an International Needs Ghana (ING) study discovered 5,000 Trokosis , mostly women and children. Another study by anthropologist G. K. Nukunya suggested the number was over 9,000.
In 2003, ING took action with support groups against the practice of Trokosi and successfully liberated about 3,500 people. But researcher, Mr. Sosthenos Kufogbe said that the practice of Trokosi persists even today.
Mr. Kufogbe undertook a study of the current status of Trokosi in order to estimate the current number. “The number is the most elusive part of this issue. At a single shrine, one priest will report only two girls, another will report 30 and a third will say 15,” he explained.
He said Trokosis are also found outside the shrine, making estimations of their number near impossible without community assistance.
Mr. Kufogbe estimated that the number subjects directly under the practice is about 278, with 53.9 percent living in the Ketu District where most shrines are still active. The estimated number is a sharp decrease from the thousands estimated before the implementation of the Criminal Amendment Code.
But, Mr. Kufogbe warned that the number may not capture an accurate total and he explained that his data indicates no reported prosecutions for the human rights violations of keeping Trokosis.
And, he added, the practice may be on the rise since 2003 because of an increase in underground operations and reluctance on the part of law enforcement to get involved.
He recommended that on-going advocacy programmes and civic education should be targeted at all players involved and accelerated to ensure total elimination of those aspects of Trokosi practice that continue to violate the fundamental human rights of the vulnerable in the practicing communities.
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