TITLE:
Witchcraft Accusations and Women’s Empowerment in Makeni, Sierra Leone
AUTHORS:
Ibrahim Munu, Mohamed Yusuf
KEYWORDS:
Witchcraft, Women, Empowerment, Accusations, Makeni
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.11 No.12,
December
20,
2023
ABSTRACT: The article examines the impact of witchcraft
accusations on women’s empowerment in the Makeni Township. The study employs a
survey method, which includes the administration of questionnaires, focus group
discussions, formal interviews, and reviewing related literature. Results
indicate that older women are more prone to witchcraft accusations, and men who
are often witch hunters mostly make these accusations. The paper also shows
that older women are targeted mainly because of traditional or cultural
conceptualizations, which direct witchcraft accusations to women only because
that is how it is, poverty, and terminal illnesses. This study also shows that
Witchcraft has a less positive impact on women and affects their chances of
being empowered. Women accused of witchcraft practices suffer much inhuman
treatment, including public ridicule, shaming and damning them, social
exclusion, and sometimes, even death. However, the paper concludes that women’s
accusation of witchcraft practices are linked firmly to their poor
socioeconomic status, thus making it exemplary that witchcraft accusation is
both a cause and effect of lack of empowerment for women.