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Ghana is a country of 28.21 million people and many native groups, such as:
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Witch camps are settlements where women in Ghana who have been accused of being witches can flee for safety. Women in such camps have been accused of witchcraft for various reasons, including mental illness. Some camps are thought to have been created in the early 20th century. The Ghanaian government has enacted measures to eliminate such camps.
Disability in Ghana has a massive amount of stigma; children or people who are born disabled or deformed are assumed to be possessed by evil spirits.
Cinema of Ghana also known as the Ghana Film Industry nicknamed Ghallywood, began when early film making was first introduced to the British colony of Gold Coast in 1923. At the time only affluent people could see the films, especially the colonial master of Gold Coast. In the 1950s, film making in Ghana began to increase. Cinemas were the primary venue for watching films until home video became more popular. The movie industry has no official name as yet since consultations and engagements with stakeholders has been ongoing when a petition was sent to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture which suspended the use of the name Black Star Films.
People with disabilities in Togo face many unique challenges. Disability in Togo is often seen as a curse or sign of witchcraft, leading to poor outcomes for people with disabilities. Accessibility in the country is lacking. However, Togo has signed onto the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and has created plans to encourage greater inclusion for people with disabilities in the country.
Ama Hemmah (1947–2010) was a Ghanaian woman who was burned to death on suspicion of being a witch.
Witchcraft is deeply rooted in many African countries and communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. It has been specifically relevant to Ghana's culture, beliefs, and lifestyle. It continues to shape lives daily and with that it has promoted tradition, fear, violence, and spiritual beliefs. The perceptions on witchcraft change from region to region within Ghana, as well as in other countries in Africa. The commonality is that it is not something to take lightly, and the word spreads fast if there are rumors' surrounding civilians practicing it. The actions taken by local citizens and the government towards witchcraft and violence related to it have also varied within regions in Ghana. Traditional African religions have depicted the universe as a multitude of spirits that are able to be used for good or evil through religion.
References
- ↑ "The (In)human Dimension of Ghana's Prayer Camps". Human rights watch . Retrieved 2015-02-20.
- ↑ "Prayer camps chain mentally ill". BBC. Retrieved 2015-02-20.
- ↑ "Ghana's prayer camps: where the mentally ill are chained, starved and abused". Toronto Star . Retrieved 2015-02-20.
- ↑ Mensah Adinkrah (2015-08-15). Witchcraft, Witches, and Violence in Ghana. p. 22. ISBN 9781782385615 . Retrieved 2016-04-09.
- ↑ Carey, Benedict (11 October 2015). "The Chains of Mental Illness in West Africa". New York Times. Retrieved 2018-07-29.
- ↑ Mensah Adinkrah (2015-08-15). Witchcraft, Witches, and Violence in Ghana. p. 22. ISBN 9781782385615 . Retrieved 2016-04-09.
- ↑ Vivian E D Ampadu. "The Depiction of Mental Illness in Nigerian and Ghanaian movies: A negative or positive impact on mental health awareness in Ghana" (PDF). Disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-01-11. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
- ↑ Edwards, Jocelyn (January 2014). "Ghana's mental health patients confined to prayer camps". The Lancet. 383 (9911): 15–16. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)62717-8 . ISSN 0140-6736. PMID 24400332. S2CID 41728845.
- ↑ "Ghana Breaks The Chains On Mental Health". Human Rights Watch. 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2018-05-09.
- ↑ Arias D, Taylor L, Ofori-Atta A, Bradley EH (2016) Prayer Camps and Biomedical Care in Ghana: Is Collaboration in Mental Health Care Possible? PLoS ONE 11(9): e0162305. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0162305
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