Sub-regional workshop resolves to eradicate female ritual servitude

Participants at the close of the first West Africa sub- regional workshop on female ritual servitude on Thursday resolved to embark on an intensive sensitisation and awareness creation to eradicate all forms of rituals that dehumanise women.

They also resolved that each participating country adopt an action plan to combat and eradicate female servitude.

The two-day workshop, under the theme: "harnessing our collective resource for the transformation of ritual servitude" was organised by International Needs Ghana and Anti Slavery International, UK.

It attracted 75 participants drawn from civil society, human rights organisations and government institutions from Ghana, Togo and Benin.

The workshop was aimed at initiating strategic coalition among stakeholders for the eradication of female ritual servitude.

The participants resolved to form the nucleus to advocate the passing and implementation of laws against female servitude form a network to further the common objective and exchange information through bilingual journals.

Addressing the closing ceremony, Mrs Christine Churcher, Minister of State in Charge of Basic and Girl-Child Education said the government is committed to ensuring that all women in bondage are freed within the next four years.

She said the women caucus in parliament would join forces with other stakeholders to fight and liberate women from all kinds of slavery, adding that the problems of society would be solved when women are free.

She appealed to priests at Trokosi shrines to make good their promise of accepting animals to atone for offences rather than bonding young girls for life at the shrines.

Trokosi is a system of bonding innocent virgin girls into perpetual servitude, including sexual molestation and forced marriage to the priests for sins committed by their relatives.

It is practised in parts of the Volta and Greater Accra Regions of Ghana. It is also practised in Togo and Benin.

There are over 2000 girls and women still languishing at Trokosi shrines as ritual slaves because shrine elders have refused to give up the practice.