Witchcraft Accusations and Women’s Empowerment in Makeni, Sierra Leone

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.