Map of Burkina Faso. US CIA
Dolline Busolo, Rights and Entitlements Coordinator at the Africa Regional Development Centre, says: "I hope the submission to the UPR will encourage the Government of Burkina Faso to draw-up policies and enact legislation to protect older women from accusations of witchcraft."
The next stage of the UPR process will be in December 2008, when Human Rights Council members will meet again. They will raise the issues in the submission with a delegation from the Government of Burkina Faso, and give recommendations.
________________________________________________
Joint NGO Submission for
Initial Universal Periodic Review of Burkina Faso in December 2008
By HelpAge International, Promo Femmes Développment Solidarité and Association le TOCSIN
Summary
This joint submission highlights the violence and abuse experienced by older women in Burkina Faso as a result of witchcraft accusations. It examines the underlying causes for the accusations and existing barriers to protection and realisation of older women’s rights. It suggests a question to be asked of the Government of Burkina Faso during its initial UPR and finally makes a recommendation for Government action.
Violation of older women’s rights in Burkina Faso
A genuine belief in witchcraft is widespread in Burkina Faso and older women are often the subject of accusations. Accused women are subjected to psychological trauma, physical harm, social exclusion, impoverishment through loss of property and assets, and ultimately banishment from their communities. Research conducted in 2006 by HelpAge International (HAI) and the Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity (MASSN)1 in seven provinces showed that about 90% of banished women commit suicide, flee to neighbouring communities where they are unknown or die of starvation as they are unable to reach a town or a reception centre (similar to a refuge centre).
Scale of abuse
Very little quantitative data exists on the number of witchcraft accusations made and their impact. The 2006 research by HAI and MASSN showed that 89.9% of residents of 11 reception centres had suffered rejection and banishment from their community as a result of witchcraft accusations. The majority of the victims were women (90%), illiterate (97.2%), belonging to the Mossi tribe (82%) and over 50 years of age (75%). In addition, 69.9% were married in polygamous homes as first wives. 58% of those in the refuge centres lived on less than one dollar (425 francs CFA) per month.
Underlying causes of accusations
1. Gender inequality and social exclusion exacerbates older women’s vulnerability to rights abuse: older, disabled, poorer women, widows and those unprotected by male relatives are vulnerable, frequently stigmatised and subjected to witchcraft accusations.
2. Awareness of older people’s rights and relevant entitlements is poor both within the community in general and among older women, mainly due to high female illiteracy rates (only 15.2% of women in Passoré are literate). Older women are often reluctant to seek protection or report violations for fear of social sanction against their families.
3. The research showed that child morbidity and mortality are key underlying factors for witchcraft accusations. Limited access to health provision leads a large proportion of the population to depend on traditional healers who not only misdiagnose illnesses but also accuse and perpetuate the stigmatisation of vulnerable women.
4. About 80% of witchcraft accusations are instigated by relatives, due to the low value placed on older women in Mossi society and within polygamous families. Husbands, fellow-wives and in-laws often use witchcraft as a pretext to banish women no longer considered economically or biologically productive to the household. As a result, 95% of victims attribute their accusation to ulterior motives.
Barriers to protection of rights
Lack of awareness and protection perpetuates persecution and abuse of women’s rights.
Accused women have no support, access to legal advice or redress and therefore no option but to leave the community. Customary laws perpetuating inequality and human rights violations and the absence of clear legal and policy frameworks lead to the State’s inability toenforce legislation such as the family and penal codes. Structural obstacles limit the capacity and mandate of the authorities to address the issue and duty bearers such as the gendarmerie, prefects, judges and civil servants often lack knowledge and resources to provide protection and are unwilling to engage in ‘domestic’ issues. Furthermore, civil society organisations lack the capacity to challenge traditional practices, customary laws and state inertia.
There is a lack of reliable data on the scale of witchcraft-related rights abuse. Institutional and cultural barriers hinder the systematic collection of data relating to witchcraft accusations and rights violations. In addition older people are excluded from local public service delivery and national policy-making processes. Public authorities at all levels have failed to address the victimisation of older women. Government policy instruments, such as the PRSP, fail to make specific commitments to meeting the needs of older people.
Finally, civil society’s capacity to defend older people’s rights and advocate for policy development and implementation is weak. While a range of civil society organisations have emerged in response to widespread chronic poverty and rights violations, they frequently lack the capacity to challenge deep-rooted traditional practices, customary laws and state inertia.
Question for Government of Burkina Faso
What is the Government of Burkina Faso doing to ensure that there are clear legal and policy frameworks in place that prohibit accusations of witchcraft and provide means of redress and protection for those that are accused?
Recommendation 1 to Government of Burkina Faso
We recommend that the Government of Burkina Faso review existing legislation and policies to ensure that they include the prohibition of accusations of witchcraft and provision for redress and protection of those who are accused.
Recommendation 2 to Government of Burkina Faso
We urge the Burkina Faso Government to issue a policy statement that commits Provincial Advisory Committees to include measures in District plans (Monographie de la Province) that challenge the intimidation, isolation, abuse and killings of older women due to allegations of witchcraft.
1 HelpAge International & the Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity, Etude Exclusion Sociale des Personnes Agees au Burkina Faso, 2006
Promo Femmes Developpement Solidarite
01 BP 2532 Ouagadougou
01 BURKINA FASO
Tél: + 226 50 369694 Fax: + 226 50 369695-87
E-mail: promo.femmes@liptinfor.bf
Association le TOCSIN
11 BP 1333 CMS, Ouagadougou
BURKINA FASO
Tel: +226 50 306390 URL: www.associationtocsin.bf
Dr Tavengwa Nhongo, Regional Representative
Africa Regional Development Centre
HelpAge International
PO Box 14888 Westlands
Nairobi, KENYA.
Tel: +254 20 4444289 Fax: +254 20 4441052
Email: tnhongo@helpage.co.ke URL: www.helpage.org
© Copyright HelpAge International, 2005-2008
August 18, 2008
BURKINA FASO: Call to end to abuse of older women
.
LONDON, England (HelpAge), July 18, 2008:
HelpAge International has submitted evidence of discrimination and abuse experienced by older women in Burkina Faso to the new Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council.
In Burkina Faso, witchcraft allegations can lead to psychological abuse, intimidation, banishment, violence and, in many cases, murder. Women who are no longer considered useful to the household are often used as scapegoats, for example when a crop fails or a family member dies.
Evidence in the submission to the UPR shows that older women, particularly those unprotected by male relatives, are especially vulnerable.
Contributing factors
Lack of awareness of older women’s rights is highlighted as one of the factors contributing to the abuse. Others include low literacy levels and dependence on traditional healers, who often attribute illnesses to witchcraft.
Customary laws in Burkina Faso make it difficult for the state to introduce legislation to protect older women from this kind of abuse. Civil society also lacks the capacity to challenge traditional practices.
Pushing for change
The UPR monitors the human rights record of UN member states. HelpAge International worked on a joint submission with Burkina Faso-based organisations, Promo Femmes Developpement Solidarité and Association le TOCSIN.
The submission urges the Government of Burkina Faso to review existing policy and make witchcraft accusations illegal. It also recommends providing redress and protection for those accused.
The UPR provides a welcome opportunity to raise the issue of older people’s rights at international level and push for change at the national level.
Map of Burkina Faso. US CIA
Dolline Busolo, Rights and Entitlements Coordinator at the Africa Regional Development Centre, says: "I hope the submission to the UPR will encourage the Government of Burkina Faso to draw-up policies and enact legislation to protect older women from accusations of witchcraft."
The next stage of the UPR process will be in December 2008, when Human Rights Council members will meet again. They will raise the issues in the submission with a delegation from the Government of Burkina Faso, and give recommendations.
________________________________________________
Joint NGO Submission for
Initial Universal Periodic Review of Burkina Faso in December 2008
By HelpAge International, Promo Femmes Développment Solidarité and Association le TOCSIN
Summary
This joint submission highlights the violence and abuse experienced by older women in Burkina Faso as a result of witchcraft accusations. It examines the underlying causes for the accusations and existing barriers to protection and realisation of older women’s rights. It suggests a question to be asked of the Government of Burkina Faso during its initial UPR and finally makes a recommendation for Government action.
Violation of older women’s rights in Burkina Faso
A genuine belief in witchcraft is widespread in Burkina Faso and older women are often the subject of accusations. Accused women are subjected to psychological trauma, physical harm, social exclusion, impoverishment through loss of property and assets, and ultimately banishment from their communities. Research conducted in 2006 by HelpAge International (HAI) and the Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity (MASSN)1 in seven provinces showed that about 90% of banished women commit suicide, flee to neighbouring communities where they are unknown or die of starvation as they are unable to reach a town or a reception centre (similar to a refuge centre).
Scale of abuse
Very little quantitative data exists on the number of witchcraft accusations made and their impact. The 2006 research by HAI and MASSN showed that 89.9% of residents of 11 reception centres had suffered rejection and banishment from their community as a result of witchcraft accusations. The majority of the victims were women (90%), illiterate (97.2%), belonging to the Mossi tribe (82%) and over 50 years of age (75%). In addition, 69.9% were married in polygamous homes as first wives. 58% of those in the refuge centres lived on less than one dollar (425 francs CFA) per month.
Underlying causes of accusations
1. Gender inequality and social exclusion exacerbates older women’s vulnerability to rights abuse: older, disabled, poorer women, widows and those unprotected by male relatives are vulnerable, frequently stigmatised and subjected to witchcraft accusations.
2. Awareness of older people’s rights and relevant entitlements is poor both within the community in general and among older women, mainly due to high female illiteracy rates (only 15.2% of women in Passoré are literate). Older women are often reluctant to seek protection or report violations for fear of social sanction against their families.
3. The research showed that child morbidity and mortality are key underlying factors for witchcraft accusations. Limited access to health provision leads a large proportion of the population to depend on traditional healers who not only misdiagnose illnesses but also accuse and perpetuate the stigmatisation of vulnerable women.
4. About 80% of witchcraft accusations are instigated by relatives, due to the low value placed on older women in Mossi society and within polygamous families. Husbands, fellow-wives and in-laws often use witchcraft as a pretext to banish women no longer considered economically or biologically productive to the household. As a result, 95% of victims attribute their accusation to ulterior motives.
Barriers to protection of rights
Lack of awareness and protection perpetuates persecution and abuse of women’s rights.
Accused women have no support, access to legal advice or redress and therefore no option but to leave the community. Customary laws perpetuating inequality and human rights violations and the absence of clear legal and policy frameworks lead to the State’s inability toenforce legislation such as the family and penal codes. Structural obstacles limit the capacity and mandate of the authorities to address the issue and duty bearers such as the gendarmerie, prefects, judges and civil servants often lack knowledge and resources to provide protection and are unwilling to engage in ‘domestic’ issues. Furthermore, civil society organisations lack the capacity to challenge traditional practices, customary laws and state inertia.
There is a lack of reliable data on the scale of witchcraft-related rights abuse. Institutional and cultural barriers hinder the systematic collection of data relating to witchcraft accusations and rights violations. In addition older people are excluded from local public service delivery and national policy-making processes. Public authorities at all levels have failed to address the victimisation of older women. Government policy instruments, such as the PRSP, fail to make specific commitments to meeting the needs of older people.
Finally, civil society’s capacity to defend older people’s rights and advocate for policy development and implementation is weak. While a range of civil society organisations have emerged in response to widespread chronic poverty and rights violations, they frequently lack the capacity to challenge deep-rooted traditional practices, customary laws and state inertia.
Question for Government of Burkina Faso
What is the Government of Burkina Faso doing to ensure that there are clear legal and policy frameworks in place that prohibit accusations of witchcraft and provide means of redress and protection for those that are accused?
Recommendation 1 to Government of Burkina Faso
We recommend that the Government of Burkina Faso review existing legislation and policies to ensure that they include the prohibition of accusations of witchcraft and provision for redress and protection of those who are accused.
Recommendation 2 to Government of Burkina Faso
We urge the Burkina Faso Government to issue a policy statement that commits Provincial Advisory Committees to include measures in District plans (Monographie de la Province) that challenge the intimidation, isolation, abuse and killings of older women due to allegations of witchcraft.
1 HelpAge International & the Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity, Etude Exclusion Sociale des Personnes Agees au Burkina Faso, 2006
Promo Femmes Developpement Solidarite
01 BP 2532 Ouagadougou
01 BURKINA FASO
Tél: + 226 50 369694 Fax: + 226 50 369695-87
E-mail: promo.femmes@liptinfor.bf
Association le TOCSIN
11 BP 1333 CMS, Ouagadougou
BURKINA FASO
Tel: +226 50 306390 URL: www.associationtocsin.bf
Dr Tavengwa Nhongo, Regional Representative
Africa Regional Development Centre
HelpAge International
PO Box 14888 Westlands
Nairobi, KENYA.
Tel: +254 20 4444289 Fax: +254 20 4441052
Email: tnhongo@helpage.co.ke URL: www.helpage.org
© Copyright HelpAge International, 2005-2008
Map of Burkina Faso. US CIA
Dolline Busolo, Rights and Entitlements Coordinator at the Africa Regional Development Centre, says: "I hope the submission to the UPR will encourage the Government of Burkina Faso to draw-up policies and enact legislation to protect older women from accusations of witchcraft."
The next stage of the UPR process will be in December 2008, when Human Rights Council members will meet again. They will raise the issues in the submission with a delegation from the Government of Burkina Faso, and give recommendations.
________________________________________________
Joint NGO Submission for
Initial Universal Periodic Review of Burkina Faso in December 2008
By HelpAge International, Promo Femmes Développment Solidarité and Association le TOCSIN
Summary
This joint submission highlights the violence and abuse experienced by older women in Burkina Faso as a result of witchcraft accusations. It examines the underlying causes for the accusations and existing barriers to protection and realisation of older women’s rights. It suggests a question to be asked of the Government of Burkina Faso during its initial UPR and finally makes a recommendation for Government action.
Violation of older women’s rights in Burkina Faso
A genuine belief in witchcraft is widespread in Burkina Faso and older women are often the subject of accusations. Accused women are subjected to psychological trauma, physical harm, social exclusion, impoverishment through loss of property and assets, and ultimately banishment from their communities. Research conducted in 2006 by HelpAge International (HAI) and the Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity (MASSN)1 in seven provinces showed that about 90% of banished women commit suicide, flee to neighbouring communities where they are unknown or die of starvation as they are unable to reach a town or a reception centre (similar to a refuge centre).
Scale of abuse
Very little quantitative data exists on the number of witchcraft accusations made and their impact. The 2006 research by HAI and MASSN showed that 89.9% of residents of 11 reception centres had suffered rejection and banishment from their community as a result of witchcraft accusations. The majority of the victims were women (90%), illiterate (97.2%), belonging to the Mossi tribe (82%) and over 50 years of age (75%). In addition, 69.9% were married in polygamous homes as first wives. 58% of those in the refuge centres lived on less than one dollar (425 francs CFA) per month.
Underlying causes of accusations
1. Gender inequality and social exclusion exacerbates older women’s vulnerability to rights abuse: older, disabled, poorer women, widows and those unprotected by male relatives are vulnerable, frequently stigmatised and subjected to witchcraft accusations.
2. Awareness of older people’s rights and relevant entitlements is poor both within the community in general and among older women, mainly due to high female illiteracy rates (only 15.2% of women in Passoré are literate). Older women are often reluctant to seek protection or report violations for fear of social sanction against their families.
3. The research showed that child morbidity and mortality are key underlying factors for witchcraft accusations. Limited access to health provision leads a large proportion of the population to depend on traditional healers who not only misdiagnose illnesses but also accuse and perpetuate the stigmatisation of vulnerable women.
4. About 80% of witchcraft accusations are instigated by relatives, due to the low value placed on older women in Mossi society and within polygamous families. Husbands, fellow-wives and in-laws often use witchcraft as a pretext to banish women no longer considered economically or biologically productive to the household. As a result, 95% of victims attribute their accusation to ulterior motives.
Barriers to protection of rights
Lack of awareness and protection perpetuates persecution and abuse of women’s rights.
Accused women have no support, access to legal advice or redress and therefore no option but to leave the community. Customary laws perpetuating inequality and human rights violations and the absence of clear legal and policy frameworks lead to the State’s inability toenforce legislation such as the family and penal codes. Structural obstacles limit the capacity and mandate of the authorities to address the issue and duty bearers such as the gendarmerie, prefects, judges and civil servants often lack knowledge and resources to provide protection and are unwilling to engage in ‘domestic’ issues. Furthermore, civil society organisations lack the capacity to challenge traditional practices, customary laws and state inertia.
There is a lack of reliable data on the scale of witchcraft-related rights abuse. Institutional and cultural barriers hinder the systematic collection of data relating to witchcraft accusations and rights violations. In addition older people are excluded from local public service delivery and national policy-making processes. Public authorities at all levels have failed to address the victimisation of older women. Government policy instruments, such as the PRSP, fail to make specific commitments to meeting the needs of older people.
Finally, civil society’s capacity to defend older people’s rights and advocate for policy development and implementation is weak. While a range of civil society organisations have emerged in response to widespread chronic poverty and rights violations, they frequently lack the capacity to challenge deep-rooted traditional practices, customary laws and state inertia.
Question for Government of Burkina Faso
What is the Government of Burkina Faso doing to ensure that there are clear legal and policy frameworks in place that prohibit accusations of witchcraft and provide means of redress and protection for those that are accused?
Recommendation 1 to Government of Burkina Faso
We recommend that the Government of Burkina Faso review existing legislation and policies to ensure that they include the prohibition of accusations of witchcraft and provision for redress and protection of those who are accused.
Recommendation 2 to Government of Burkina Faso
We urge the Burkina Faso Government to issue a policy statement that commits Provincial Advisory Committees to include measures in District plans (Monographie de la Province) that challenge the intimidation, isolation, abuse and killings of older women due to allegations of witchcraft.
1 HelpAge International & the Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity, Etude Exclusion Sociale des Personnes Agees au Burkina Faso, 2006
Promo Femmes Developpement Solidarite
01 BP 2532 Ouagadougou
01 BURKINA FASO
Tél: + 226 50 369694 Fax: + 226 50 369695-87
E-mail: promo.femmes@liptinfor.bf
Association le TOCSIN
11 BP 1333 CMS, Ouagadougou
BURKINA FASO
Tel: +226 50 306390 URL: www.associationtocsin.bf
Dr Tavengwa Nhongo, Regional Representative
Africa Regional Development Centre
HelpAge International
PO Box 14888 Westlands
Nairobi, KENYA.
Tel: +254 20 4444289 Fax: +254 20 4441052
Email: tnhongo@helpage.co.ke URL: www.helpage.org
© Copyright HelpAge International, 2005-2008
