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Trokosi women in Ghana |
27 Aug 2009 |
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The girls who spend their lives as听a 'wife of the gods'
The Trokosi听custom is听practised in south-eastern Ghana. A family must offer a daughter to the priest as a way of appeasing the gods for a relative's transgression, past or present. The tradition,听has been part of the Ewe听culture for centuries, requiring a girl to spend the rest of her life as a 'wife of the gods'. Children as young as 18 months are sent to the shrine. When a Trokosi听 girl dies, her family is expected to replace her with another young girl, passing the problem down from generation to generation.听 About 1,800 women have been released through the efforts of local charitable organisations, such as 'International Needs Ghana', but although it is now a criminal offence, it is estimated that there are still 5,000 women and girls in Trokosi shrines. Angela Robson reports from the village of Kebanu in the Volta region of Ghana.
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