Trokosi As Modern-Day Slavery in Africa - Research Paper Example

? "Trokosi" As Modern-Day Slavery in Africa "Trokosi" As Modern-Day Slavery in Africa Introduction Trokosi isan insidious form of slavery, which is based on religious traditions that are practiced in Ghana, Nigeria, Togo and Benin, despite the prohibition through their constitutions and other international parties. Trokois is a practice that requires a virgin daughter between the ages of eight to fifteen to be offered to the local shrine, by the family whose member has committed a crime. In other words, Trokosi is also referred to as “slave of the gods,” since the priest is offered the rights of possession over the girl, who is offered to the shrine. However, the girls are mistreated, and there are restricted to interact with others, thereby providing sex and labor to the priest. On the other hand, they are denied to access education, ample food and health services. In fact, they live in a harsh condition in a way that defines the slavery under the constitution of Ghana and slavery convention. Nevertheless, the paper will focus on exploring the issues associated to Trokosi as a modern form of slavery in Africa, whereby various issues associated with this form of slavery will be explored. The paper will also discuss effort made through reforms in order to alleviate the problem faced by these girls. Therefore, the paper will begin by discussing Trokosi practice based on the data gathered from different literatures in order to offer a basis of understanding the issue. The paper proceeds by offering relevant background information on the issue in order to facilitate the understanding the issues in a reliable way. In the next section, the paper will focus on exploring the reforms and challenges faced in the process of alleviating the problem. Moreover, the paper will focus on exploring the practice of trokosi in the Ghanaian context since it is one of the African countries severely been affected by this problem. Background Information on Modern Trokosi Practice Trokosi practice has been associated with sacrificing virgin girls to the shrine in order to seek forgiveness from the gods, whereby the girls are offered to the priest for sexual exploitation and labor. Moreover, practice is classified under the definition of slavery under the supplementary convention since the families are bound to the conviction that they are subjected to suffering from a disease and deaths until they offer the virgin girl to please the gods. On the other hand, they decide to offer the virgins for acquiring luck and fortune. In fact, there are estimates of more than five thousand trokosi slaves in Ghana, and other twenty nine thousand and thirty five thousand slaves estimated to be in other countries. Therefore, trokosi is a practice that has become a component of traditional obsession associated with gods and spirits in sacrament things and shrines priests. In Ghana, trokosi practice is originated from Ewe ethnic groups since seventieth century in Togo and Benin, whereby trokosi was considered a ritual in 1600s. In fact, they offered used offer virgin girls the war gods in order to please them and in return, they would acquire victory. Therefore, the warriors visited the religious shrine in order to offer these girls as sacrifices while the priests of trokosi shrines had a conviction that this would communicate to the gods. Modern Trokosi Practice Trokosi in the modern day is has taken a slight which is depicted through the of story a nine-year old girl named Abla Kotor, whereby she is forced to go to southern Ghana in concurrence due to a crime that was committed by her father (Aird, 2012). Abla was born as a result of a crime committed by her father is raping his niece; thus, Abla was bound to pay for her father’s crime. In this case, she is forced to be a savant to Ewe priest in a way of appeasing the gods. Therefore, her parents decide to offer her as a slave, and she is subjected to a lot of tribulation such as physical and sexual abuse. Nevertheless, she decides to humiliate these problems, due to her conviction that they are a way of seeking vengeance for Kotor family due to her father’s crime (Shahadah, 2006). Abla is given the responsibility of undertaking the domestic chores and farming, she is denied a chance to attend school, and prohibited to visit her family. In fact, she is bound to cater for her master’s sexual advances, and numerous girls and women that suffer from the same problem. In the modern days, trokosi has been practiced for economic gains like acquisition of commodities and money, whereby the priest has been attending to those with offerings. Moreover, there is accountability of the priest with an objective to acquire economic gains from the trokosi practice. On the other hand, the priests have been forcing the girls to excessive work for a long duration, and there is no compensation for their work. The slaves are expected to give the priest anything gathered or earned from farming activities and trading (Linda, 2010). However, they are no offered financial assistance by the priest; thus, they are forced to depend on their families in order to access food and clothing. There is fear associated to various families willing to visit their daughters due to lack of resources that can facilitate the provision of food, cloths. In addition, the slaves are denied a chance to attend school and receive any form of health care service; thus, they perpetuate malnourishment of the slaves. Trokosi practice offers sexual control over the slaves by these priests, whereby they are provided a chance to rape these slaves with a claim that they are priestess, who are justified to copulate with gods through the priest considered servants of these gods. Therefore, it is evident that Ghana has the most rampant level of these practices compared to other groups such as Dangrnes, Ewes and Tongu. In fact, there are convictions in these communities indicating that the number of children produced by a man is a determination of their social status; thus, leads to an obsession by the fetish priests to impregnate numerous slaves as a way of raising their social status. There signatory to Convention on the Rights of a Child is contravened by the Trokosi practice in Ghana since there are various instruments focusing on ensuring that children are not deprived their accessibility to healthcare and education. Moreover, there are measures taken to prohibit these practices such as Article 24 section one and three. Conventionally, there was no protection offered to Trokosi slaves in Ghana, and this facilitated the denial to health care services and education. Therefore, the convention has focused on the children’s rights to access education in Article 28, whereby they are protected from any form of exploitation in a way that can affect their psychological, bodily, ethical and societal growth (Rinaudo, 2003). The Convention offers liberty from types of sexual abuse, and torment such as inhumane handling and retribution. Therefore, the practice is a violation of the international agreement concerning observation of human rights, through practice that facilitate raping of young girls, forced labor and denying them the rights to access health care services and education. The Trokosi slaves are retained by the priests for a period exceeding more than ten years, and in other cases they are retained for the rest of their lives, and this is period is determined by the crime committed (French, 1997). Moreover, the girl is replaced by another one in case the slave dies in captivity; instead, they can offer money to the priest as a form of compensation. However, this surpasses the economic aptitude of these families since in a situation of a crime; these families are forced to offer virgin girls to the shrine. Nevertheless, the priest has the capability of releasing the slave, and the family is expected to replace her, or she can return at any time she is demanded. Children that are born by the trokosi slaves are inherited by a priest who succeeds in the current priest, who is referred to as trokosiviwo (Claire, 1996). Trokosi practice has been perceived as a way of ensuring that people are conforming to the norms of community, and a connection between the people and the gods. Moreover, the priests are considered a way of reminding families that they are expected to adhere to morals in their lives. The priest considers the slaves to be a roles model that saves the rest of the community form suffering the punishments, and it is a way of preventing the occurrence of crimes. Reform and Opposition There are international obligations and protections by the constitution, which prohibits this practice and other practices that facilitate the establishment of trokosi in Ghana. Moreover, there are other nongovernmental organization, which alleviates trokosi slavery, through education and creating public awareness to the public (Equality Now, 1998). Awareness is created by the organizations concerning the attributes practice that have been causing the problem in Ghana in the process of legislation and interdiction of the customary rituals concerning enslavement. There are issues, which have been raised by people who have experienced the predicament of being a trokosi slave, thereby presenting the issue in a way that create awareness concerning the problems. They assists in coping with life after slavery, and offering a chance to for encouraging other people to who have undergone through the same ordeal. There are challenges faced in process of implementing policies, which facilitate prohibition of trokosi practice. Some of these challenges involve resistance from the public members, who carry on resisting disbanding of trokosi practice, despite the initiatives aimed at alleviating the practice. Moreover, there are frustrations expressed by the priests, and are shared among priests as an indication of reduced chances of replacing the sexual services that are offered by trokosi slaves. However, there are numerous liberations established by other priests concerning their trokosi slaves, thereby lamenting on their decisions, and they propose that they should be compensated for the suffering endured through the trokosi practice. Another form of opposition to the process eliminating trokosi practice emanates from people with the perception of the process being an attack to against their religious beliefs. However, freedom is guaranteed by the constitution of Ghana, and these people cite their freedom of religion, whereby they demand their rights to engage in their religious practices. Therefore, these people apply their provision as a way of establishing firm resistance in order to oppose eradication of trokosi practice. Consequently, makes the officials hesitate in seeking to prohibit trokosi since there are substantial perceptions of the integrations with religious beliefs. References Aird, S. (2012). Ghana’s Slaves to the Gods. Human Rights Brief. Retrieved on 6 December 2012 from Claire, M. (1996). Where Priests Keep Children As Sex Slaves’ in ‘CAMPAIGN. Anti-Slavery International pp.92-95 French, H. (1997). ‘The Ritual Slaves of Ghana: Young, Female, Paying for Another’s Crime’ in The New York Times International. A1, A5 Equality Now. (1998). Slavery in Ghana: The Trokosi Tradition Women’s Action. 14.1: pp1-2, Retrieved on 6 December 2012 from Linda, G. (2010). Trokosi: Slave of the Gods. Maitland, FL: Xulon Press Rinaudo, B. (2003). Trokosi Slavery: Injustice in the name of religion. African Studies Association of Australasia and the Pacific 2003 Conference Proceedings - African on a Global Stage. Retrieved on 6 December 2012 from Shahadah, A. (2006). 21st Century Slavery the Dark Shadow of Slavery Today. African Holocaust. Retrieved on 6 December 2012 Read More