In Ghana, one form of violence against women that patriarchy has perfected is to accuse old women of being witches. A suspected witch is then sent into exile.
This article obsessively uses the word "superstition" in Africa to frame the problem. This cultural framing is not helpful. My immediate reaction is to talk about the 67% of Americans who believe in the devil. Not to forget those poor Salem witches that were barbecued in the New World.
A more helpful frame for understanding such an unjust practice is a feminist one, with the focus being patriarchy and violence against women.
2 comments:
The author is basically playing off the idea that the whole continent of Africa is filled with superstitious, "uneducated", homogenous peoples who do "scary" things like pour blood on women from a monkey skull. I don't know where to begin with how arrogant and ignorantly-written that article was.
I'd say this is a good beginning :)
Post a Comment