Nana Oye Intends To Re-Integrate ‘Witches’ Into Society

In order to tackle the issue of the existing witches’ camp in the Northern Region of Ghana, Minister designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur said she would engage with community leaders to re-integrate those supposed witches into society.

Additionally, she intends to sustain all sensitisation programmes while using the community leaders and members as agents of change and possibly, turn the camps into communities on their own.

Nana Oye explained to the Appointments Committee of Parliament during her vetting to head the Ministry Wednesday that it has been a cultural problem and even though the act has been criminalised by law, it was still being practiced.

Touching on head porters, popularly known in local parlance as ‘Kayayei’, the minister designate stated it boiled down to poverty, arguing that, so long as resources were not evenly distributed across the country, the exodus of the youth from the rural areas to seek greener pastures in the cities would continue.

For this reason, however, she recommended short, medium and long term humanitarian aids as some social interventions.

On women trafficking, the ardent human rights activist and Lawyer maintained that Ghana has been a source and a transit point for trafficking women.

Citing that, 77 per cent of those women were trafficked outside while 70 per cent of them brought into Ghana for sexual exploitation.

In addressing this, she noted her outfit would look at a legislative instrument to align and coordinate the activities of stakeholders.

She insisted there was the need to support victims of such circumstances and would ensure an increased budget by government to that effect.

She described female genital mutilation as cultural and religious beliefs and therefore, difficult to deal with.

Nana Oye, in her view, said the outmoded practice sought to identify one as a true member of a particular group in society.

Highlighting on death penalty, Nana Oye stated that nobody ought to be killed through such barbaric sentence.

She continued that she would use her advocacy skills to champion the passage of the Rights to Information Bill, which was not passed under the Mills-Mahama led administration.

During the period, Nana Oye courageously led the campaign for the RTI Bill to be passed into law.

Moreover, she clarified her actual stance on gay and lesbianism, saying, it was personal but society should debate on the issue.

She denied having advocated for homosexuality to be legalized in the country but rather advocated that the rights of every Ghanaian including homosexuals must be protected.

Her focus, she stressed was still to defend the right of everyone resident in Ghana.

Asked if she was a politician, she said no, in the sense that she did not belong to any political party but believed and supported the ‘Better Ghana’ agenda of the NDC.