Witchcraft And Injustice Essay

Witchcraft is prevalent in many societies, mostly in developing countries, all over the world. Witchcraft arises in different ways and may come in forms that many may not be aware of. There seems to be a misconception of witchcraft in which many believe it is only used for malicious intents. However, witchcraft varies among cultures in terms of doing good or harm to others, even though many perceive it to be known to cause harm to others through the usage of supernatural powers. For people in Western civilizations who live in a society where witchcraft is not prevalent, they only hear about the misconduct of witch trials. They learn about the injustice ways some countries are handling these cases. They see how accused witches have been executed by hanging, drowning, being buried alive, and by burning at the stake throughout history (UNHCR & Fahamu Trust 2012)(Ashforth 6). Several international organizations, humanitarian groups, lawyers, and refugees are concerned because they believe that the persecution and oppression of accused witches continues today in communities around the globe, especially in West Africa. The persecution of these witches has only resulted in an increasing amount of inhumane torture. They believe that several groups of people are falling victims to these allegations and accusations. This is mainly targeted to what society considers “vulnerable groups”.

By presenting evidence in open court and the verdict being based on reasoning from law and precedents, the accused witches would have a measure of protection from violent vigilantes, as would the community from the fear of witchcraft. Through the case studies in Malawi we learn that there is a way to ensure that justice and protection are served without the need to implement violence and cruel