Today Dogbadzi, 24, is still living in Ghana, where she is waging a one-woman campaign to help end Trokosi, practiced in seven of Ghana’s 110 districts. Through her efforts and those of International Needs, government groups and NGOs, more than 1,000 women have been freed. But although Ghana passed a law last year making Trokosi illegal, a U.S. State Department report notes that nearly 4,000 girls and women still serve as slaves. Dogbadzi, who last week received a Reebok Human Rights Award in New York, discussed her ordeal, and her work to free others, with NEWSWEEK’s Rana Dogar. Excerpts:
DOGAR: What happened when you first entered the shrine? DOGBADZI: I was given to one of the oldest women in the shrine, also a slave. She was so tired she couldn’t even take care of her own children, so I had to fend for myself. I started to cut firewood to make into charcoal, and I took it to a nearby town to sell. I got to keep only 50 percent of my wages, so I was virtually starving. I had no food, no clothes, no education and no health care.
What was your typical daily routine? I woke up at dawn to fetch water from a nearby stream. Then I went to the shrine’s farm and worked all day.
Why didn’t your family come to see you? They were afraid that if they came, some misfortune would befall them.
Was there any sense of camaraderie among the women in the shrine? No. Because we were all in pain, the least misunderstanding resulted in quarrels. Because I was a kid, they beat me a lot.
Did you try to escape? Yes. When I was 12, [I heard that] one of my grandfathers had come to the shrine village. He didn’t visit me, so I decided to follow him. To do this I had to cross a river. He was in a canoe, and I fell into the water trying to swim to him. I told him about the priest and what he was doing. But I was sent back to the shrine.
How old were you when the sexual abuse began? I was 10. Once you are in the shrine, you become the property of the priest. Every woman in the shrine is made to sleep with the priest. [The first time] he tried to rape me, I ran away to a nearby village. But I was brought back.
How many times did you try to escape? Three times. When they get you back, you are beaten until you collapse. I still have some scars on my body to show from those beatings. Every day I would think of escaping, but I realized there was no place for me.
Were you expected to stay in the shrine for life? Once you are sent to the shrine, you usually stay there until you die. And even after you die, your family may have to replace you with another virgin. They can pacify the gods by giving the priests a lot of money. But if your family is poor, then that’s the end. They’ll be providing virgins until God knows when.
How were you able to leave the shrine? Once, when I was three months pregnant, I decided to go to the farm and get a cob of corn and roast it. The priest caught me and got angry. He asked three other men to hold me down and tie me to a table. They put ropes on my feet, legs and hands, and I was beaten mercilessly. I thought I was going to lose the baby. I was weak afterwards and almost dying. I resolved from that pain that there was no way I was going to stay in the shrine. One day later I escaped through the bush.
Have you contacted your family since your liberation? Yes. I went back to them alone, and they didn’t believe that I was liberated. They thought there might be deaths in the family as a result of me leaving the shrine. But later, officials from International Needs went to them and explained that I had been liberated physically, mentally and spiritually. After that they accepted me back.
Describe your work with the other women in the shrines. I visit the shrines and meet with the women personally. I explain to them that there’s a need for this practice to change, and there’s a need for them to be strong and get out of the shrine. Some see me on TV, they hear me on the radio and they hear that I’ve been to places in the cities to advocate for their release. So I serve as a role model, and this helps the cause.
Was it difficult to adjust to life outside the shrine? In the shrine you are given a name. When you come out, people call you by that name. So you are stigmatized wherever you go. But now, I’m happy to say, people don’t call me by it anymore. I’m gradually fitting back into society.
What are your hopes for the future? I’d like to start my own business. But for now, I’m still thinking about the women in bondage. My duty is to get them out of slavery. Then I can think about myself.
