Trokosi is a traditional system in Ghana, West Africa, where virgin girls, some as young as five years old, are sent into Trokosi shrines (shrines for gods) as slaves to make amends for wrongs committed by a member of the virgin girl’s family. When she dies, the family must replace her with another virgin girl. This means that the family will pay reparation, of one girl, forever.

     The Trokosi system is based on the belief that gods have the power to search for wrongdoers and punish them. People who feel an injustice has been committed against them, go to the shrine and place a curse on the offender so that they will be punished by the gods. These curses take several forms, strange illnesses, unexplained deaths, incurable diseases or successive deaths within a family. the practice of shrine slavery happens in order to compensate for a crime commited by a family member. 

      It’s bad because it is a violation of human rights. Trokosi slaves are forced, against their own will with only the approval of their parents, into hard labor. They are required to perform sexual acts with fetish priests, when they can be as young as five years old. Girls are subjected to a lifetime of sexual and physical abuse just because they are related to someone who owed a favor to the gods in their religion. This practice reduces women to objects for men’s pleasure and is a step back towards gender equality as it leads to the idea that men are superior to women. Not to mention that it strips them from the possibility of an education and it harms these girls' health and development as a person.

     The truth is that this problem cannot be simply solved by imposing a law or by any violent means. In 1998 the Ghanaian government passed a law criminalizing the Trokosi practice. Despite this, it continued because governmental agencies responsible for enforcing the law didn’t have the courage to arrest the family members, priests or shrine owners. The system invokes fear in the hearts of most people including the law enforcement personnel. 

     The Ghanaian government cannot take people away from a ancient culture that has been established for more  What you can do to show your support is by casting your petition in this link. With your signature, you are contributing to getting the attention of organizations who have the resources, personnel and structure to cause a positive change on this situation. That is how we can make an impact and help save these girl's lives.