Evil and Superstition in Sub-Saharan Africa: Religious Infanticide and Filicide (original) (raw)

A distinct category of women has been identified in parts of sub-Saharan Africa: those who commit acts of extreme violence and even murder against their own children in order to fulfil religious obligations or to protect themselves from perceived magico-spiritual attacks by their children. The whole of Africa is currently witnessing a heightened level of witch-hunting. Historically, many African witch-hunting incidents have been triggered by witch-doctors keen to protect their clients from the diabolical effects of witches; while others have been triggered by mere gossip or rumour among neighbours. However, in recent years, dramatized preaching on the subject of witchcraft by revivalist Christian prophets, whose major occupations are the sale of exorcisms to the 'bewitched', has become the latest trend in the region. These prophets and prophetesses deliver sermons and prophecies, purportedly from God, in which they identify particular children in the community as witches and prescribe the measures or punishment necessary for protection. By means of case study analysis, this paper presents the new pattern of evil that is being perpetrated in the form of the abandonment, torture, mutilation and murder of these children by their own mothers. Further, this paper presents the cases of the prophetesses whose sermons and prophecies, purportedly from God, emphasise biblical passages such as, 'thou shalt not suffer a witch to live' (Exodus 22:18) to encourage violence against children in the name of religious obligation. Female Patterns of Aggression and Homicide across Cultures Issues surrounding female aggression and homicide have generated heated debate. While some scholars report that females are less violent than males, 1 others report that females are slightly more physically aggressive than males. 2 Harned found that 'rates of physical violence were similar across genders' among the 874 graduate and undergraduate students studied. 3 However, Archer has suggested that the conflicting results obtained by different researchers may be due to differing methodologies used to study the phenomenon. 4 The female serial killer has largely been disputed as a phenomenon but evidence now abounds to suggest its existence. 5 Aileen Wuornos, the first female serial killer identified by the FBI, was convicted of killing seven men. 6 Myra Hindley accompanied her partner Ian Brady in the murders of five children in Saddleworth Moor, England. 7 Rosemary West, another female serial killer, became infamous as an accomplice to her husband, Fred West in the rapes and murders of ten females in Gloucester, England. 8 Black widow serial killers also abound. Female nurses who are multiple murderers can also be found. Beverly Allitt, an enrolled nurse, was convicted of murdering four children and also suspected of nine others in Grantham and Kesteven District General Hospital, England. 9 Repper reports the case of a nurse, simply identified as Nurse '7' who was convicted of second-degree murder and attempted murder following the deaths of 12 patients in a nursing home in Florida, USA. 10 In Texas, Nurse '32' was convicted of murdering six babies in a private clinic and was also investigated in connection with ten other murders. 11 Suicide bombing has continued to attract women, both adults and teenagers. Females engage in armed robbery, kidnapping, hostage taking and assassination. There are also women who engage in what can be termed 'legitimate violence' due to their status as law enforcement officials. The torture and other inhumane treatment of criminal suspects and detainees carried out by such women closely resemble those of their male counterparts. One case study on this is provided by Mersh 12 regarding the activities of female American soldiers in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Females have also been linked to mass murder on a genocidal scale. Pauline Nyiramasuhuko of Rwanda and Irith Leng of Cambodia are two women who are known to have engaged in such acts. 13 The linking of women to such mass murders seems to support Steans' argument that, given the opportunity, women are just as capable of committing serious crimes as men. 14