I have been praying to God to bless me with 90 years on earth before I join him in heaven but I might want to give this request a second thought.

This is because of the perception our society has about old women.

Thinking of a society where witch camps are built for old women, old women being blamed for people’s frustrations, death, childlessness, and other misfortunes that happen in society saddens me.

 As a society, our perception of poor women is that when they grow old, they become “witches”. 

Why are poor old men not tagged as wizards? I just cannot fathom where this whole thing began.

In the Holy Book, a letter of St Paul to Timothy 5:1, “Do not rebuke an older man harshly but extort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity” From the Holy Book, old women are supposed to be treated as mothers whether they are poor or rich but that is contrary to what our society does.

Let's think through what happened at the Savannah Region some few weeks ago.

A priestess claimed she heard God speak to her that the late Madam Adjoa Denteh, may her soul rest in perfect peace, is a witch and is responsible for their frustrations and unplanned lives.

In a viral video, we see women who are supposed to support their fellow women subject the beautiful old lady to brutality. I must say, i was unable to watch this video to the end. 

Hmm, I wonder if these fellow women who thought that Adjoa Denteh was a witch and was responsible for their predicaments and frustrations are now better off or they have transformed lives after they subjected her to that unfortunate brutality.

As a society let us know these old women also have the same human rights each and every one has, let's leave them to enjoy the privileges and rights they are entitled to before their maker calls them to eternity.

I advise young men and women to work hard, build their talents and pray as well and stop attributing their frustrations to old women in their families and society.

 I am happy the perpetrators who committed that heinous crime to Adjoa Denteh are in the grips of the law, they deserve the necessary punishment from the state. 

I am also happy the ministry of Gender, Children and Social protection have said they are going to close all witch camps in our country.  Madam Adjoa Denteh, may your soul rest in perfect peace.

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About the author: Nana Adjoa Denkyi is passionate about mentoring and educating young ladies to become leaders of change. She currently works with an NGO in Accra which promotes girl’s education and women empowerment.