Trent-in-Ghana Participant 2010-2011
When I travelled to Ghana I was forced out of my comfort zone. Breaking away from your comfort zone is one of the most enriching experiences – personally and academically. It forced me to confront my assumptions and become aware of how little I know. Once I accepted my ignorance, there was so much to learn and understand. My Trent-In-Ghana experience challenged many of my previously-held beliefs regarding development. I became frustrated during my placement at the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, because I could not grasp the relationship between human rights and cultural practices. I channelled this frustration into a personal and intellectual curiosity which lead to many interesting conversations with Ghanaian co-workers and many hours reading and researching witchcraft allegations in Northern Ghana. I was looking for answers but was confronted by more questions and complexities.
There are instances where human rights are violated, but it is debatable whether the human rights discourse is helpful in ameliorating conditions for those in compromising situations. I learned this while visiting witchcraft settlements, small villages where 'witches' are banished in the northern region of Ghana, during my placement. Although as a foreigner my capacity to fully understand the cultural context and social conditions that perpetuate witchcraft beliefs and practices was limited, I was intensely curious and concerned about the phenomenon of banishing elderly women based on the accusation that they were using supernatural powers for evil ends. I came to understand that human rights do not necessarily have equivalent meanings in all societies and that the current language and ideas may not be the most appropriate approach in all contexts. The final report I completed dedicated one part to exploring the role of the Commission, a relatively young institution birthed from the 1992 Ghanaian Constitution, in striving to transform deeply entrenched attitudes regarding harmful cultural practices. Gender inequality, no doubt, plays a role in this issue as alleged witches are selected based on social standing, age and gender for the most part. Witchcraft is perceived as an instrument used by women to climb the socioeconomic ladder or to succeed in an environment where they are viewed as socially inferior. When women face this accusation, they have few resources to ensure a fair trial. It is not hard to see that this complex supernatural phenomenon is difficult to address within a modern legal context. So then, what does a meeting between a modern legal institution with international origins and a traditional cultural practice look like? What is the role of the human rights discourse in these cases, is it beneficial or detrimental?
While in Ghana, I had to re-adjust my attitude, as most of my Ghanaian colleagues in my field placement were desperate to emulate the West's path to development and reap some of the material benefits. My position became relaxed as I talked to Ghanaians and realized that my overly-critical outlook was a privilege and not necessarily appropriate in every context. This experience gave me a context to apply the content that I had been learning in class. In the end, however, I simply became confused; as I came back to my last year at Trent IDST I had a medley of blasted optimism, a heavy theory-laden brain and a practical development experience that made me more moderate.
In my opinion, when you try to understand an issue in the field of development and you are faced with more questions, in most cases, it means you have done justice to acknowledging the complexity of the subject. After my year-abroad in Ghana and graduating from the IDST program I am left with many interesting and focused questions which I wish to pursue in the future. My placement experience in Ghana has been formative in giving me a direction for further studies and work.One of the most important skills I have gained from my international development studies degree is the ability to think differently – more conceptually and critically: to examine the assumptions implicit in theories. Whereas before I was looking for the 'right development path', now I understand that there are many ways, each with their strengths and weaknesses and that I can embrace this complexity; contradictions in my theoretical leanings can and do exist.