What is Trokosi?

​

In Ghana, young women can be forced to become a Trokosi, "a wife of the gods" and extorted to a life of labor and sexual servitude to the shrine priests. The young girl, usually between the age of 8 and 12 (but as young as 9 months old), is chosen and given to the gods as pardon for an offense committed by another family member. The offender's family must give up the young virgin who will be forced to spend the rest of her life as a slave to the priest or be stoned to death by her village. Although the practice became illegal in 1998 this tradition still takes place in the Volta region of Ghana. There is an estimate of over 2000 women still captive. Trokosi is also practiced in neighboring countries, Togo and Bennin.