Summary Of No Peace In The House By Crampton

In “No Peace in the House”, Alexandra Crampton writes about the attitudes surrounding witchcraft and the experiences of those who practice it in Ghana. Crampton begins by describing the the role of witchcraft in the day-to-day lives of Ghanaians. Witchcraft is used to explain how certain misfortunes or losses occur, and it is either acquired intentionally as “medicine” or it may be unknowingly acquired from someone else. Moreover, Crampton also writes about how accusations of witchcraft are used as a form of elder abuse--especially towards older women. Older Ghanaian women are the main victims of these accusations, mostly because it is believed that they have wisdom and experience that they can use to “target” other individuals--Crampton describes it as “potentially destructive knowledge”. These women are often sent to witch camps where they are ostracized from the rest of the community and forced to live amongst other accused witches. The culture and practices surrounding witchcraft in Ghana limit the autonomy of older women in the community while simultaneously giving them power in the form of fear
In Apostolic Pentecostalism, the ordination of women is prohibited and women are expected to be part of the church community while also allowing the men of the church to lead. Women in the church accept their subordinate role in relation to the male church authorities and other male figures in their lives, but they don’t view this submission as being disempowering. On the contrary, they embrace their role as the quiet “backbone” of the black community and support the notion that women can be strong as long as they don’t threaten male authority. Black women also have the responsibility of raising children in the community with the right moral code and instilling them with the right values, which they consider to be a form of