My Presentation for Research Week: The Trokosi System

Hey there! Kaya here! I know I know... its not Friday. Actually its Sunday night but then again here we are aren't we? I have been so busy with finals lately (believe me it has been a STRESSFUL week). Anyyywayyys hehe.. let's get down to business.

I spent almost all semester doing research on the Trokosi system after which I ended up presenting at our schools Research Week. Basically our professor asked us to do research an whatever topic we wanted as long as it was something rarely talked about and was not ongoing in the US. The research also had to be related to gendered crime. The challenging part about this was the fact that I had to find a topic that no one really discussed. You see, I was used to doing research on topics that everyone talked about.

Anyways, I soon remedied that problem. I had been doing research on the Trokosi system prior to this and I realised that this was something that was not being discussed in societies. My research was inspired by Brigitte Sossou Perenyi, a young woman who as a girl was sent to be a part of such a barbaric practice by her uncle. A documentary was made and she was interviewed. After the release of this documentary, Perenyi was adopted by an American man called Kenneth Perenyi. Brigitte was lucky to get out of this system. Many others were not.

The Trokosi system is a system that sends girls as young as 6 to not only be slaves but to also cater to the personal needs of the priest. This includes sexual needs and leads to rape and cases of sexual assault. ‘Trokosi’ which translates to ‘slave of the gods’ first evolved from the ancestors of the Ewe of the North and South Tongu Districts (Boaten, n.d.). These girls are denied a formal education since they are considered to be in an underprivileged position. The children also given birth to by the trokosi are considered to be underprivileged and do not receive any formal education at all. It is a endless cycle of viciousness.

I decided to write about this because I felt that it deserved a spot in my blog. After all, its the things that no one talks about that I bring up right? To learn more about the system, you can watch the BBC documentary with Perenyi (I will be posting the link below). If you're someone who likes to read, I will also be sending out my full essay to anyone interested.

Brigitte Sossou Perenyi, the girl who inspired my research.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AnwkixlhxM

#tribe #trokosi #system #breakingthecycle