At just 32 years old, Kawsada Sandow walks with a limp, an injury she sustained during a brutal beating by her husband two years ago. But her real wounds run deeper than fractured bones. They live in the silence she once held, the shame placed on her body, and the heartbreak of being punished for something she never chose, ‘infertility’.
Born and raised in Jegbo, a small farming village in the Kumbungu District of Ghana’s Northern Region, Kawsada’s life was once filled with promise. She dreamt of raising children and growing millet like her mother. Instead, her marriage became a battlefield of emotional abuse, spiritual accusations, and physical violence.
“I Was Blamed for Everything”
“I was married at 20, and by 25, the name-calling had started,” Kawsada recalls. “By 28, I was being slapped for not going to a traditional healer. They said I was cursed, that I had closed my womb or traded my babies for witchcraft.”
In communities like Jegbo, a woman’s worth is tightly bound to her ability to bear children. After nearly a decade without conceiving, her husband’s family labeled her a disgrace. “They stopped eating my food. His sisters mocked me openly. And when I said I wanted to go to the clinic in Tamale, they said hospitals are for people, not witches.”
When Stigma Turns Violent
Infertility stigma isn’t just emotional, it can become physically dangerous.
According to the Ghana Statistical Service’s 2021 Domestic Violence Report, 27.7% of Ghanaian women aged 15 to 49 have experienced physical violence by a partner. In rural regions like Northern Ghana, many such cases go unreported due to fear, stigma, or cultural expectations.
Mr. Bernard Baba Ananga, the Regional Crime Officer of the Ghana Police Service in the Northern Region, confirms this troubling trend.
“Cases of domestic violence related to infertility stigma are real, but they are among the least reported,” he says. “Even when victims report, they almost always return later asking us to drop the case for a ‘home settlement.’ That makes prosecution difficult and emboldens abusers.”
He adds that the police continue to sensitize communities on the legal consequences of assault, but face resistance rooted in entrenched cultural norms.
A Community Trapped by Belief
In Jegbo, traditional beliefs dominate conversations around infertility. The community attributes childlessness to a history of repeated abortions, curses, spiritual wrongdoing, or moral failings.
“I was told by an elder that I must have offended the river gods,” Kawsada says. “Another time, I was made to drink concoctions that made me vomit blood. As there was no result, my sister-in-law told me I am paying for numerous abortions I had when I was younger.”
Without access to reproductive health education or medical services, many women like her are pushed into dangerous spiritual rituals or isolated entirely. The health center in Jegbo doesn’t offer fertility screenings, and discussions of male infertility are virtually nonexistent.
Faith and Resistance
Still, not all voices in the region support these practices. Sheikh Abdul-Latif Alhassan, an Islamic cleric based in Kumbungu, is among the few religious leaders publicly challenging infertility stigma.
“Infertility is not a curse. It is a test from Allah, and it can affect both men and women,” he explains. “Nowhere does Islam allow violence against a woman because she has no child. It is our duty as leaders to protect, not to punish.”
He has begun speaking during Friday sermons and counseling couples on the importance of seeking medical help together.
From Silence to Survival
After one particularly violent night, where Kawsada was kicked and left bleeding by her husband, she escaped with the help of a younger sister and now lives in Tamale under the care of her uncles.
“I miss my farm, my neighbours, but not the pain,” she says. “I never hurt anyone. My body just didn’t give birth. That doesn’t make me a criminal.”
Kawsada is undergoing therapy with Savana Signatures SHE+ helpline platform but she seeks further medical needs.
Breaking the Cycle
To address the violence and stigma rooted in infertility, Ghana must move beyond reactive responses. A comprehensive community education on reproductive health and gender equality, sensitization of men on shared responsibility in fertility issues, Stronger support systems for survivors seeking justice, and most importantly bolder religious and traditional leadership to correct myths and encourage compassion
By: Prince Kwame Tamakloe/Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
Until then, women like Kawsada will continue to bear both the weight of childlessness and the trauma of violence.
