Burned for Existing: Witch Hunts and the War on Marginalized Women
The Global War on Women
Witch hunts are not medieval myths. They are modern-day atrocities. In India, Ghana, and Papua New Guinea, women are still being tortured, exiled, and murdered under the guise of superstition. But this isn’t about magic—it’s about misogyny. It’s about punishing women who live outside the margins: poor, old, disabled, indigenous, or simply inconvenient.
As Silvia Federici writes, “The witch hunts were a foundational moment in the construction of capitalist society and the subjugation of women.” That subjugation continues today.
India—Witchcraft as a Weapon of Caste and Control
In India, witch branding is rampant in tribal and Dalit communities. Women are accused of causing illness, crop failure, or death—often as a pretext to steal their land or punish them for defying men. Jharkhand, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh are hotspots, with hundreds of women murdered in the last decade.
A 2024 report from Frontline reveals that over 75,000 women—mostly from backward castes—have faced violence and ostracism as “daayans” (witches). Survivors are lynched, sexually assaulted, disrobed, and forced to eat feces. As Feminism in India writes, “The violence linked to witch-hunting in India reveals just how entrenched cultural beliefs and systemic oppression are, especially for marginalized women.”
Ghana—Witch Camps and the Politics of Abandonment
In Ghana, women accused of witchcraft are banished to “witch camps”—isolated compounds with no healthcare, sanitation, or legal protection. Most are elderly, disabled, or widowed. The accusations often follow family tragedies, and the women are blamed for everything from infertility to lightning strikes.
Amnesty International’s 2025 report Branded for Life states: “Witchcraft accusations lead to human rights violations of hundreds of women in northern Ghana. The failure of the state to combat negative gender stereotypes and the absence of a law specifically addressing this phenomenon leads to the persistence of abuses.”
Despite Parliament passing a bill to criminalize witchcraft accusations in 2023, it remains unsigned. The silence is deafening.
Papua New Guinea—Sanguma and the Specter of Sorcery
In Papua New Guinea, accusations of “sanguma” (sorcery) lead to torture, exile, and murder. Victims are burned, beaten, and mutilated. The violence is especially brutal in the Highlands, where belief in sorcery is deeply entrenched.
More than 150 witch-hunting cases occur annually in Simbu Province alone, and over 50,000 people have been displaced due to accusations. UNFPA reports that “Sorcery Accusation-Related Violence (SARV) has deeply affected communities, exacerbated by gender-based violence and substance abuse.”
Don't mistake this for fiction. It's femicide, and it's real.
Who Gets Called a Witch?
Across these regions, the pattern is clear. The women accused are:
● Poor
● Elderly
● Widowed or single
● Disabled
● Indigenous
● Outspoken
● Healers or spiritual leaders
As Barbara Ehrenreich writes, “The witch hunts were a way to eliminate female healers and consolidate male medical authority.” These women were condemned not for magic, but for daring to exist outside control.
Patriarchal Religions and the Demonization of Female Power
The rise of patriarchal religions—Christianity, Islam, and others—played a central role in demonizing female wisdom. Indigenous spiritual practices were labeled “witchcraft.” Female healers became heretics. Midwives became monsters.
As Divine Black Sheep notes, “Sacred texts from major world religions have often been manipulated to prioritize male authority while relegating women to secondary roles.” This gender imbalance is not divine—it’s designed to punish power when it lives in a woman.
Industrialization and the War on the Body
Industrialization further marginalized women’s knowledge. Communal healing was replaced by pharmaceutical capitalism. Midwifery was outlawed. Herbal medicine was dismissed as superstition. The body became a battleground—and women lost control over theirs.
Silvia Federici argues: “The witch hunts were essential to the rise of capitalism. They destroyed the communal bonds and female autonomy that threatened the new order.”
Colonialism and the Erasure of Indigenous Women’s Wisdom
Colonialism erased indigenous women’s roles as spiritual leaders, healers, and protectors of land. Their knowledge was criminalized. Their rituals were banned. Their languages were silenced.
The Center for World Indigenous Studies writes: “Across many Indigenous nations, women have traditionally held roles as healers and knowledge keepers. These positions made them targets—both historically during colonization and in contemporary times.”
CRIAW adds: “Colonial policies tried to end Indigenous beliefs, customs, language and culture. These attempts had dramatic and mostly negative effects on Indigenous women’s role in society.”
Reclaiming the Word “Witch”
We reclaim the word “witch.” We reclaim our wisdom. We honor the women who were burned, buried, and banished. We honor the healers, the midwives, the elders, the rebels.
As Ariel Gore says, “The word witch is a call to arms. It is a refusal to be silenced. It is a declaration of power.”
We are not afraid of being called witches. We are afraid of a world that still hunts them.
Conclusion—Every Woman Is Worthy
Every woman is worthy. Every woman deserves safety, dignity, and respect. We demand justice for the women hunted in India, Ghana, and Papua New Guinea. We demand the end of witch branding, witch camps, and sanguma killings.
We demand the restoration of indigenous women’s wisdom. We demand the dismantling of patriarchal systems that criminalize female power.
We are angry. We are grieving. But we are not done.
In this together,
The Every Woman is Worthy Team
Sources
Federici, Silvia. Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation. Autonomedia, 2004.
Ehrenreich, Barbara & English, Deirdre. Witches, Midwives, and Nurses: A History of Women Healers. Feminist Press, 1973.
Frontline (The Hindu). “Witch-Hunting in India: Violence Against Dalit and Tribal Women.” 2024.
Feminism in India. “The Violence of Witch-Hunting in India.” 2024.
Amnesty International. Branded for Life: Witchcraft Accusations and Human Rights in Ghana.2025.
UNFPA Papua New Guinea. “Sorcery Accusation-Related Violence (SARV) Report.” 2024.
Center for World Indigenous Studies. “Indigenous Women as Healers and Knowledge Keepers.” 2023.
Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW). “Colonial Policies and Indigenous Women’s Roles.” 2023.
Gore, Ariel. We Were Witches. Feminist Press, 2017.
Divine Black Sheep. “Patriarchal Religions and the Demonization of Female Power.” 2023.
https://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/syndicated/witch-trials-not-target-powerful-persecuting-powerless/