On Monday, March 18th, the second workshop in the series titled “Are You Afraid of Witches?” was held. The workshop was led by Nidžara Ahmetašević, a journalist and researcher from Sarajevo

During the workshop, participants had the opportunity to delve into the historical portrayal of witches, the infamous witch hunts in Western Europe and the USA, and the contemporary exploitation of these persecutions and crimes for commercial purposes. Ahmetašević PhD highlighted various perspectives on this topic from prominent authors. Sociologist Leopoldina Fortunati and philosopher Silvia Federici associate the emergence of capitalism with the witch hunts. They argue that this process, which necessarily involves the accumulation of capital, was enabled by the systematic deprivation of women’s rights, their bodies, means of production, and reproduction.

“In other words, capitalism could not have developed without the control of women’s bodies. The institutionalization of rape, prostitution, and witch hunts would be a manifestation of the systematic subjugation of women by men and the appropriation of their labor.”