Are you a strong, outspoken, assertive woman? Then you are a witch. Yes, this is how the society oppresses women who speak their mind. And in a powerful depiction of strong female characters through satire and imagery, Saint Petersburg-born and India-based conceptual photographer Victoria Krundysheva posted on Facebook a photo series depicting Indian women as powerful witches, also known in urban slang as 'Bitches'.
Speaking to Buzzfeed, she said: "Krundysheva told BuzzFeed that she did the project as a means of calling out the double standards which strong, outspoken, assertive women face today."
"It's a new age 'witch hunt' where they are being called names, lynched and threatened for not adhering to society’s idea of what a woman is and how she should behave," she added.
She wrote on the FB post
The Witch Hunt.
“We all know we live in a world full of evil. And how can we, righteous souls protect ourselves from the biggest of them – women with opinion, or as we like to call them – witches.
How to spot a witch:
Witch is often looking confident and not afraid of her sexuality, she will wear bright colors and attract attention.
They are peculiar and may not behave in a usual feminine fashion. The easiest way – throw something disgusting on them – if they are not afraid – you have found a witch.
You can spot them with a book or attempting to have intellectual conversations…what an abomination.
You need to know – they don’t drown, so be on lookout for women who even after you threw them in the water and pushed them under are still emerging, stronger than before.
Witches are often free minded and free spirited – these are the most dangerous kinds – they can’t be tamed and need to be instantly eradicated
They are not afraid of darkness and are readily facing fears – they think it makes them stronger…nut that’s because they are evil themselves.
They stick to each other and support each other…it’s easy to detect because we all know there is no such thing as female friendship
They voice their opinion out loud…like women can have one…
Once you spotted a witch, make sure you take immediate action – scream as loud as you can, call them names, let everybody know who they are.
Don’t mind throwing not just words, but stones, threaten them and cut them off any support. Ganging up on one of them is the best success strategy.”
This is a little manual I have written, based on Medieval times favorite campaign – The Witch Hunt – when progressive, opinionated women, often fighting for their rights were attributed special powers, labelled as witches and burned on the stake, stoned to death or drowned in the water.
Times have gone by, but this ages old practice is as alive as ever. We still suppress, label, bring down and “stone” such women…only now we call them “ßitches”.
Have you ever been called a ßitch? I have. When standing up for myself, straightforward and unafraid. When making my way and being boss. When being my own person and living by my own rules.
A lot of women face double standards when it comes to assertive behaviour and independence. Those qualities men are rewarded for, women are frowned upon for. It’s time to call out all those who call you “ßitch” for not following their idea of what a woman is, for being strong, outspoken, ambitious and independent.
I am launching a campaign #CallMeßitch to connect all strong women out there.
Support me and speak out against patriarchy, double standards and discrimination.
Share your stories on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter – I will feature the best and let us say to everyone that we are not afraid to have an opinion and live by our rules. #CallMeßitch
Krundysheva said she came up the idea after she kept seeing how assertive and unapologetic women around her were treated.
