280what is it about the power of a woman free in mind
and body that has been perceived as so dangerous throughout history?
In the past, the Old Testament command “Thou shalt not suffer a witch
to live” was taken literally. Tens of thousands of people were executed
for maleficia, the alleged crime of evil deeds through magic, from the
witch hunts in Europe to the Salem trials in America. The vast majority
of these were women.
Like the ultimate conspiracy theory, anything you couldn’t explain—
from a crop failing to a child falling ill—could be put down to the influence
of a supposedly wicked woman. These were often destitute widows, eking
out an existence as healers on the fringes of soci-
ety, or younger women whose seductive powers
could easily be attributed to magic.
Women could be accused of witchcraft for
having an independent sex life, for speaking
their mind on politics or religion, or for dressing
differently. Had I lived in earlier times, I could
have been burnt at the stake many times over
for simply being myself.
The accusation of witchcraft has been used
to control and silence women in almost all soci-
eties and in every century. Joan of Arc was put
to death by fire in fifteenth-century France for
idolatry and heresy, including wearing men’s
clothing. The initial charges against her included
witchcraft, and she was accused of dancing near
a fairy tree at night—textbook witchy behavior.
It is so ludicrous that it almost seems funny,
until you consider that a woman dancing or
singing in public is viewed as illegal or indecent
in many countries today. Iranian girls who post
videos of themselves dancing are challenging
what the country’s law and religious dogma
still deems unacceptable behavior for women,
six centuries later.
Since time immemorial, women who rebel
against what is considered normal by society—
even unintentionally—have been labeled as un-
natural, weird, wicked, and dangerous. What
is surprising is the extent to which this kind of
myth and prejudice has persisted throughout
the centuries and still colors the world we live in.
It is startling how often women who run for
political office in democratic countries are de-
scribed as witches. Bring together a group of
strong women, and before too long someone will
brand them a “coven”—the technical term, to be
clear, for a gathering of witches meeting at night to
consort with the devil. Women who stand up for
human rights in many countries are still labeled
“deviant,” “bad mothers,” “difficult,” or “loose.”
In my work, I travel often to countries where
I know that if I were a citizen there, my beliefs
and actions as a woman could land me in jail or
expose me to physical danger. Female human
rights defenders across the world are incarcer-
ated for their political views or for defendingthemselves or others, with courage I can hardly imagine. For all our
modern advances, the independence and creative energy of women is
still frequently seen as a dangerous force to be controlled, often in the
name of religion, tradition, or culture.
Consider the estimated 200 million women and girls alive today
who have suffered genital mutilation. Or the approximately 650 million
women and girls worldwide who were made to marry before they were
18 years old. Thousands of women and girls are murdered by family
members in so-called honor killings each year, as a punishment for ex-
ercising their own free will. And when thousands of Sudanese women
took to the streets of Khartoum calling for free elections in their country
this summer, the order went out to “break the girls,” leading to scores
of alleged rapes by security forces.
None of this is to dismiss or downplay for an instant the terrible
abuses against men and boys—including modern allegations of witch-
craft. But looking across the world, we have to ask, Why is so much
energy expended to keep women in a secondary position?
Looked at in this light, “wicked women” are just women who are
tired of injustice and abuse. Women who refuse to follow rules and
codes they don’t believe are best for themselves or their families. Wom-
en who won’t give up on their voice and rights, even at the risk of death
or imprisonment or rejection by their families and communities.
If that is wickedness, then the world needs more wicked women.
But it is also true that women don’t wake up every morning wanting
to fight. We want to be able to be soft and nurturing and graceful and
loving—not everyone is born to fight. And we don’t have magical pow-
ers. What we do have is the ability to support one another, and to work
with the many great men who value and respect women as their equals.
I think of a father whom I met the first time I went to an Afghan
refugee camp in Pakistan, during the rule of the Taliban. He had been
beaten so badly for sending his daughters to school that the whites of
his eyes were yellow from the damage to his liver. I think of a Syrian
husband I met whose wife became paralyzed after she was shot in the
spine by a sniper. They were living in a refugee camp, with no posses-
sions and nowhere to go, but I do not think I have ever seen a more
loving couple or devoted husband. And I could not be prouder of my
sons for the men they are becoming, the way they respect their sisters
and are respected by them.
Who we are meant to be in life is something we all have to work out
for ourselves. I think we can often go offtrack as women, because our
instinct is to nurture or to adjust ourselves to society’s expectations.
It can be hard to take the time to ask ourselves who we truly want to
be—not what we think other people will approve of or accept, but who
we really are. But when you listen to yourself, you can make the choice
to step forward and learn and change.
I remember when that moment first came for me. I was in my twen-
ties, meeting refugees in Sierra Leone during the closing stages of a brutal
civil war. I understood for the first time the level of violence that exists
in the world, and the reality of life for the millions of people affected by
conflict and displacement. And I discovered my life’s work and purpose.
I often tell my daughters that the most important thing they can do is
to develop their minds. You can always put on a pretty dress, but it doesn’t
matter what you wear on the outside if your mind isn’t strong. There is
nothing more attractive—you might even say enchanting—than a woman
with an independent will and her own opinions.
With love to all the wicked women, and the men who understand
them. —angelinaMALEFICENT: , causing or capable of producing evil or mischief;
harmful or baleful [from Latin , from , wicked, prone to evil,
from , evil]. Malefice: (archaic), a wicked deed or enchantment.
ON A
LIGHTER
NOTE,
A QUICK-
FIRE ROUND
WITH
ANGELINA
FAVORITE
COMFORT
FOOD?
Tea and
chocolate.
HOMEBODY
OR NOMAD?
Nomad.
THE ROLLING
STONES OR
THE BEATLES?
The Clash.
FAVORITE
COLLECTIBLE?
Books.
BEACH OR
MOUNTAIN?
Desert
and jungle.
BOOTS
OR HEELS?
There is
a time and a
place for both.
BOWLING
OR BAKING?
Flying.
CAT OR DOG?
Two dogs.
And a hamster.
And a rabbit.
And a snake.
And a lizard....
Our home’s
a menagerie.
ASPECT OF
YOUR LIFE YOU
ARE MOST
GRATEFUL FOR?
My children
and my
freedom.
MOST RECENT
SKILL YOU’VE
ACQUIRED?
Chopping
wood.
UNFULFILLED
AMBITION?
Many—I feel
I am at the
beginning.