by Karen Oakey 106SHARES on Feminist Current shared with thanks .. some illustrations added from Ovarit.
‘Witchcraft is less a set of practices than a representation of the oppositional, as the intentional thwarting of the machinery of power,” writes Katherine Howe, in the Penguin Book of Witches. There is, of course, no more effective means to suppress free debate than mounting a witch-hunt against stubborn, resilient, subaltern counterpublics and their members. But these witches won’t burn’.

The witches’ web

It is “no accident,” writes feminist philosopher Marilyn Frye, “that with various degrees of conscious intention, feminists have tried to create separate spaces where women could exist somewhat sheltered from the prevailing winds of patriarchal culture and try to stand up straight for once.”
Feminism happens when women stand up straight, and when they talk to each other. But free speech is becoming increasingly inaccessible for gender critical and radical feminists, particularly online. Facing social media bans, deplatforming, and censorship, many gender critical women have sought shelter in niche, women-centred communities, like Lipstick Alley, a Black women’s forum; British parenting site, Mumsnet; and Ovarit, a new forum founded in June by former moderators of the r/GenderCritical community on Reddit.

#RedditHatesWomen #WeAreOvarit #ForTheSisterhood #GenderCritical https://t.co/dvmPm9uT1n pic.twitter.com/6WlAJ4T5K7
— Ovarit (@WomenAreOvarit) August 4, 2020
Shocked at Reddit’s sudden removal of r/GenderCritical and other feminist communities, I volunteered to join the admin team for Ovarit, having moderated the r/GenderCritical subreddit for over a year. I was motivated not just by the injustice of the ban, but because I know how pivotal women-centered spaces are to feminism.
These spaces are the cauldrons of feminist consciousness and the covens of feminist activism, allowing women to find common cause and organize in defense of their rights. But where there are cauldrons, covens, and witches, there are witch-hunts.







![Assange is facing possible extradition to the US from the United Kingdom over a range of charges relating to WikiLeaks’ release of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables a decade ago [File: Hannah McKay/Reuters]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/2021-01-06T000120Z_1805297466_RC202L9TIBSJ_RTRMADP_3_WIKILEAKS-ASSANGE.jpg?resize=770%2C513)
