Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s recent dismissal o Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado as a “demonic beldame” rings oot ayont mere political rhetoric. While intended as a crude slur tae discredit an opponent, this laided term inadvertently lichts a mirkier, mair langstaundin global tragedy: the ongaun persecution an murther o fowk—owerwhelminly lasses—accused o witchcraft an sorcery.

In a warld preoccupied by geopolitical struggles, the sufferin o thae targeted by sic accusations aften remains a silent crisis. It is a chillin testament tae hoo auncient fears, pairticularly thae aimed at controllin wimen, bide in oor modren age. The label o “witch” haes bin wappenised for centuries tae merginalise, disempouer, an eliminate perceived threits. The day, while the context micht be a political rally, the dehumanisin leid echas the same sentiment that fuels violence in villages an communities ower the globe.

Accordin tae the United Nations an human richts organisations like Amnesty International, this is a grave an active violation o human richts. A 2020 UN report estimated that atween 2009 an 2019 alane, at least 20,000 fowk wur killed in connection wi witch hunts ower 60 kintras.

This modren toll, shockingly, rivals the estimated 35,000 tae 60,000 execution that taen place ower three centuries durin the infamous European witch trials.

The primary targets o this violence, then an noo, are owerwhelminly wimmen, bairns, the elderly, an thae wi disabilities—the maist vulnerable members o society. This violence isnae a relic confined tae a single culture or region but a global tapestry woven fae threids o fear, misogyny, an social stress.

In Saudi Arabia, forby, state-sanctioned executions for “sorcery” hae occurred, wi the tragic beheidin o a wumman in 2011 servin as a stark reminder o hoo judicial systems can enforce, rathern nor protect fae, thae deidly beliefs.

In mony pairts o sub-Saharan Africa an places like Papua New Guinea, the threit isnae fae the state but fae the community itsel, whaur extrajudicial killings an brutal acts o vigilante justice are yaised tae explain awa misfortune, illness, or economic hardship. Wimmen are aften scapegoated for societal ills, their autonomy an wisdom recast as a malevolent pouer that maun be pitten oot.

This phenomenon isnae aboot “primitive” societies; it is a human yin, born fae the breakdoun o social trust an the desperate seekin o simple answers tae complex problems.

Herein lays the devastatin parallel tae oor ain modren political discourse. The mechanism yaised tae condemn a wumman in a clachan is tragically the same yin yaised tae rally nations agin a common fae: identify an ‘ither,’ assign them blame for oor fears, an consolidate pouer by unitin against a perceived enemy. The dehumanisin leid yaised by thae in pouer, whither directed at a female political rival or an entire populace, systematically erodes the empathy required for a just an peacefu society. It is a deliberate tactic tae create fear for the sake o control, discaird the maist fundamental paternal an maternal instincts tae care for an protect the vulnerable.

In a warld teeterin on the edge o multiple conflicts, whaur the rhetoric o “us versus them” growes looder by the day, we cannae afford tae ignore thae connections. The path awa frae sic violence—be it in a remote community or on the warld stage—stairts wi a conscious rejection o demonisation. It requires the painstakin wark o rebiggin trust, uphaudin fair legal systems that protect the human richts o every individual, an takkin tent o oor shared humanity.

The struggle for wimen’s richts in Venezuela, the fecht for justice for a victim o a witch hunt in Africa, an the global caw for diplomacy ower conflict arenae separate issues. They are aw pairt o the same essential human project: tae chynge compassion ower fear, unnerstandin ower prejudice, an tae bigg a warld whaur naebody is condemned by the shaddaes o oor wirds.