Contact Admin. Neither Whores, nor Saints. Women in Black, Belgrade. Women in Black is a feminist and antimilitarist organization based in Belgrade, Serbia.
On June 21, , they staged a creative protest against the Orthodox Church: They took their clothes off. We started the performance by walking rapidly and determinately one after another, keeping our eyes on the ground. We were modest, self-conscious, self-contained and timid. We were everything that the Orthodox Church wanted.
Then suddenly, and to the shock of the audience, we began taking off our clothes. We took them off, placed them on the ground and than drew in chalk figures on the pavement to show that women are victims of the patriarchal roles assigned to them.
The intention of the performance was to visually depict the enforced traditional and patriarchal codes that women of Serbia are forced to obey. Women are told how they should dress, move and walk, act and think. Women who accept these rules are considered honest, upright and pure, and might be apotheosized to sainthood by the men in our society. But what the Serbian Orthodox Church demands and proposes is ridiculous because it is absolutely in opposition to the practice, daily life and desires of the women in our country.
Women have the right to choose autonomy over their own bodies, their emotions, minds and money. With this performance, and every day through our other events and activities, we are fighting against the blatant simplification of women to their roles as mothers, wives, mothers to the nation and angels in the home.
