WikiProject They Were Not Witches, They Were Women

This project has received a grant from the Wikimedia Foundation: ID: 23468359 Welcome to the They Were Not Witches, They Were Women Project page on Wikipedia! This initiative aims to document the lives of women accused of witchcraft in Catalonia and Andorra and to highlight the historical events surrounding the witch hunts in these regions. By working across both Wikipedia and Wikidata, we seek to create, improve, and expand content that gives visibility and dignity to these forgotten stories. This project seeks to rescue these silenced lives from oblivion and restore their historical dignity—reclaiming the memory of those unjustly accused and highlighting a form of gender-based violence that is part of our history.

Open Knowledge for Historical Justice

This project is grounded in the principles of open knowledge, emphasizing its potential to transform society through shared collective memory. Making this memory accessible in open, free, and collaborative spaces such as Wikimedia is a crucial step toward fostering social justice, critical thinking, and a more informed and empathetic collective consciousness.

Through the participation of a diverse community of contributors, the project not only recovers and documents historical events but also creates a dynamic space for dialogue and reflection that is open to all.

This openness of knowledge democratizes access to history and helps bring visibility to narratives that have traditionally been silenced.

The project is rooted in the defense of human rights and the recognition of women’s historical memory, with the aim of redressing a deep injustice that affected countless lives. Beyond rescuing these lives from historical oblivion, it also seeks to expose how the persecution of so-called witches contributed to the construction of gender stereotypes that persist today.

By restoring their voices in digital platforms, we confront the legacy of gender-based violence and work to dismantle the stereotypes it perpetuated.

This initiative not only seeks to rescue women’s stories from the shadows of history, but also to document and share them openly and collaboratively. In doing so, it affirms that reclaiming historical memory is both an act of justice and a powerful catalyst for transformation and collective learning.

Historical Context

Between the 15th and 17th centuries, thousands of women in Catalan-speaking territories were accused of witchcraft and subjected to persecution, public trials, and, in numerous instances, execution. Among them were remeieres (herbalists and healers), midwives, widows, and other women who, by virtue of their knowledge, independence, or marginality, defied the norms imposed by a patriarchal society.

The wave of witch hunts was fuelled by institutional sexism and fear of female independence. Traditional knowledge, particularly when passed down by women, was viewed as a threat because it challenged both religious orthodoxy and male-dominated power structures.

Many were tried during the late Middle Ages and Early Modern period, primarily by civil courts, which often responded to local tensions, rumours, or scapegoating in times of crisis. Others were prosecuted by the Holy Office of the Inquisition—mechanisms that reinforced control over women’s bodies, voices, and wisdom.

Main objectives

On Wikipedia

Create and expand biographies of women accused of witchcraft, as well as articles on key events related to witch hunts.

Improve and enrich existing content about these women and the persecutions they faced.
Ensure accuracy, neutrality, and completeness in related articles.
Compare current Wikipedia coverage with academic sources to identify and address content gaps.

On Wikidata

For further information, see WikiProject They were not witches they were women on Wikidata.

Add structured data to Wikidata to enhance visibility and support scholarly research.
Create and improve items about women prosecuted for witchcraft during the Middle Ages and Early Modern periods, as well as those persecuted by the Holy Office of the Inquisition.

Community Engagement

Organize Wikipedia editing events, including both online and in-person sessions.
Train and mentor new editors.
Foster ongoing collaboration to sustain and expand coverage of women accused of witchcraft.

Target Audience

This project primarily welcomes individuals interested in feminist history and memory work, particularly those exploring the persecution of women accused of witchcraft. It also invites participation from members of the Wikimedia movement — both newcomers and experienced editors — who are committed to addressing gender bias, preserving historical memory, and promoting social justice through open knowledge. In addition the project is relevant to researchers, archivists, educators, and feminist activists working in fields such as women’s history, memory recovery, or collaborative knowledge creation. Special attention is given to engaging local communities from areas historically affected by these persecutions, especially the Valls d’Àneu and other rural or Pyrenean regions with strong heritage and symbolic significance.

Team

The team consists of specialists in witch-hunt studies, including historians, anthropologists, botanists, and other related fields. They will review and provide relevant information to validate the accuracy of each entry being worked on. The group will be led by two Wikimedia editors who have experience addressing the gender gap.

Timeline

ACTIVITY	DATE(S)	SUPERVISORS	LOCATION
Activity 1. Working meeting with professionals and expert editors [edit]
Working meeting	October 10-12, 2025	Tiputini and Alzinous	Tarragona
Review/edit uploaded articles.	October 13-20, 2025	Tiputini and Alzinous
Activity 2. In-person Workshop Terrassa [edit]
Workshop	Octobre 25, 2026	Tiputini and Alzinous	Terrassa
Review/edit uploaded articles.	February 01-10, 2026	Tiputini and Alzinous
Activity 3. In-person Edit-a-thon Andorra [edit]
Edit-a-thon	March 7, 2026	Tiputini and Alzinous	Sant Julià de Lòria/Andorra
Review/edit uploaded articles.	March 10-13, 2026	Tiputini and Alzinous
Activity 4. In-person Edit-a-thon Girona. [edit]
Edit-a-thon	April 25, 2026	Tiputini and Alzinous	Girona
Review/edit uploaded articles.	April 26-30, 2026	Tiputini and Alzinous
Project evaluation [edit]
Evaluation survey	June 15-25, 2026	All group
Final report	June 30, 2026	Tiputini and Alzinous

How to participate

To participate, click on each event and register.

Organized by

In collaboration with

References

Bibliography and other sources

Metrics

Dashboard

Proposed Articles

See Dashboard

Expected Results

Participants
	Goals	Notes
Number of participants	50
Number of editors	25
Organizers	2

Wikimedia projects
	Number of created or improved contents
Wikipedia	60
Wikimedia Commons	We are still looking for illustrators.
Wikidata	500