Sister Outsider: Reflections of a Croatian Human Rights Activist

Author: Arijana Fridrih, Domino Association  

The quote I most frequently use when talking about women and everyone who identifies as such is one by Audre Lorde from her book Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches: “Sometimes we are blessed with being able to choose the time, and the arena, and the manner of our revolution, but more usually we must do battle where we are standing”.  

“Sister outsider” is the role I have played for the past 20 months. As an artist by profession and, like my colleagues, always outside the structures of social power, I deeply believe that it is precisely artists who not only find a way for their voices to be heard but also, even more importantly, for the voices of others to be heard. 

Since December 2022, I have been performing a protest piece titled “Silent Mass”. It is a collective public intervention created in response to the recent surge in the re-traditionalization of Croatian society. Silent Mass involves men kneeling in what is presented as prayer on the first Saturday of each month, and it takes place in approximately ten locations across the country. Opposite me, there are usually about 30 men kneeling and praying the rosary for the following intentions: 

• For the homeland, peace, and the conversion of the Croatian people 
• For men to become spiritual authorities in the family who will bravely testify and transmit the Catholic faith 
• For life in premarital purity, modesty in dress and behavior, and the renewal of Catholic marriages 
• For the end of abortion and the openness of married couples to life 
• For holy, authentic, and uncompromising church shepherds and new spiritual vocations 
• For the souls in purgatory 
• For personal intentions 

There is no dialogue. On the contrary, the performers are forbidden to give statements to secular media. But they leave no room for doubt about what they are actually praying for: not only for the patriarchy in which we already live but to bring it back to the level against which our mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers have already fought—to silence women, for whom men make decisions. 

 What has been unfolding across Croatia over the past year mirrors the scenario in Poland. There, due to an insufficiently decisive societal response to the systematic spread of hateful messages by initially isolated groups of men targeting women, the political situation deteriorated to the point where women were not only unsafe but dying as a result of regressive laws. In Croatia, very predictably, after the recent parliamentary elections the right-wing dominant party formed a government with the extreme right-wing party, so the fight has moved to a higher level.  

There is no doubt that we artists will play a key role in this fight. We are not afraid, we have nothing to lose, and we are aware of our responsibility. My message is clear: women need to be protected. As a state, we lack the mechanisms for this; women are still not a political topic and are left to fend for themselves, unequal in every aspect, in life and in death. Art is one of the most powerful tools for change. 

Domino Association is a nongovernmental organization based in Zagreb, Croatia. It seeks to challenge traditional norms and oppressive practices through art, performance, media, culture, and education. The “Right of Women to a Life Without Violence” project, supported by Engaging Central Europe in 2023–2024, was implemented under the PROTEUS program and co-funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Transatlantic Foundation (TF) or the European Union (EU). Neither the EU nor TF can be held responsible for them.