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The Evil Eye: Implications on the Health and Safety of Women

1. Introduction

The concept of the evil eye—the idea that envy or malevolent gazes can bring harm, illness, or misfortune—remains deeply embedded in many traditional societies. It has been documented in African, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, South Asian, and Latin American cultures for centuries. Despite globalization and the expansion of biomedical knowledge, belief in the evil eye continues to shape everyday behavior, health practices, and social relations.

Although often dismissed by modern science as folklore or superstition, the evil eye plays a powerful psychosocial and symbolic role in how communities explain illness, misfortune, or unexplained suffering. Crucially, women are disproportionately affected by these beliefs—both as targets and as accused bearers of the evil eye. The implications for women's physical health, mental well-being, safety, and autonomy are profound.

This paper seeks to explore the deeper health-related dimensions of this belief, exposing the hidden injuries and dangers faced by women and urging a culturally sensitive yet rights-based policy response.

2. Understanding the Evil Eye in Cultural Context

The evil eye belief posits that envy or admiration, particularly when unspoken or unreciprocated, has the power to harm a person, especially those perceived as vulnerable or exceptional. In many traditional communities:

  • A healthy baby, a pregnant woman, or a new bride may be thought susceptible to “spiritual attack” through the eyes of an envious observer.

  • Certain jewelry, amulets, or rituals are used to “protect” women and children from spiritual harm.

  • Illness or misfortune—particularly if sudden—is often attributed to a spiritual cause rather than a biomedical one.

These cultural logics influence how people interpret symptoms, respond to health crises, and treat one another socially. While both men and women are subject to these beliefs, gendered expectations surrounding beauty, fertility, domesticity, and moral conduct make women more frequent subjects and scapegoats.

3. Gendered Implications and Female Vulnerability

a) Women's Physical Appearance as a “Risk”

In many cultures, beauty or attractiveness is considered dangerous because it draws attention and envy. As a result:

  • Beautiful or fashionably dressed women may be told to conceal their appearance or avoid public attention.

  • Women are discouraged from celebrating personal achievements or displaying confidence.

  • Women are socialized to believe that misfortune may befall them or their children due to “showing off” or eliciting jealousy.

This dynamic can foster body shame, social withdrawal, and lack of self-esteem, particularly among adolescent girls and young women.

b) Reproductive and Maternal Roles

Pregnancy and childbirth are considered spiritually “fragile” moments. Women are seen as physically and spiritually open—thus easily targeted by evil forces. As a result:

  • Pregnant women may be isolated, forbidden from certain foods, or discouraged from public appearances.

  • If a woman loses a child or suffers complications, she may be blamed for not having protected herself from evil eye influence.

  • Infertility may be interpreted as a curse, further subjecting the woman to stigma or spiritual interventions.

This places enormous psychological and social pressure on women to conform to mystical protective practices, even when these may undermine biomedical care.

c) The Dangerous Label of “Witch” or “Cursed”

In some communities, the evil eye belief overlaps with witchcraft accusations, especially in rural or conservative settings. Women perceived as different—elderly, unmarried, assertive, disabled—may be accused of:

  • Causing miscarriages, infertility, or illness in others.

  • Casting curses or causing livestock death or crop failure.

  • Bringing “bad luck” to families or communities.

These women face extreme forms of social exclusion, often leading to violence, banishment, loss of property, or death. Reports from Tanzania, Ghana, and parts of northern Kenya document elderly women being lynched on such accusations.

4. Mental Health Repercussions

The belief in the evil eye may have no objective biomedical basis, but its psychosocial effects are tangible and harmful. Women often experience:

  • Severe anxiety over being judged, watched, or blamed for others’ misfortunes.

  • Depression from isolation or internalized guilt.

  • Psychosomatic disorders, including fainting, fatigue, stomach disorders, and insomnia—attributed to spiritual harm, but actually stress-induced.

  • Mistrust of family and neighbors, weakening community cohesion and women’s social networks.

In contexts where mental health infrastructure is weak, these women may go untreated or receive only spiritual interventions that retraumatize or disempower them.

5. Medical and Health System Challenges

a) Delayed or Denied Care

  • Many women will first consult a spiritual healer, herbalist, or elder for symptoms believed to be caused by spiritual harm.

  • Some women are prevented by spouses or in-laws from seeking formal medical care, due to beliefs about spiritual causes.

  • Medical diagnoses like anemia, epilepsy, postpartum depression, or complications from unsafe abortion may be rejected in favor of spiritual explanations.

b) Conflict Between Biomedical and Spiritual Paradigms

  • Health workers may ridicule, dismiss, or ignore a woman’s cultural beliefs, damaging trust.

  • Women may feel ashamed to disclose beliefs in spiritual harm, leading to misdiagnosis or non-adherence to treatment.

c) Maternal and Child Health Risks

  • Traditional beliefs around the evil eye delay antenatal care, safe delivery practices, and immunization.

  • Fear of public envy may lead women to hide pregnancies, seek home births, or avoid postnatal clinics, endangering themselves and their infants.

6. Safety, Violence, and Legal Disempowerment

a) Witchcraft-Linked Gender-Based Violence

  • Women accused of causing harm through the evil eye may face verbal, emotional, and physical abuse.

  • Some are abandoned, denied food, or attacked by neighbors or family members.

  • Legal systems often fail to intervene due to lack of formal complaints, cultural deference, or absence of protective laws.

b) Silencing and Social Exclusion

  • Fear of being labeled as cursed discourages women from reporting abuse, claiming property, or pursuing education or work.

  • Widows, divorcees, and other socially marginal women are disproportionately vulnerable.

7. Policy and Programmatic Interventions

a) Culturally Attuned Health Systems

  • Train healthcare providers in cultural humility and respectful engagement with spiritual beliefs.

  • Collaborate with spiritual leaders to bridge healing approaches and refer serious cases to medical care.

  • Develop dual-model care programs, where traditional and biomedical actors cooperate for the patient’s benefit.

b) Public Health Education and Social Transformation

  • Engage women’s groups, youth networks, and faith-based organizations to demystify illness and promote scientific literacy.

  • Use radio, theater, mobile cinema, and digital media to challenge fear-based myths and uplift rational, health-promoting behavior.

  • Develop community dialogue programs that interrogate how evil eye beliefs intersect with gender and justice.

c) Protective Legal Frameworks

  • Enact laws criminalizing witchcraft accusations, public shaming, and violence rooted in spiritual claims.

  • Provide shelters, legal aid, and psychosocial support for women victimized by such accusations.

  • Integrate the issue into national action plans on violence against women and harmful traditional practices.

8. Conclusion

The evil eye belief, while symbolic, is far from harmless. It functions as a cultural lens through which illness, misfortune, and social envy are explained—but it also reproduces gendered violence, medical neglect, and mental suffering. Its most tragic impacts are borne by women: those who are silenced, shamed, or endangered by invisible enemies rooted in fear.

Public health, social protection, and legal institutions must take the lived realities of cultural belief seriously—without endorsing harmful practices. By engaging, educating, and empowering women, communities can move toward a future where both science and spirituality coexist, but never at the cost of women’s dignity, health, or safety.

References

  1. WHO (2023). Integrating Mental Health into Primary Care in Low-Income Countries.

  2. Amnesty International (2021). Women Accused of Witchcraft: Hidden Abuse.

  3. Kleinman, A. (1980). Patients and Healers in the Context of Culture.

  4. UNICEF (2020). The Role of Social Norms in Women’s Health Access.

  5. Okoye, P. (2019). Witchcraft Accusations in Nigeria: Gender and Violence.

  6. Mwambene, L. & Sloth-Nielsen, J. (2017). Witchcraft Accusations and Women's Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa.


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