These Women Rockers From Botswana Are Defying The Country's Patriarchal Society

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For the past few years, South African photographer Paul Shiakallis has been documenting the lives of a group of leather-clad women from Botswana's heavy metal subculture known as the “Marok,” which means “rocker” in the local Seyswana language. In his photo series “Leathered Skins, Unchained Hearts,” Shiakallis highlights the lives of these women — they refer to themselves as “Queens” and go by their Queen alter-egos — who are trying to express themselves by defying a patriarchal society.

According to Shiakallis, being a “Marok” is harder for women than men because they face a lot more criticism from public. “Some women were still “coming-out” as rockers and were not ready to be photographed,” Shiakallis told BuzzFeed. “In other situations, men would thwart the shoots because they did not want their women to be in the presence of another man (me, the photographer) or to have the recognition of being a Marok.”