March 2004
In Bosnia, 2004 has the potential to be the year that the greatest steps yet are ta ken towards advancing women’s status in civil society. There have been developments through new projects at Women for Women International, as well as developments in the government of Bosnia. We would like to share this exciting progress with our sponsors, without whom our work in Bosnia would not be possible.
First, Women for Women International – Bosnia and Herzegovina has been working on a new project that complements our core program of sponsorship, rights awareness education and vocational skills training. This project, called Women’s Rights and Leadership Training in Rural Areas of BiH (Bosnia-i-Herzegovina), helps Bosnian women become leaders in their community and therefore become more active in making the decisions that affect women. One hundred and twenty women who have shown interest in and potential for becoming community leaders were selected from our program to participate in the project. The women receive training to become trainers, leaders and promoters of women’s human rights in their communities by taking part in seminars such as “ How to Lead a Group,” “Public Advocacy of Women’s Human Rights,” and “Recognition of Needs in the Community.”
After participating in these seminars, the women use their new skills to identify problems that exist in their communities and to discuss what action is necessary to solve these problems. There have been concrete results from women who have received similar training in the past: one group of participantsused their leadership skills to work together and approach their local government to acquire a new bus line. They were successful and have since petitioned their local government for other community improvements. The women clearly learned how to identify problems and how to take the initiative to solve them. This is crucial to rebuilding civil society in Bosnia.
As part of this project, we are also forming Coordinating Boards to represent women's rights and interests at the municipal level. These boards will address needs that arise affecting women in the community and they will initiate new activities and programs in support of women. In one community, the Coordinating Board worked with another local women’s group to provide health education and prenatal care for women in the community. In addition to participants taking part in the Boards, local government counselors will also be lobbied to become members of the Coordinating Boards. The hope is that by including government representatives the Boards will increase the promotion of women’s issues within the government.
After each group of participants or Coorrdinating Boards completes a project Women for Women International – Bosnia and Herzegovina along with the women will hold public meetings with representatives of the local government, other NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations), the media and local citizens in order to inform them about the project and its results. In this way, the project's goal of creating awareness of women's rights and interests is spread within the local population.
A second development this year has been the beginning of the implementation of the Law on Gender Equality. In many Western countries it is ta ken for granted that discrimination against women is illegal but in Bosnia, a country in transition, the introduction of such a law is a great step forward for women’s rights. Our hope and expectation is that the law, which was enacted in June 2003, will aid in the advancement of Bosnian women’s rights.
The law promotes and protects real gender equality and guarantees equal possibilities in private and public spheres of life. It forbids discrimination based on gender in all segments of society and especially in education and employment. The law is considered one of the most comprehensive gender equality laws in the region.
Unfortunately, the implementation of this law has been slow. However, through a project entitled Equality through the Law Women for Women International – Bosnia and Herzegovina is working with the Gender Equality Coalition, a group of women’s NGOs in Bosnia, to advocate for faster implementation as well as to raise awareness among citizens, government officials and the media about the mandates of the new law.
For example, it is important for women in Bosnia that violence of all kinds has been made illegal through this law. Domestic violence has long been an issue that is kept hidden within the family. By making domestic violence illegal, this law helps raise public awareness of the problem. Many women in our program knew nothing about this law before participating in Women for Women International’s education classes.
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