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SARAJEVO, December 12 (FENA) - Bosnia and Herzegovina is still a country with prevalent features of a patriarchal society where women's rights at multiple levels are threatened and their representation in the social life of the country is not on par with men.
Recognizing these problems and wanting to point them out and seek their solution in BiH, ten years ago, the Women's Network of BiH was established, which has precisely worked to protect and promote the rights of women and girls.
A conference was organized today in Sarajevo to mark the anniversary, bringing together experts from the Women's Network, representatives of local institutions, and women's rights defenders in BiH.
The conference clearly reiterated its position on a zero tolerance for all forms of violence, called for the need for women's economic empowerment, to ensure equal rights in education and health care, and to ensure equal rights in political life.
As pointed out, the goal is to reflect on past experiences and define plans for next year's activities in the context of EU integration and local elections in BiH.
Gianluca Vannini, Head of the Operations Section for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross-Border Cooperation at the Delegation of the European Union to BiH, stressed at the opening of the conference that gender equality is of paramount importance to BiH, which is why the EU is funding several projects in the field.
He estimated that there is much room for improvement in BiH when it comes to ensuring greater representation of women in decision-making places, and the fact that the Women's Network has been in existence for 10 years speaks to their determination to fight for equal rights for women.
“Research has shown that when women are given equal opportunities and access to community resources, more progress is made and there is more security. Thanks to legislation on equal treatment and the efforts of gender mainstreaming and specific promotion measures, the EU has made significant progress in ensuring gender equality in the last ten years,” added Vannini.
Progress includes greater participation of women in the labor market as well as progress in better education and training within the EU, but much remains to be done as women still face many challenges.
He announced that the EU would continue to strive for political progress and emphasized that women are entitled to equal rights in all areas of life in BiH, including securing equal pay for the same jobs and equal opportunities as access to education and health care.
Project Manager at "Women's Rights - Agenda for Positive Change" from CURE Foundation, Vedrana Frašto emphasized that this group was formed to advocate for gender equality.
She added that it was of utmost importance to publicly state the position on various issues that need to be addressed in order to achieve gender equality in BiH.
The conference was implemented within the framework of the project "Women's Rights - Agenda for Positive Change", funded by the European Union, and implemented by the CURE Foundation and the Women's Empowerment Foundation (FWE), within the project "Institutional Support to the Women's Network of BiH" supported by the TRAG Foundation from Belgrade.
(FENA) S. R.
