Books by Zlatiborka Popov Momcinovic
Aktivizam u ženskom pokretu u Bosni i Hercegovini - Izazovi, iskoraci i društvene promene , 2024
Studija o ženskom aktivizmu u BiH i pokretu koja se nadovezuje na prethodna vlastita istraživanja... more Studija o ženskom aktivizmu u BiH i pokretu koja se nadovezuje na prethodna vlastita istraživanja, ali se posebno fokusira na organizovanje, udruživanje i umrežavanje, zagovaranje koje sprovode ženske organizacije unutar teorijskog okvira o važnosti ženskog pokreta za političko predstavljanje žena. Obuhvaćeni su i bitni aspekti kao što je rodna dimenzija tranzicijske pravde i rodno zasnovano nasilje, kao i recentni izazovi tzv. antirodne mobilizacije.
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Jelena Šantić Foundation , 2022
This writing was produced based on the results of reflection on the reach of women’s peace activi... more This writing was produced based on the results of reflection on the reach of women’s peace activism in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, as well as on interviews with activists of different generations, carried out during the summer of 2021. Even before we started the writing process, we knew
that women peace activists should get the most of the credit for saving the “face and honour” – to use these words rarely associated with feminism – of both these countries. However, we also knew that the experiences of war and destruction, and ergo peace building, had been largely dissimilar in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Serbia, to the point where they were perhaps incomparable. Our aim was thus to try to explain the context in which we lived and acted, and to compare the reflections
by those seeking for peace to be much more than the absence of war. This text is therefore, a chorus of women’s voices joined together, as in a Greek
tragedy, to explain what is not there, even though it could and should have been attained.
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Jelena Šantić fondacija, 2022
Ova studija nastala je na osnovu rezultata promišljanja dometa ženskog mirovnog aktivizma u Bosni... more Ova studija nastala je na osnovu rezultata promišljanja dometa ženskog mirovnog aktivizma u Bosni i Hercegovini i Srbiji i intervjua vođenih tokom
leta 2021. sa aktivistkinjama različitih generacija. I pre no što smo počele da pišemo, znale smo da su mirovnjakinje najzaslužnije za „obraz i čast“ – reči koje ne idu često uz feminizam – obeju zemalja. Međutim, znale smo i da su iskustva rata i razaranja, pa samim tim i izgradnje mira, bitno drugačija u Bosni i Hercegovini i Srbiji i da se ona možda i ne mogu porediti. Cilj nam je stoga bio da pokušamo da objasnimo kontekst u kojem živimo i delamo i da uporedimo promišljanja onih koje od mira traže da bude daleko više od odsustva rata. Utoliko je ovaj tekst hor glasova žena koje su njime udružene i koje, kao u antičkoj tragediji, objašnjavaju ono čega nema, a moglo je i trebalo da se dogodi.
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Building Trust and Reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Different Approaches , 2021
This research is the abbreviated English translation of a study based on 77 interviews conducted... more This research is the abbreviated English translation of a study based on 77 interviews conducted in 13 cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a fourth phase of the research project of the Center for Empirical Research on Religion, Novi Sad - Sarajevo and the University of Edinburgh entitled “Religion and Reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina”. Here, we compare findings from our previous publications and reports with the opinions of actors from the political, religious, educational, and social life of Bosnia and Herzegovina, figures selected because they have more power than ordinary citizens to contribute to the process of reconciliation. Most attention is paid to the answers to four key questions: What strategies for building reconciliation do the interviewees recognize as feasible?; What are the prospects of involving the public sector in the reconciliation process and what is the relationship of this sector with non-governmental organizations?; What are the possibilities for involving different subgroups of the civil society sector in the reconciliation process?; and What is the role of religion in the reconciliation process? The approach to reconciliation that was most supported by interviewees is the inclusive approach, followed by the approach that drives change from the local to the centers of power.
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Izgradnja povjerenja i pomirenja u Bosni i Hercegovini: Različite perspektive, 2021
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Women and Reconciliation Processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Challenging Gender Roles, (Re)established Narratives and Performative Acts, with a Discussion of Religion, 2018
SUMMARY:
Women and Reconciliation Processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Challenging Gender Roles, ... more SUMMARY:
Women and Reconciliation Processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Challenging Gender Roles, (Re)established Narratives and Performative Acts, with a Discussion of Religion
Reconciliation has become a frequently-used concept thanks to the promising development of peace studies in recent decades, and also because its comprehensiveness and the way that it encompasses varied dimensions, initiatives, and actors results in practical insights. The numerous research including comparative and contextualized approaches, the tools that have been developed, and the concrete activities that are implemented point to its significance. However, the concept of reconciliation itself is at times too readily rejected. This may be the result of how easily it can be misunderstood, its intimate connection to the Abrahamic traditions, the fact that it has both pragmatic as well as moral dimensions, and its vulnerability to possible abuse. The rigorous study of reconciliation is made even more complex due to its onto-theological meaning as well as the fact that the role of diverse actors on different levels (micro, meso, and macro) is important for understanding reconciliation activities.
Given the nature of modern conflicts, reconciliation is an unavoidably important term. It calls not only for the simple return to a previous state before the escalation of conflict and violence; rather, reconciliation involves restoration and rebuilding of relationships both vertically and horizontally. Contemporary conflicts are frequently intrastate, complex, and brutal. Preventing the danger that unresolved conflicts threaten to escalate (again) means involving diverse actors and levels of relationships. As Lederach notes, statist diplomacy can only lead to a ceasefire. Sustainable peace requires the absence of any form of discrimination and inequality. It requires commitment to a culture of dialogue and balanced distribution of recourses (Galtung) which includes both male and female actors from diverse spheres (politics, religion, civil society, education). This study therefore adopts the positive peace, rejecting the omnipresent notion of peace as simply the absence of war which by not being structural threatens to lead to social atomie and cultural anomie (Galtung). According to some theologians and scholars, religion plays an important role in sustaining such a positive approach by providing symbols and creating an environment which, among other things, support the rejection of Manicheism and self/other dualism.
Despite the obvious importance of diverse actors and initiatives, the role of women in reconciliation processes often remains ambivalent, insufficiently elaborated upon and vulnerable to multiple interpretations. Even when the positive role of women is acknowledged, there will often still be a component in the process that contributes to the detriment of women in order to maintain the status quo. One of the reasons for this pattern is that women are often perceived as intrinsically benevolent, which leads to the perception of women as peacemakers by nature and biology. This assumption of women as peacemakers is also present to some extent in religious discourses in the region, which ultimately leads to women’s exclusion from decision making processes. This phenomenon is supported by researchers and feminist reflections both in the Balkans region as well as in other (post)conflict areas. As these scholars claim, conflicts especially in the former Yugoslavia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have often been justified by a discourse of defending the patriarchal nest and similar gendered allusions. Such allusions continue in the post-conflict period in claims about the role of women within superficial peace building processes. Within feminist theory and praxis, this position has been deconstructed, yet this critical awareness remains marginalized in isolated academic zones and within female activism. Advancing beyond this position while not neglecting the importance of the many initiatives carried by women requires elaborating upon them in connection to other initiatives not specifically led by women. In addition, this study includes both civil society as well as religious reconciliatory initiatives because of the importance of religion in the public sphere in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Considering them together enables observation of the interconnections and dilemmas of reconciliatory initiatives of women in civil society and the religious sphere.
Feminism is frequently and uncritically accused of leading to separatism. This critique is negated by adopting a combined holistic and feminist approach which enables deconstructing the structures that weaken reconciliation activism both by women and other categories of actors. This study combines and stresses multiple interconnections between different initiatives and actors as well as the resources that women do (or do not) possess in both the public and private spheres. In this way, this study contributes to a more innovative approach which is confirmed by the results of the empirical research presented and analyzed here. During and after conflict, violence floats between the private and public spheres, especially in patriarchal societies. The aim therefore is to see possible connections between women’s resources in both the private and public spheres that were identified during the research process. The results point to the above-mentioned debates and elaborate on possible breakthroughs even in spheres in which women are apparently marginalized by not officially being part of hierarchies (e.g. in religious communities).
This study is divided into 12 chapters, starting with an introduction which covers its theoretical framework (feminist and holistic approach), the methods (quantitative and qualitative) and techniques used (questionnaires, focus groups, in-depth interviews) and the results that were obtained. The second chapter explains the theoretical and methodological approach in more detail. As noted above, the approach is feminist and holistic, stressing that patriarchy causes damage not only to women but to men as well. Since reconciliation is a process involving diverse actors, it was important to deeply investigate how both men and women see the process, and to what extent and in what way their attitudes and perspectives differ and possibly overlap. Religion is especially addressed as a variable; that is to say, it plays an important role in the differences in attitudes between non-religious and more religious women, as well as between religiously inactive and active women. Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used to illuminate these nuances and debates and to support the study’s holistic approach. In the first phase of the research, a survey was conducted with a sample of 2.060 respondents (49% male, 51% female) who answered a written questionnaire with 78 questions. The survey took place in 13 cities that were chosen in order to include heterogeneous sizes, regions, and ethnic and religious structures. Analysis of the resulting data shows high levels of support among the population for reconciliation activities. A more detailed analysis provides additional insight into the way people view such initiatives, especially in their own local communities. Since the wartime strategy in Bosnia and Herzegovina was to destroy local communities and their social structure (Weber’s notion of Gemeinschaft), the aim was to investigate how people rebuild trust, re/establish broken ties and perceive the role of diverse actors and initiatives in everyday life.
For the purpose of this study, it was very important to gain deeper insight into the local gender dynamics. For this reason, 13 heterogeneous focus groups were organized in each local community in which the survey was conducted. The focus groups consisted of local politicians, religious leaders, teachers, activists, war veterans, youth, and pensioners. This mixed structure provided space to discuss the quantitative research results and to see how the role of women in reconciliation activities was perceived by different actors, including ordinary men and women. In this way I avoided the bias often present in research concerning the role of women in reconciliation efforts which only analyzes the perceptions of women. The next phase of the research included in-depth interviews with 30 key stakeholders at the state level (peace activists, politicians, religious leaders, people engaged in transitional justice, journalists, teachers, engaged university professors), as well as three in-depth interviews with local politicians, religious leaders, female and male activists, or journalists in each surveyed local community. I was able to perform an even more in-depth analysis by including two homogenous focus groups: one which was organized by women activists from a small local community which is locally perceived as ruined and dysfunctional (Women’s Association Jadar from Konjević Polje), and the other being The Network of Women Believers which works within the structure of the Inter-religious Council of BIH.
The last chapter addresses the contributions of the research for the literature. As was already noted, women combine diverse resources from the private and public spheres in their reconciliation activities. Yet, these different initiatives are not sufficiently connected and diverse actors have different interpretations regarding women’s roles. Despite these limitations, all these women’s initiatives provide space for women to step out of the discourse of victimology which is still present in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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Diskriminacija jedan pojam mnogo lica , 2012
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Talks by Zlatiborka Popov Momcinovic
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Researches and Projects by Zlatiborka Popov Momcinovic
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Zabilježene – Žene i javni život Bosne i Hercegovine u 20. vijeku. Drugo, dopunjeno i izmijenjeno... more Zabilježene – Žene i javni život Bosne i Hercegovine u 20. vijeku. Drugo, dopunjeno i izmijenjeno izdanje
Sarajevo: Sarajevski otvoreni centar, Fondacija CURE (2014)
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Special edition of Journal Diskursi, Sarajevo., Dec 18, 2013
"Authors: George R. Wilkes, Ana Zotova, Zorica Kuburić, Gorazd Andrejč, Marko-Antonio Brkić, Muha... more "Authors: George R. Wilkes, Ana Zotova, Zorica Kuburić, Gorazd Andrejč, Marko-Antonio Brkić, Muhamed Jusić, Zlatiborka Popov Momčinović, Davor Marko
This study presents key findings from a survey focused on the reconciliation process in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a sample of 2060 respondents answering a written questionnaire with 78 questions. A diverse sample of respondents were found in 13 cities, selected to capture very different economic, cultural, political and geographical contexts. Individual sections of the report explain the study’s design and results, and give further detail that will be important to readers with an interest in attitudes in their city, or among different parts of the country’s population: women and men; wealthier and poorer, employed and unemployed; older and younger; more educated and less educated; more religious and less religious; former soldiers, prison camp inmates, refugees and other civilians during the war; members of the constituent peoples and minorities."
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PARTICIPACIJA GRAĐANA I GRAĐANKI U ODLUČIVANJU O JAVNIM POSLOVIMA U JEDINICAMA LOKALNE SAMOUPRAVE, 2022
The structure of the study consists of two basic parts. The first part of the study consists of t... more The structure of the study consists of two basic parts. The first part of the study consists of the authors' contributions, in which the main theoretical aspects of the political participation of citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the modern world are presented. In the appendices, issues of participatory democracy as a democratic form, ideal and political law are discussed. Experiences and practices of political participation in other European countries are reported and compared with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Issues of information and communication aspects of participation, gender equality, and women's participation in politics are particularly addressed. The need for the revitalization of local democracy is pointed out, especially in the context of the development of modern digital technologies. The specific scientific competencies of the research team members enabled an interdisciplinary scientific approach to the elaboration of the phenomenon of citizens' political participation in local communities. Theoretical analyzes and hypotheses in the author's contributions formed the basis for designing the questionnaire and conducting the empirical research. The second part of the study contains a scientific analysis of the empirical research results. The research was conducted in the period of October - November 2021 by directly interviewing citizens in eight municipalities and cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The selected cities/municipalities differ significantly in the number of inhabitants and the level of socio-economic development. These are variables that usually influence the forms and intensity of political participation. The questionnaire contained 25 open and closed questions. A total of 1,000 people were interviewed, which is a relevant sample for testing the established hypotheses. The analysis and interpretation of the research results were carried out through three variables: a) communication variable of civic participation; b) institutional variable of civic participation and c) gender variable of civic participation in local communities.
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Kako postići rodnu ravnopravnost na univerzitetima u Bosni i Hercegovini, 2022
The gender inequality in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains entrenched in various areas of life, incl... more The gender inequality in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains entrenched in various areas of life, including the sector of education. While gender parity has been achieved in primary and secondary education, women exceed men in higher education in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, although the number of female students and professors has significantly increased over the previous period, there are still academic disciplines and activities that are dominantly male or dominantly female. These differences appear first in secondary education and spill over to higher education as well. Women mostly choose social sciences and humanities, as opposed to natural sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics. These gender stereotypes in the choice of academic
programs lead to a loss of economic and human potential and reinforce gender pay gaps.
The glass ceiling in the university hierarchy persists, inhibiting women's career progression to senior lecturer and governing structures of universities. This is reinforced by a general lack of policies that would enable gender-sensitive work-life balance, as in the case of women that
are often halted in their professional promotion due to being pregnant or young mothers.
In terms of education content, gender equality principles are not mainstreamed in curricula and there is a lack of integration of gender perspectives in teaching and research. In this way, students' knowledge of gender equality remains limited, allowing room for gender stereotypes to persist and further perpetuate inequalities. Another significant challenge is a lack of gender-appropriate use of language, with policies remaining predominantly gender-neutral in terms of both content and language.
This publication explores in depth all the above issues.
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Results from the November 2011 survey - 616 responses to a written questionnaire from a balance o... more Results from the November 2011 survey - 616 responses to a written questionnaire from a balance of national backgrounds in four regions of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
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The religious communities and their believers, not belonging to the three dominant religions of B... more The religious communities and their believers, not belonging to the three dominant religions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, face different obstacles in exercising their own rights, especially regarding religious education (RE) in public schools. RE in BiH s framed to meet the values and interests of the three dominant confessions- the Islamic
Community, Catholic Church and Serbian Orthodox Church. As BIH Framework Law reads, the religious communities are in charge of the religious education in public schools, and in praxes different obstacles are encountered by religious minorities when they try to be included into the religious educational system in public schools.Based on the analysis of relevant documents, and in-depth interviews with members of these communities and their religious leaders, this research proposes a solution for the inclusion of excluded religious groups.
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Books by Zlatiborka Popov Momcinovic
that women peace activists should get the most of the credit for saving the “face and honour” – to use these words rarely associated with feminism – of both these countries. However, we also knew that the experiences of war and destruction, and ergo peace building, had been largely dissimilar in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Serbia, to the point where they were perhaps incomparable. Our aim was thus to try to explain the context in which we lived and acted, and to compare the reflections
by those seeking for peace to be much more than the absence of war. This text is therefore, a chorus of women’s voices joined together, as in a Greek
tragedy, to explain what is not there, even though it could and should have been attained.
leta 2021. sa aktivistkinjama različitih generacija. I pre no što smo počele da pišemo, znale smo da su mirovnjakinje najzaslužnije za „obraz i čast“ – reči koje ne idu često uz feminizam – obeju zemalja. Međutim, znale smo i da su iskustva rata i razaranja, pa samim tim i izgradnje mira, bitno drugačija u Bosni i Hercegovini i Srbiji i da se ona možda i ne mogu porediti. Cilj nam je stoga bio da pokušamo da objasnimo kontekst u kojem živimo i delamo i da uporedimo promišljanja onih koje od mira traže da bude daleko više od odsustva rata. Utoliko je ovaj tekst hor glasova žena koje su njime udružene i koje, kao u antičkoj tragediji, objašnjavaju ono čega nema, a moglo je i trebalo da se dogodi.
Women and Reconciliation Processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Challenging Gender Roles, (Re)established Narratives and Performative Acts, with a Discussion of Religion
Reconciliation has become a frequently-used concept thanks to the promising development of peace studies in recent decades, and also because its comprehensiveness and the way that it encompasses varied dimensions, initiatives, and actors results in practical insights. The numerous research including comparative and contextualized approaches, the tools that have been developed, and the concrete activities that are implemented point to its significance. However, the concept of reconciliation itself is at times too readily rejected. This may be the result of how easily it can be misunderstood, its intimate connection to the Abrahamic traditions, the fact that it has both pragmatic as well as moral dimensions, and its vulnerability to possible abuse. The rigorous study of reconciliation is made even more complex due to its onto-theological meaning as well as the fact that the role of diverse actors on different levels (micro, meso, and macro) is important for understanding reconciliation activities.
Given the nature of modern conflicts, reconciliation is an unavoidably important term. It calls not only for the simple return to a previous state before the escalation of conflict and violence; rather, reconciliation involves restoration and rebuilding of relationships both vertically and horizontally. Contemporary conflicts are frequently intrastate, complex, and brutal. Preventing the danger that unresolved conflicts threaten to escalate (again) means involving diverse actors and levels of relationships. As Lederach notes, statist diplomacy can only lead to a ceasefire. Sustainable peace requires the absence of any form of discrimination and inequality. It requires commitment to a culture of dialogue and balanced distribution of recourses (Galtung) which includes both male and female actors from diverse spheres (politics, religion, civil society, education). This study therefore adopts the positive peace, rejecting the omnipresent notion of peace as simply the absence of war which by not being structural threatens to lead to social atomie and cultural anomie (Galtung). According to some theologians and scholars, religion plays an important role in sustaining such a positive approach by providing symbols and creating an environment which, among other things, support the rejection of Manicheism and self/other dualism.
Despite the obvious importance of diverse actors and initiatives, the role of women in reconciliation processes often remains ambivalent, insufficiently elaborated upon and vulnerable to multiple interpretations. Even when the positive role of women is acknowledged, there will often still be a component in the process that contributes to the detriment of women in order to maintain the status quo. One of the reasons for this pattern is that women are often perceived as intrinsically benevolent, which leads to the perception of women as peacemakers by nature and biology. This assumption of women as peacemakers is also present to some extent in religious discourses in the region, which ultimately leads to women’s exclusion from decision making processes. This phenomenon is supported by researchers and feminist reflections both in the Balkans region as well as in other (post)conflict areas. As these scholars claim, conflicts especially in the former Yugoslavia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have often been justified by a discourse of defending the patriarchal nest and similar gendered allusions. Such allusions continue in the post-conflict period in claims about the role of women within superficial peace building processes. Within feminist theory and praxis, this position has been deconstructed, yet this critical awareness remains marginalized in isolated academic zones and within female activism. Advancing beyond this position while not neglecting the importance of the many initiatives carried by women requires elaborating upon them in connection to other initiatives not specifically led by women. In addition, this study includes both civil society as well as religious reconciliatory initiatives because of the importance of religion in the public sphere in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Considering them together enables observation of the interconnections and dilemmas of reconciliatory initiatives of women in civil society and the religious sphere.
Feminism is frequently and uncritically accused of leading to separatism. This critique is negated by adopting a combined holistic and feminist approach which enables deconstructing the structures that weaken reconciliation activism both by women and other categories of actors. This study combines and stresses multiple interconnections between different initiatives and actors as well as the resources that women do (or do not) possess in both the public and private spheres. In this way, this study contributes to a more innovative approach which is confirmed by the results of the empirical research presented and analyzed here. During and after conflict, violence floats between the private and public spheres, especially in patriarchal societies. The aim therefore is to see possible connections between women’s resources in both the private and public spheres that were identified during the research process. The results point to the above-mentioned debates and elaborate on possible breakthroughs even in spheres in which women are apparently marginalized by not officially being part of hierarchies (e.g. in religious communities).
This study is divided into 12 chapters, starting with an introduction which covers its theoretical framework (feminist and holistic approach), the methods (quantitative and qualitative) and techniques used (questionnaires, focus groups, in-depth interviews) and the results that were obtained. The second chapter explains the theoretical and methodological approach in more detail. As noted above, the approach is feminist and holistic, stressing that patriarchy causes damage not only to women but to men as well. Since reconciliation is a process involving diverse actors, it was important to deeply investigate how both men and women see the process, and to what extent and in what way their attitudes and perspectives differ and possibly overlap. Religion is especially addressed as a variable; that is to say, it plays an important role in the differences in attitudes between non-religious and more religious women, as well as between religiously inactive and active women. Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used to illuminate these nuances and debates and to support the study’s holistic approach. In the first phase of the research, a survey was conducted with a sample of 2.060 respondents (49% male, 51% female) who answered a written questionnaire with 78 questions. The survey took place in 13 cities that were chosen in order to include heterogeneous sizes, regions, and ethnic and religious structures. Analysis of the resulting data shows high levels of support among the population for reconciliation activities. A more detailed analysis provides additional insight into the way people view such initiatives, especially in their own local communities. Since the wartime strategy in Bosnia and Herzegovina was to destroy local communities and their social structure (Weber’s notion of Gemeinschaft), the aim was to investigate how people rebuild trust, re/establish broken ties and perceive the role of diverse actors and initiatives in everyday life.
For the purpose of this study, it was very important to gain deeper insight into the local gender dynamics. For this reason, 13 heterogeneous focus groups were organized in each local community in which the survey was conducted. The focus groups consisted of local politicians, religious leaders, teachers, activists, war veterans, youth, and pensioners. This mixed structure provided space to discuss the quantitative research results and to see how the role of women in reconciliation activities was perceived by different actors, including ordinary men and women. In this way I avoided the bias often present in research concerning the role of women in reconciliation efforts which only analyzes the perceptions of women. The next phase of the research included in-depth interviews with 30 key stakeholders at the state level (peace activists, politicians, religious leaders, people engaged in transitional justice, journalists, teachers, engaged university professors), as well as three in-depth interviews with local politicians, religious leaders, female and male activists, or journalists in each surveyed local community. I was able to perform an even more in-depth analysis by including two homogenous focus groups: one which was organized by women activists from a small local community which is locally perceived as ruined and dysfunctional (Women’s Association Jadar from Konjević Polje), and the other being The Network of Women Believers which works within the structure of the Inter-religious Council of BIH.
The last chapter addresses the contributions of the research for the literature. As was already noted, women combine diverse resources from the private and public spheres in their reconciliation activities. Yet, these different initiatives are not sufficiently connected and diverse actors have different interpretations regarding women’s roles. Despite these limitations, all these women’s initiatives provide space for women to step out of the discourse of victimology which is still present in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Talks by Zlatiborka Popov Momcinovic
Researches and Projects by Zlatiborka Popov Momcinovic
Sarajevo: Sarajevski otvoreni centar, Fondacija CURE (2014)
This study presents key findings from a survey focused on the reconciliation process in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a sample of 2060 respondents answering a written questionnaire with 78 questions. A diverse sample of respondents were found in 13 cities, selected to capture very different economic, cultural, political and geographical contexts. Individual sections of the report explain the study’s design and results, and give further detail that will be important to readers with an interest in attitudes in their city, or among different parts of the country’s population: women and men; wealthier and poorer, employed and unemployed; older and younger; more educated and less educated; more religious and less religious; former soldiers, prison camp inmates, refugees and other civilians during the war; members of the constituent peoples and minorities."
programs lead to a loss of economic and human potential and reinforce gender pay gaps.
The glass ceiling in the university hierarchy persists, inhibiting women's career progression to senior lecturer and governing structures of universities. This is reinforced by a general lack of policies that would enable gender-sensitive work-life balance, as in the case of women that
are often halted in their professional promotion due to being pregnant or young mothers.
In terms of education content, gender equality principles are not mainstreamed in curricula and there is a lack of integration of gender perspectives in teaching and research. In this way, students' knowledge of gender equality remains limited, allowing room for gender stereotypes to persist and further perpetuate inequalities. Another significant challenge is a lack of gender-appropriate use of language, with policies remaining predominantly gender-neutral in terms of both content and language.
This publication explores in depth all the above issues.
Community, Catholic Church and Serbian Orthodox Church. As BIH Framework Law reads, the religious communities are in charge of the religious education in public schools, and in praxes different obstacles are encountered by religious minorities when they try to be included into the religious educational system in public schools.Based on the analysis of relevant documents, and in-depth interviews with members of these communities and their religious leaders, this research proposes a solution for the inclusion of excluded religious groups.
that women peace activists should get the most of the credit for saving the “face and honour” – to use these words rarely associated with feminism – of both these countries. However, we also knew that the experiences of war and destruction, and ergo peace building, had been largely dissimilar in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Serbia, to the point where they were perhaps incomparable. Our aim was thus to try to explain the context in which we lived and acted, and to compare the reflections
by those seeking for peace to be much more than the absence of war. This text is therefore, a chorus of women’s voices joined together, as in a Greek
tragedy, to explain what is not there, even though it could and should have been attained.
leta 2021. sa aktivistkinjama različitih generacija. I pre no što smo počele da pišemo, znale smo da su mirovnjakinje najzaslužnije za „obraz i čast“ – reči koje ne idu često uz feminizam – obeju zemalja. Međutim, znale smo i da su iskustva rata i razaranja, pa samim tim i izgradnje mira, bitno drugačija u Bosni i Hercegovini i Srbiji i da se ona možda i ne mogu porediti. Cilj nam je stoga bio da pokušamo da objasnimo kontekst u kojem živimo i delamo i da uporedimo promišljanja onih koje od mira traže da bude daleko više od odsustva rata. Utoliko je ovaj tekst hor glasova žena koje su njime udružene i koje, kao u antičkoj tragediji, objašnjavaju ono čega nema, a moglo je i trebalo da se dogodi.
Women and Reconciliation Processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Challenging Gender Roles, (Re)established Narratives and Performative Acts, with a Discussion of Religion
Reconciliation has become a frequently-used concept thanks to the promising development of peace studies in recent decades, and also because its comprehensiveness and the way that it encompasses varied dimensions, initiatives, and actors results in practical insights. The numerous research including comparative and contextualized approaches, the tools that have been developed, and the concrete activities that are implemented point to its significance. However, the concept of reconciliation itself is at times too readily rejected. This may be the result of how easily it can be misunderstood, its intimate connection to the Abrahamic traditions, the fact that it has both pragmatic as well as moral dimensions, and its vulnerability to possible abuse. The rigorous study of reconciliation is made even more complex due to its onto-theological meaning as well as the fact that the role of diverse actors on different levels (micro, meso, and macro) is important for understanding reconciliation activities.
Given the nature of modern conflicts, reconciliation is an unavoidably important term. It calls not only for the simple return to a previous state before the escalation of conflict and violence; rather, reconciliation involves restoration and rebuilding of relationships both vertically and horizontally. Contemporary conflicts are frequently intrastate, complex, and brutal. Preventing the danger that unresolved conflicts threaten to escalate (again) means involving diverse actors and levels of relationships. As Lederach notes, statist diplomacy can only lead to a ceasefire. Sustainable peace requires the absence of any form of discrimination and inequality. It requires commitment to a culture of dialogue and balanced distribution of recourses (Galtung) which includes both male and female actors from diverse spheres (politics, religion, civil society, education). This study therefore adopts the positive peace, rejecting the omnipresent notion of peace as simply the absence of war which by not being structural threatens to lead to social atomie and cultural anomie (Galtung). According to some theologians and scholars, religion plays an important role in sustaining such a positive approach by providing symbols and creating an environment which, among other things, support the rejection of Manicheism and self/other dualism.
Despite the obvious importance of diverse actors and initiatives, the role of women in reconciliation processes often remains ambivalent, insufficiently elaborated upon and vulnerable to multiple interpretations. Even when the positive role of women is acknowledged, there will often still be a component in the process that contributes to the detriment of women in order to maintain the status quo. One of the reasons for this pattern is that women are often perceived as intrinsically benevolent, which leads to the perception of women as peacemakers by nature and biology. This assumption of women as peacemakers is also present to some extent in religious discourses in the region, which ultimately leads to women’s exclusion from decision making processes. This phenomenon is supported by researchers and feminist reflections both in the Balkans region as well as in other (post)conflict areas. As these scholars claim, conflicts especially in the former Yugoslavia and Bosnia and Herzegovina have often been justified by a discourse of defending the patriarchal nest and similar gendered allusions. Such allusions continue in the post-conflict period in claims about the role of women within superficial peace building processes. Within feminist theory and praxis, this position has been deconstructed, yet this critical awareness remains marginalized in isolated academic zones and within female activism. Advancing beyond this position while not neglecting the importance of the many initiatives carried by women requires elaborating upon them in connection to other initiatives not specifically led by women. In addition, this study includes both civil society as well as religious reconciliatory initiatives because of the importance of religion in the public sphere in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Considering them together enables observation of the interconnections and dilemmas of reconciliatory initiatives of women in civil society and the religious sphere.
Feminism is frequently and uncritically accused of leading to separatism. This critique is negated by adopting a combined holistic and feminist approach which enables deconstructing the structures that weaken reconciliation activism both by women and other categories of actors. This study combines and stresses multiple interconnections between different initiatives and actors as well as the resources that women do (or do not) possess in both the public and private spheres. In this way, this study contributes to a more innovative approach which is confirmed by the results of the empirical research presented and analyzed here. During and after conflict, violence floats between the private and public spheres, especially in patriarchal societies. The aim therefore is to see possible connections between women’s resources in both the private and public spheres that were identified during the research process. The results point to the above-mentioned debates and elaborate on possible breakthroughs even in spheres in which women are apparently marginalized by not officially being part of hierarchies (e.g. in religious communities).
This study is divided into 12 chapters, starting with an introduction which covers its theoretical framework (feminist and holistic approach), the methods (quantitative and qualitative) and techniques used (questionnaires, focus groups, in-depth interviews) and the results that were obtained. The second chapter explains the theoretical and methodological approach in more detail. As noted above, the approach is feminist and holistic, stressing that patriarchy causes damage not only to women but to men as well. Since reconciliation is a process involving diverse actors, it was important to deeply investigate how both men and women see the process, and to what extent and in what way their attitudes and perspectives differ and possibly overlap. Religion is especially addressed as a variable; that is to say, it plays an important role in the differences in attitudes between non-religious and more religious women, as well as between religiously inactive and active women. Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies were used to illuminate these nuances and debates and to support the study’s holistic approach. In the first phase of the research, a survey was conducted with a sample of 2.060 respondents (49% male, 51% female) who answered a written questionnaire with 78 questions. The survey took place in 13 cities that were chosen in order to include heterogeneous sizes, regions, and ethnic and religious structures. Analysis of the resulting data shows high levels of support among the population for reconciliation activities. A more detailed analysis provides additional insight into the way people view such initiatives, especially in their own local communities. Since the wartime strategy in Bosnia and Herzegovina was to destroy local communities and their social structure (Weber’s notion of Gemeinschaft), the aim was to investigate how people rebuild trust, re/establish broken ties and perceive the role of diverse actors and initiatives in everyday life.
For the purpose of this study, it was very important to gain deeper insight into the local gender dynamics. For this reason, 13 heterogeneous focus groups were organized in each local community in which the survey was conducted. The focus groups consisted of local politicians, religious leaders, teachers, activists, war veterans, youth, and pensioners. This mixed structure provided space to discuss the quantitative research results and to see how the role of women in reconciliation activities was perceived by different actors, including ordinary men and women. In this way I avoided the bias often present in research concerning the role of women in reconciliation efforts which only analyzes the perceptions of women. The next phase of the research included in-depth interviews with 30 key stakeholders at the state level (peace activists, politicians, religious leaders, people engaged in transitional justice, journalists, teachers, engaged university professors), as well as three in-depth interviews with local politicians, religious leaders, female and male activists, or journalists in each surveyed local community. I was able to perform an even more in-depth analysis by including two homogenous focus groups: one which was organized by women activists from a small local community which is locally perceived as ruined and dysfunctional (Women’s Association Jadar from Konjević Polje), and the other being The Network of Women Believers which works within the structure of the Inter-religious Council of BIH.
The last chapter addresses the contributions of the research for the literature. As was already noted, women combine diverse resources from the private and public spheres in their reconciliation activities. Yet, these different initiatives are not sufficiently connected and diverse actors have different interpretations regarding women’s roles. Despite these limitations, all these women’s initiatives provide space for women to step out of the discourse of victimology which is still present in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Sarajevo: Sarajevski otvoreni centar, Fondacija CURE (2014)
This study presents key findings from a survey focused on the reconciliation process in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a sample of 2060 respondents answering a written questionnaire with 78 questions. A diverse sample of respondents were found in 13 cities, selected to capture very different economic, cultural, political and geographical contexts. Individual sections of the report explain the study’s design and results, and give further detail that will be important to readers with an interest in attitudes in their city, or among different parts of the country’s population: women and men; wealthier and poorer, employed and unemployed; older and younger; more educated and less educated; more religious and less religious; former soldiers, prison camp inmates, refugees and other civilians during the war; members of the constituent peoples and minorities."
programs lead to a loss of economic and human potential and reinforce gender pay gaps.
The glass ceiling in the university hierarchy persists, inhibiting women's career progression to senior lecturer and governing structures of universities. This is reinforced by a general lack of policies that would enable gender-sensitive work-life balance, as in the case of women that
are often halted in their professional promotion due to being pregnant or young mothers.
In terms of education content, gender equality principles are not mainstreamed in curricula and there is a lack of integration of gender perspectives in teaching and research. In this way, students' knowledge of gender equality remains limited, allowing room for gender stereotypes to persist and further perpetuate inequalities. Another significant challenge is a lack of gender-appropriate use of language, with policies remaining predominantly gender-neutral in terms of both content and language.
This publication explores in depth all the above issues.
Community, Catholic Church and Serbian Orthodox Church. As BIH Framework Law reads, the religious communities are in charge of the religious education in public schools, and in praxes different obstacles are encountered by religious minorities when they try to be included into the religious educational system in public schools.Based on the analysis of relevant documents, and in-depth interviews with members of these communities and their religious leaders, this research proposes a solution for the inclusion of excluded religious groups.
forms of social exclusion, mostly due to the small
number of adherents, and different stereotypical portrayals
they are exposed to by the population and major
confessions. Smaller religious communities are especially vulnerable for
they are the least equipped to claim their rights, and
their problems rarely draw public attention because
their exclusion from the BH society. In this policy study, affirmative approach for inclusion of small religious community into public educational system and society as well has been proposed, based on the in-depth qualitative research of their position in society and existing practises in countries with high level of human rights' respect and developed educatioanl system based on values of social pluraliy.
razgovara činile su komunikaciju sa učesnicima/ -cama otvorenom. Stavovi i interpretacije, koji su rezultat spleta društvenih, kontekstualnih i osobih okolnosti, „ne robuju“ dominirajućim političkim podjelama i ideologijama koje zagovaraju politički i religijski akteri na nivou cijele države. Svjedočili smo brojnim intepretacijama, stavovima, primjerima aktivnosti i inicijativa koje su lokalnog karaktera, a koje su primjer drugačijeg promišljanja na temu pomirenja i izgradnje povjerenja, i koje bi trebalo da dobiju više prostora i pažnje u javnosti.
"znanja" kroz etnonacionaliziran (novo)govor, kao i postojećih praksi "pomirljivosti". U radu se posebno apostrofiraju doprinosi žena mirovnjačkim aktivnostima u periodu pre, tokom i nakon rata, a koji su sistematski skrajnuti na margine reduciranjem femininog na pasivitet. No kao takvi, oni predstavljaju niše i tačke otpora i otklona čija moć leži u nemogućnosti kooptiranja "odozgo".
Cilj ovog istraživanja je ustanoviti da li postoji razlika među apstinenticama u Bosni i Hercegovini prema određenim demografskim (starost, obrazovanje, selo-grad, stranačka i etnička pripadnost) i socio-psihološkim karakteristikama (zainteresovanost za politiku, način informisanja o politici, povjerenje u institucije, dogmatizam, nacionalizam, kosmopolitizam, cilj opravdava sredstvo, odnos prema vođi, konzervativizam, konzervativistička autoritarnost i liberalizam). Istraživanje je provedeno u prvoj polovini marta 2013. godine na uzorku od 483 punoljetne žene koje ne planiraju da glasaju na predstojećim izborima, a koje su u posljednjih šest godina (tri izborna ciklusa) nekad glasale, a nekad ne, glasale su, ali više neće, ili nikad nisu glasale. Pošli smo od pretpostavke da će različiti modaliteti političke apstinencije da se razlikuju s obzirom na mjerene varijable. Dobijeni rezultati pokazuju da se tri kategorije apstinentica razlikuju po pojedinim sociodemografskim varijablama: starost, obrazovanje, etnička i stranačka pripadnost i vjerska ubjeđenja. Ispitanice se međusobno razlikuju i zainteresovanošću za politiku. Najveće interesovanje nalazimo kod ispitanica koje manipulišu svojim izlaskom na izbore, a slijede one koje su se razočarale u izbore, dok je zainteresovanost za politiku najmanja kod ispitanica koje uopšte ne glasaju na izborima. Televizija je još uvijek dominantan medij za informisanje o političkim dešavanjima, dok su na drugom i trećem mjestu dnevne novine i radio, ali su znatno manje uticajni. Ipak, između tri kategorije apstinentica nalazimo značajne razlike samo kod televizije i radija. Tri kategorije apstinentica se međusobno razlikuju samo po varijablama kosmopolitizam i liberalizam. Prisutna je i razlika između apstinentica po njihovom povjerenju u institucije. Najviše povjerenja u institucije nalazimo kod ispitanica koje nekad izlaze, a nekad ne izlaze na izbore, slijede ispitanice koje su glasale, ali više neće. Najmanje povjerenja u institucije nalazimo kod ispitanica koje nikad ne glasaju.
and an unwavering determination that these struggles would not cease. Here we open important topics, collect and summarise the status of women in the Western Balkans and propose solutions.