Gender Equality in Presevo and Bujanovac

3. August 2012.

The UN PBILD Program, with its office in Bujanovac, continues this year one of its programs for a systematic development of gender equality in the local municipalities.

Marina Babovic, the UN PBILD Program Coordinator for Integration, said that they were trying to incorporate the principles of gender equality policy into the system of local self- governments in the Pcinj and Jablanica districts. The program is focused on the new self-governments in six municipalities, including Presevo and Bujanovac, as well as the city of Vranje. We are waiting for the new local assemblies and other local authorities to begin operating. It is expected that all local action plans in the sphere of gender equality will be developed and adopted at the local assemblies, as well as in Bujanovac and Presevo, by the end of the year.

“Speaking about the issue, we mustn’t forget that we are working in the area in which a several centuries’ long inequality of women is present, the roots of which are in the patriarchal make-up of society and in gender stereotypes, "said Suzana Antic from the Committee for Human Rights. She noted that despite the efforts, there wasn’t a single active women's NGO in Presevo and Bujanovac, nor a much-needed telephone line for victims of domestic violence.

“We have much to do in the area of gender equality. Training, professional development and acquisition of the basic knowledge on the gender equality policy awaits us. Our priorities include a greater involvement of women in political and public life and, as you would expect, an improvement in the economic status of women. We need to introduce the practice of applying gender equality policies in all the local policies - in agriculture, employment of groups of people that are discriminated on the grounds of their gender, education, budgeting of local budgets etc. Results will be achieved if experts that sincerely wish to develop the policy of equal opportunities get involved in the work. We still haven’t done the analysis regarding the number of women - councilors in the local municipalities of the Pčinj district, but according to the unofficial data, women are again at the margins of all social trends, even in the spheres where important decisions on their positions and lives are made,” Marina Babovic said.