GENDER EQUALITY ON PAPER

13. March 2012.

Out of thirteen presidents of municipalities and mayors in South Serbia, there is only one woman, who is, at the same time, the only president of a branch political party. But this is only an exception to the rule, since there are no women holding important decision-making positions in South Serbia.

There are no women in local parliamentary leadership and offices, either, nor are they at the positions of deputy and assistant mayors or directors of city enterprises. With rare exceptions, positions of directors of cultural and educational institutions, as well as of heads of offices that don’t deal with money, are mainly reserved for them.

“I had to work hard and make a lot of effort at my political party in order to be elected at the position of the president of the municipality. There are a lot of highly educated men here that didn’t want or weren’t willing to cope with problems, while I didn’t run away from obligations.
I believe that I did a lot over a short period of time, thereby justifying the position of the president of the municipality”, said Slavica Sotirovic, the president of the newly-established municipality of Vranjska Spa and President of the branch office of the Democratic Party (DS).

Neither of two South Serbia’s mayors, the one of Leskovac and the one of Vranje, have any women in the ranks of their closest associates. There are also no women at the positions of deputy presidents of municipal assemblies.

“We used to have a female deputy president of the municipality, but she chose to become the director of a cultural institution”, said Mica Stankovic, President of the municipality of Lebane.

There are one third of women at the municipal assembly of Presevo, but they don’t hold important positions there.

“I wouldn’t say that only men are to be blamed for that state of affairs. Women, too, are to be blamed, because they seem to lack the grit”, said Ragmi Mustafa, number – one - man in Presevo.

Ivana Stankovic, a psychologist, said that such a situation reflected the inherited patriarchal tradition.

“There are increasingly more active women that are interested in being engaged in society and in becoming high-ranking officials. Unfortunately, there are no such women at decision – making positions, since they can get only those positions that men let them. Power is strong and seductive and men don’t wish to let it out of their hands”, Ms. Stankovic said.