Women & Islamic Cultures Family, Law and Politics

The Balkans

This analysis of civil society with the focus on

women and gender issues relates to the situation in

the successor states of former Yugoslavia, with par-

ticular emphasis on Bosnia-Herzegovina. In addition

to the factors common to all the states, the com-

munist heritage, the process of transition, the expe-

rience of armed conflict, postwar state-building,

and the reconstitution of society, Bosnia-Herze-

govina is distinguished by the role and influence of

the international community and the high propor-

tion of members of the Islamic community in the

region.

In the second half of the twentieth society, the

Communist Party (later to be known as the Com-

munist League) controlled every feature of society,

from the economy to creativity. Party ideology thus

became the framework within which everything

worked: labor unions, the media, the academic

community, youth organizations, religious commu-

nities, professional associations – every element of

civil society. Civil society was subject to ideological

stigma. For example, the Encyclopaediapublished

by the Zagreb Lexicographic Institute (1976) con-

tained no entries for civil society, civism, or the

bourgeoisie, and the Sociological Lexicon (Bel-

grade 1982) dedicated a mere six half-lines to these

entries – the same column-centimeters as those for

the entries on gangsterism, pilgrimage, and

rogues/rascals (Pokrovac 1991). When feminist cri-

tique first made its appearance in the late 1970s, it

came up against ideological condemnation from

the party elite. Women’s activism was endorsed

within existing organizations.

The transition to civil society in the successor

states of former Yugoslavia is hampered by sub-

servience to the political culture and the weak-

nesses of civil initiatives. To this must be added the

non-democratic way the state institutions worked,

poor control mechanisms in regard to the authori-

ties, ethnocentrism, and manifestations of political

and religious exclusivity, all of them among the

products of the violent dissolution of the Yugoslav

union of states.

The break-up of Yugoslavia was accompanied by

wars in Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzego-

vina, and by conflicts in Kosovo and Macedonia.

The last decade has thus been marked by post-con-

flict transition and attempts to strengthen civil soci-

ety as an alternative model to the authoritarian

socialist heritage. The process includes efforts to

establish the rule of law and democratic, responsi-

ble governance with the enactment of laws creating

42 civil society

an environment designed to enhance the autonomy

of society in relation to the state. Attempts are being

made to increase the autonomy of corporations,

labor unions, universities, the media, and civic

associations. The role of civil society is to be a so-

cially integrative factor and advocate of democracy.

The process of reconciliation should take place within

civil society (non-governmental organizations’ ac-

tivities associated with the truth and reconciliation

process, working within local communities to re-

store inter-ethnic relations and reconciliation) to

institute a culture of peace and tolerance (NGOs

concerned with peace education and those engaged

in inter-religious dialogue); to promote a culture

of democracy (alternative movements, youth asso-

ciations, training for the youth groups of various

political parties, education in civism); to develop

environmental awareness (work on the protection

of the environment); and to promote a culture of

values (associations engaged in the protection of

the cultural heritage, intercultural exchanges).

The first women’s organizations were civic peace

groups, humanitarian organizations concerned

with psychosocial support for women who had

been raped and abused, refugees, displaced per-

sons, and war widows, and women’s rights ad-

vocacy groups. Following the first free pre-war

elections, women effectively vanished from the offi-

cial scene, from political electoral bodies and the

executive authorities in all the successor states of

former Yugoslavia. Faced with political marginal-

ization, subject to violence, importuning for the

rights they had gained under socialism (economic,

social, and cultural as well as reproductive rights),

women became the leading actors in civil society

and NGOs. The constant work of women’s NGOs

can be monitored. Organizations that began work

during the war with rape victims and abused

women continued working on ways to protect

women from violence in the family, combating traf-

ficking in women, and providing protection for

abused women. Organizations that advocated

women’s rights in political and public life are still

active in this field, promoting women in politics

and political education, conducting campaigns for

women politicians and NGOs to work together.

Organizations that began by providing psycho-

social aid are now focusing on women’s health,

reproductive rights, aid for disabled women and for

elderly, helpless women. Women’s groups pro-

moting women’s rights are still active in this field,

with education and training programs, organizing

women’s studies and advocating the right to sexual

orientation and human rights in general.