Gender focal points make a difference in Serbia and Montenegro

But gender focal points, part of a larger programme of the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, are starting to make a difference. Across 54 municipalities, they are initiating activities that support and promote women and are raising the public's awareness of gender equality.

Workshops stimulate ideas

Though most women in the country are highly educated, they hold only 10 per cent of political decision-making positions. Vojvodina has the highest number of female representatives in the municipal assembly - 12 out of 67 - but not one of them holds a more prominent post.

Through regular meetings and training workshops, gender focal points share their ideas and experiences as well as discuss the current situation of women's participation in politics and society. 

"After OSCE training workshops for gender focal points," says Zorica Grujic, focal point in Loznica, "my colleagues would comment on material we brought back with us. Soon, the number of comments such as 'The training is all well and good, but we are in the Balkans' dropped and more and more of my colleagues began to realize possibilities for joint activities."

Knjazevac focal point Jasmina Krstic also finds the workshops invaluable: "I think that the knowledge I gained is something one cannot get in school, university or any other institution. I plan to implement what I have learned in everyday practice.

"I will also encourage my children's school to discuss gender equality in the same way the workshops present it," she adds.

Off to a good start

Zorica Mrsevic, Democratization Officer for Gender Issues at the OSCE Mission, describes the situation on the ground before the start of the project: "When we first began organizing gender focal points in Serbia in 2002, we foresaw several possible problems. What if an official were to ask: 'Since there is no law calling for gender focal points, does the project have legal grounds?'"

"The municipalities could have also turned us down with questions such as: 'Why our municipality? We are among the poorest and face more pressing problems right now'."

Despite these concerns, municipalities were enthusiastic from the start. Although the project did not call for new posts - only for new responsibilities to be added to existing positions - several people were ready to take up the challenge.

"Being a man, in the beginning, I saw this initiative as it related to the future of my daughters," says Sasa Lazarevic, focal point in Krusevac. "I later realized that without men's understanding and support, the issue of gender equality would remain marginalized.

"Only with men as allies, and with the leadership of women, will gender equality attain the political weight it deserves," he adds.

The project included 15 municipalities when it began, with 15 more added in the second year. Though the Mission had planned to stop expanding after two years, municipalities outside the network, particularly in Vojvodina and Eastern Serbia, showed such initiative that it changed its plans.

A model for co-operation

The Vojvodina municipality of Sombor has been a model of co-operation in combating violence against women. Its focal point has created a network of local institutions to assist victims of violence. The network includes the municipality, the Centre for Social work, police, courts and medical institutions, and it deploys teams which deal with specific family issues, such as violence towards women and children, alcoholism in family and so on.

In addition, working with local civil society groups in a number of municipalities has shown concrete results, such as a new shelter for battered women in Bor. In Velika Plana, members of the judiciary recently completed a gender-based violence awareness course, and in Kikinda, a Centre for Businesswomen was created.

In more than 20 municipalities, a "Women Can Do It" programme for political empowerment is being implemented with the help of local non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Future recommendations

The future of the project depends on the will of gender focal points to initiate activities in their municipalities and to encourage their local administrations to become model employers that do not discriminate on the basis of gender.

The draft law on gender equality, which will go to Parliament before the end of 2005, would call on municipalities to create gender commissions as permanent municipal bodies, or at least to establish co-ordinators for gender equality.

Most importantly, municipalities need to understand that even the smallest steps they take can contribute immensely to raising awareness of the issue.

"Before the OSCE project was initiated, we thought gender equality was exclusively in the domain of NGOs. Now, we've realized that local administration can play an important role," says Dzenana Hamidovic, focal point for Novi Pazar.