September 08, 2022

Bosnia tries to fight the male dominance in politics

topic:	Women's rights
located:	Bosnia and Herzegovina
editor:	Katarina Panić

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the pre-election campaign once again spotlighted discrimination toward women in politics. Typically, as election cycles advance, and voting days approach, the visibility and presence of female politicians in public decrease; this is part of a broader process of marginalisation of women in public life.

Several things harm women’s election results. Firstly, patriarchy originates from the five centuries of Ottoman rule in this region and is still deeply rooted in the cultural mindset of the people, maybe even as passive misogyny. Secondly, male politicians apply the technique of gender dominance to eliminate their female colleagues. Thirdly, the media repeatedly emphasises gender stereotypes about women in politics. 

The law defines the quota for the participation of women on electoral lists as at least 40 percent, while in the previous election, 23.8 percent of women were elected. This is below the European average of 26 percent and only slightly above the world average of 23.4 percent.

The campaign for the election started on 2 September. That same day, one Banja Luka-based web portal published an article named “Playing with Photoshop!” in which two female candidates for high-level positions in the governing system were exposed to scorn because of their edited billboard pictures. 

“The media space deserves to be a space for freedom of speech, but it should not be used to comment on politicians’ physical appearances,” the public body for gender equality stated in its press release. “With offending content like this, they are presented in a disparaging and stereotypical way, which confirms the fact that women in our society are discriminated against in all areas, especially in public and political life and on several grounds.” 

They condemned offensive, stereotypical and derogatory ways of representing women who are candidates in the election. They also launched the campaign "Elect EQUALLY!" and called on all to refrain from discrimination. 

Among the candidates postulating for the general election, which will take place on 2 October, 40 percent are women.

“I always feel I am tolerated, not accepted, especially not as an equal,” one of the female politicians told FairPlanet. “An atmosphere has been created as if I should be grateful for the position I achieved through politics. As if the men gave me that position - not that I won it myself.”

Photo by Arnaud Jaegers

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