The Fifth National Conference of the Women’s Parliamentary Network, attended by 360 women members of the National Assembly and the Assembly of AP Vojvodina and councilwomen from over 90 municipal and city assemblies from all over Serbia, focusing this year on combating violence against women, passing a law on gender equality, the economic empowerment of women in rural areas, women’s health and the relationship between women and the environment, was opened by the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia Maja Gojkovic.

Gojkovic said that Serbia had in the previous period made some progress as regards improving the legislative framework ensuring the equal representation of women and men in political life, established the institutional gender equality mechanisms and raised the visibility of problems affecting women, especially violence against women.

The Parliament Speaker illustrated the above-mentioned by saying that today the Assembly boasts 91 women members, the Government is headed by a woman, as are the National Bank of Serbia and the Constitutional Court, but emphasized that we cannot rest on our laurels because the consistent application of the principle of gender equality requires constant efforts.

Speaking of upcoming challenges, Gojkovic said that only 6.6% of mayors and municipal presidents in Serbia are women, the employment rate of women remains lower than that of men by astounding 14% and women are still paid less than men.

The National Assembly Speaker said that she expected the new gender equality legislation which the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs is drafting would be modern and applicable in practice, stressing that it is very important for our society to get a law that will be more than just empty words, a solution applicable all over Serbia – not just in Belgrade, but in all the cities and municipalities.

The Parliament Speaker said that in the first six months of its implementation the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence had given significant results resulting in 7,500 urgent measures which bar the perpetrators’ access to their victims. Gojkovic also reminded the attending that the Serbian Assembly had passed the Law on Financial Support to Families with Children yesterday which, among other things, gives women who are not fully employed, first and foremost women in rural areas who work on the land and women employed under occasional service and temporary service contracts, the right to maternity allowance.

The attending were also addressed by Aleksandra Jerkov, coordinator of the Women’s Parliamentary Network, who listed the problems women still face discrimination-wise. Women in Serbia still have problems finding employment or getting promoted if they plan to have children and the system still fails to support them if they decide they will not suffer violence in their relationships, they still have trouble getting loans, having property transferred in their name, do not have the same access to advancements, official posts or jobs, women are discriminated against even in the educational system and in textbooks. “If we do not speak out about these problems, how we need a law on gender equality and what this should contain, if we do not speak about women’s equality everywhere, even if there’s a political price to pay, we are not doing right by the women who voted for us”, said Jerkov. She added that women parliamentarians’ loyalties lie with women first and their parties second and women MPs have to rise above everything that has characterized the Parliament’s work this year.

Ambassador Andrea Orizio, Head of the OSCE Mission in Serbia, said that the OSCE has been supporting the Women’s Parliamentary Network for five years running, adding that the WPN should belong to the country and its citizens. The WPN is a very powerful mechanism for the empowerment of women in Serbia and the entire society. “Women make up one third of the National Assembly, but I do not think that is enough. Gender equality is an unending process which requires constant work in all the aspects of society”. The Network’s number one achievement is managing to introduce the question of gender into all the laws passed by the National Assembly, a question that unites all the political parties and all the citizens. The Ambassador stressed that the biggest work this year was done on strengthening the role of women in rural areas.

Swedish Ambassador to Serbia H.E. Jan Lundin, guest at the Conference, spoke about the Kingdom of Sweden’s feminist foreign policy.

Ministry representatives spoke about the results achieved in their respective scopes of activity. Dr Biljana Stojkovic of the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Anti-Discriminatory Policy and Gender Equality Sector, Gorjana Mircic Calukovic of the Ministry of Justice, Dr Jasmina Kiurski of the Republic Public Prosecutor’s Office, as well as Jasmina Puhaca and Stefan Milijanovic of the Ministry of the Interior talked about the effects of the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence.

Their exposition was followed by four panel discussions: “Gender equality – from draft to bill”, “Women and the environment”, “Economic empowerment of women, women in rural areas”, and “Women’s health”, led by MPs Gordana Comic, Jamina Karanac, Nada Lazic and Vera Paunovic, and Sanda Raskovic Ivic.