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Email this citationCIAO DATE: 02/03
Women's Organizations and the Building of Civil Society. A Balkan Perspective: The Case of Bulgaria, Croatia and Macedonia
Genoveva Tisheva
December 2000
Abstract
The year is 2000, and it is the right time to assess the role and progress of women' s non-governmental organizations from the Balkan region ten years after the beginning of democratization processes in Central and Eastern Europe and five years after the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.
During totalitarian times there was no real civil society and no opportunities for an impact of the voluntary sector and women' s organizations. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, and with the start of the new democratic processes, civil society emerged as an essential element of a pluralistic society. In the last few years, during post-communism, particularly in the Balkans, we have witnessed the eruption of nationalism and ethnic conflicts. As a result , during the period of political and economic transition, many human rights and women' s rights NGOs have been established and marked the beginning of a new human rights movement in the region. For the last eight to ten years, women' s NGOs have addressed all the burning issues in our region, for example, violence against women (violence during war included), poverty alleviation, reproductive rights, children' s and minorities' rights, care for the disabled and the elderly, charity initiatives, refugees' rights and support, victims' relief, counseling , women's health. Relatively new issues are: political participation of women and women' s leadership.
Croatia
Croatia faces specific problems caused by war and approximately half a million displaced persons and refugees, by the huge influence of the Catholic Church, and by the special privileged status imposed on the family by the Croatian Constitution.
A large number of women' s NGOs were established during war time for the support of displaced persons, refugees, children, disabled people, war invalids, and families of fallen soldiers, and for reuniting families, and collecting and distributing humanitarian aid. The Centre for Women War Victims, established in December 1992, is doing impressive work for building and rebuilding civil society. The Centre offers counselling, accommodation, legal and practical support, team-building and training. A total of 11,000 women have been recipients of group or individual counseling or other means of support during the Centre's seven years of work.
One of the most active NGOs, founded in 1994, is called BaBe (be active be emancipated). BaBe runs projects like:
Legaline
, a Legal Advice Hotline, providing legal advice to women in need and informing them about mechanisms for the protection of women's human rights;
Monitorine
, a project that monitors and lobbies for legal practices and changes in the law in Croatia; and
Elektorine
, a project for monitoring and influencing the 1999 electoral campaign for parliamentary elections.
Following the tradition of 1995 and 1997 from previous elections, B.a.B.e. reactivated the Women's Ad Hoc Coalition for Monitoring and Influencing Elections '99. The percentage of women in the House of Representatives increased from 7,5% to 21%, due to the work of women's groups.
Macedonia
Macedonia was a poor country without philanthropic traditions and institutions. Under the socialist rule of the last 50 years, independent, citizen-based initiatives were discouraged in Macedonia.
A characteristic of Macedonian society that influences the NGO community structure is the large ethnic and religious minority population of the country. A basic characteristic of the work of women' s NGOs is tolerance, which has historical roots.
Umbrella-type organisations are typical for Macedonia, such as the Organisation of Women of Macedonia (OWM) and the Union of the Organisations of Women of Macedonia (UOWM). OWM implemented an educational project on the issues of tolerance entitled "World without Boundaries," which focused on the contributions of women to a more tolerant society.
UOWM, established in 1994 as a network of 45 independent women' s NGOs without difference of ethnicity, race, or nationality is involved in numerous advocacy and educational activities, for example education and training of women' s groups, psycho-social support of women in critical situations, victims of abuse, trafficking, women refugees, women in poverty, and women prisoners.
Bulgaria
During the period of transition the Bulgarian government could not avoid the negative effects of the economic transition on social protection, particularly among vulnerable groups. Most women' s NGOs started appearing in the period around the Beijing conference. Now there are more than 100 women's NGOs, rather issue oriented, more policy directed, with a penchant for education and awareness-raising activities. Women's groups in Bulgaria have reached a good conceptual level, and have a good human rights approach to women' issues.
In the field of violence against women, an issue left by the state completely to NGOs and foreign funders, the Animus Association and the Nadia Centre began direct counselling for women victims of violence. The Nadia Centre opened the first shelter for battered women and Animus is the national coordinator for LA STRADA, a programme against trafficking in women. The Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation and Gender Project for Bulgaria are two other NGOs active in the field of education against violence.
The Women's Alliance for Development (WAD), a networking NGO, conducted a campaign to increase women's participation in local elections in 1999. They broke the silence around the issue of parity, opened the debate in society, offered opportunities of further education and links with women's NGOs for women in politics or political candidates.
The focus of the Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation includes pro-active research in fields such as the social and economic rights of women, violence against women, and equal political participation. Even though they are not part of a national coalition or network, many women's NGOs in Bulgaria lobbied the government for the adoption of a law for equal opportunities and for establishing a national machinery for the advancement of women.
The main trends for the development of women' s NGOs in the region are enhancing regional cooperation and the decisive involvement of women' s NGOs in the reconstruction process. An example for cooperation was the first regional networking conference for South Eastern Europe "Women in the 21st Century: Overcoming Boundaries To Sustainable Development," held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 11 to 12 October 1998. The most important initiatives to emerge from the conference were enhancement of the role and responsibility of civil society in decision-making processes on international policy and regional security, mobilization for joint solutions to local problems, and education of women in leadership skills.
Another regional initiative with the participation of the Balkan countries is the KARAT Coalition, a network of women's organisations from Central and Eastern Europe that has contributed to the international exposure of many women from the region. Consolidation of civil society is among the priorities of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. A Gender Task Force was established under the First Working Table. It is a promising tool for fostering the participation of women's NGOs in the reconstruction process.
Further coordination and networking among the NGOs in the region and involvement in more global issues are needed. Additional funds for this cooperation have to be mobilized and allocated by European and other foreign donors.
