The Ombudspersons of Bosnia and Herzegovina Jasminka Džumhur, Nives Jukić and Nevenko Vranješ congratulated March 8, International Women’s Day, but also reminded that there are still many challenges in the field of achieving gender equality and improving the position of women in the BiH society.
So far, ombudspersons have dealt with several cases in which the allegations of complaints indicated a violation of gender equality, and more specifically, the fact that women who remained in a different state were faced with a violation of their rights from the employment relationship, as well as the fact that cohabitation does not enjoy de facto the same degree of protection as a married union in terms of the realization of certain property rights, such as the right to maintenance or inheritance of joint property, it was announced from that institution.
The statement reads that it is therefore important to emphasize that, despite significant progress, women’s economic inequality is still at the root of all other forms of violation of women’s rights based on gender, their marital and family status, and maternity.
In the process of protection against gender-based discrimination, the Law on Gender Equality in BiH established mechanisms that are used in cases of this type, which also includes criminal-legal protection, while Ombudspersons take measures on citizen complaints in accordance with the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination.
The Ombudspersons state that this date is an opportunity to review the progress made and call for changes, including a change in the way of thinking about the roles of women and men in society, without which there is no true respect for women’s human rights.
The ombudspersons, therefore, call for additional efforts to ensure equality and the enjoyment of all rights, especially the participation of women in public life in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Gender Equality of BiH, and call on the competent authorities to take measures, including affirmative activities, to ensure this principle.
The Ombudspersons especially emphasize the importance of taking measures to prevent violence against women, including violence through information and communication technologies, hate speech, etc.
