Tuzla, 8 December 2021
The Council for Gender Equality at the University of Tuzla
The Council for Gender Equality at the University of Tuzla was established on 10 November 2021 by the decision of the Senate. The Council was established as an initiative within the UNIGEM project implemented by the TPO Foundation together with universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region.
The Council consists of a seven-member team consisting of Jasmina Husanović, PhD, Full Professor as coordinator and member of the Council, as well as male and female members of the Council Vesna Bratovčić, PhD, Associate Professor Ljubica Tomić-Selimović, PhD, Associate Professor Dženeta Omerdić, PhD, Associate Professor Damir Arsenijević, PhD, Full Professor Melinda Botalić, PhD, Assistant Professor, and Expert Associate Nađa Salkić.
The Council has organized first activities as part of the ”16-day activity to combat violence against women” during training seminars that were carried out by individual members of the Council, and through various events and multimedia materials provided by students of University of Tuzla.
We talked with Professor Jasmina Husanović about the purpose of the Council for Gender Equality at the University of Tuzla.
„First of all, the goal of the Council is to strengthen all institutional mechanisms at the University that will guarantee gender equality and the prevention of gender discrimination and violence. Our first activities are related to 16 days of activism, but the most important ones concern extensive research at all universities involved in the program, from which we will get a good picture of the situation at universities in terms of gender equality and gender discrimination. On the basis of the research results, we as a University will also work on the development and adoption of an action plan for gender equality “, said Professor Husanović and added that the action plan is extremely important especially for projects implemented by University of Tuzla such as Erasmus+ program.
The Council for Gender Equality was established and it is clear to us that this problem exists in our society, that there is a problem of inequality and that there is a need for such a body to exist.
We spoke about this with Professor Melinda Botalić: „I think it is extremely important to talk about gender equality, but also about gender violence. This is one of the problems that happems at the global level. Gender-based violence is an obstacle to gender equality in any society, not just ours. By talking about this problem, we are actually raising awareness and, thus, working to prevent gender-based violence. This problem is one of the most common forms of human rights violations. The place and role of women are mostly conditioned by tradition and in some places there is a common opinion that a woman should be the guardian of the family. “, says Professor Melinda Botalić adds that gender-based violence is perpetrated against both men and women, but because of patriarchy it is still more dominant against women.
“Double standards for men and women, which are found in all spheres of society, culture, education, science, politics, do not represent a mitigating circumstance for women at all, because the subordinate position in which they find themselves is frustrating enough. We cannot allow gender-based violence to go unpunished. Gender equality implies the right to gender equality and the right to diversity, which is what we will strive for with this project “, explains Professor Botalić.
The project and cooperation that took place within the UNIGEM program lasts for four years, as we said at the beginning, workshops are the first activities of the Council. We took the opportunity to talk to Professor and Vice-Rector Vesna Bratovčić, who as a member of the Council was the leader of the workshop on “Gender Equality from the Perspective of Women with Disabilities” held at the University of Tuzla Campus. Professor Bratovčić reveals to us the importance of establishing the Gender Equality Council.
”The establishment of the Council is of great importance for the University of Tuzla and it is an official body, in this way the University express willingness to implement all that it has been undertaken as its commitment within the project. Through such a formal body, we now have complete freedom, legitimacy to work on issues of gender equality and prevention of sexual violence at the University institutionally, procedurally and systematically, “said Vice Rector Bratovčić.
This is just one of the activities followed by research, education for male and female students, professors, the administration staff of the University of Tuzla with an aim of raising awareness and preventing gender-based violence and discrimination. Also soon you will have the opportunity to follow the content on our site created by female students of the Department of Journalism, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Tuzla.
Female students of the Department of Journalism:
Almedina Hrnjić, Amina Žigić, Almedina Suljić, Midheta Hadžić i Aleksandra Đukić