Remembering the Women of Bosnia-Herzegovina

we need to tell the stories “The women of Bosnia were defiant, courageous, and brave during the war because they kept their children alive. They were holding on to the future by holding their children’s hands…So we – the children of these courageous women- have to open our hearts and souls, and we need to tell the stories…it is the least I can do for my mother, my sisters and the women of Bosnia and Herzegovina” - Elmina Kulasic

The Experiences of Women in Conflict During the Bosnian war, 10,368 women of all ethnicities and faiths lost their lives Bosnian women experienced the war in greatly varied ways according to ethnicity, faith, class, age, and importantly location. Rural villages and city centres experienced violence unevenly Women in particular were subjected to extreme and widespread sexual violence Women who survived the war and genocide, are left to pick up the pieces, bury their dead, and struggle for justice

Historical Context: the break- up of Yugoslavia and civil war Decline of communism and a rise in nationalism The six republics of former Yugoslavia disintegrated into civil war in In Bosnia-Herzegovina three dominant groups emerged: Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims); Bosnian Serb nationalists ; Bosnian Croat nationalists Fighting broke out. In particular, Serb nationalist forces waged a co- ordinated campaign of ‘ethnic cleansing’ intended to create a ‘Greater Serbian’ territory.

Women living through war Women living through war Tom Stoddart, Reportage by Getty Images

“I didn’t carry any weapons but I did fight: with my defiance, my dignity, and my refusal to run ” Photograph by Tom Stoddart/Getty Images

Diverse women, different experiences Morten Hvaal /Felix Features

Wartime violence against women “Sexual violence is used to destroy lives, tear apart communities and achieve military objectives, in just the same way that tanks and bullets are” William Hague, 2013 Photo by Kate Holt

Photograph: Velija Hasanbegović

Sexual Violence as Crime Against Humanity 1992: UN Security Council declared the "massive, organized and systematic detention and rape of women, in particular Muslim women, in Bosnia and Herzegovina" an international crime that must be addressed. 1993: the Statute of the ICTY included rape as a crime against humanity, alongside other crimes such as torture and extermination, when committed in armed conflict and directed against a civilian population. 1998: the ICTR became the first international court to find an accused person guilty of rape as a crime of genocide (used to perpetrate genocide) 2001: the ICTY became the first international court to find an accused person guilty of rape as a crime against humanity. 2002: the ICC Rome Statute stipulates that rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or "any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity" as a crime against humanity when it is committed in a widespread or systematic way

The Struggle for Justice Crime Against Humanity In 2002, 3 Bosnian Serb army officers were found guilty of rape charges of such a nature that rape was declared to constitute a Crime Against Humanity. Yet although sexual violence was a well-known and systemic feature of the war, there has been slow and limited progress in the national courts Sexual violence in conflict continues across the world and social and communal attitudes need to change along with the laws that are now in place.

Women’s NGOs and Rehabilitation

Post-Conflict, Post-Genocide Gender Issues “…I buried them in 2008 at the Potocari Memorial Centre. I finally returned to my village in 2009, and now live on my own in the house that we all once lived in happily together. There is certainly life after such suffering, but there’s never any joy.” - Saliha Osmanović, who lost her husband and son in the genocide

Picking up the pieces Picking up the pieces… Like in many other post-conflict societies, survivors of war and genocide in Bosnia face multiple and compounding challenges: Recovering bodies Recovering bodies domestic violence A continuum of violence –domestic violence Povertyunemployment Poverty and high levels of unemployment Mental illness Mental illness, notably Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Women and Activism

Remarkable Women Munira Subašić – President of the Mothers Association of Srebrenica Sabiha Husić –Director of Medica Zenica, and Islamic theologian Bakira Hasečić - President of the Association of Women Victims of War Nusreta Sivac - In 2005, survivor and activist was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize

As an organisation Remembering Srebrenica is dedicated to raising awareness and learning lessons from the genocide committed at Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina in Part- funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government, we promote: -The EU-mandated Srebrenica Memorial Day on 11th July. -'Lessons from Srebrenica' visits to Bosnia and Herzegovina to learn from the genocide and its lasting impact on the survivors, victims' families, and society more broadly. -Public awareness with the aim of promoting good community relations and rejecting hatred and its causes.