"Men have a hard time accepting that there are more women in decision-making positions. Even if some of them reach those positions, due to the legally prescribed participation of women in political and social life, the opinion of men is favored".
The coordinator of the Feniks Women's Organization in Berane, Fatima Međedović-Begović, is convinced of this.
That rule also applies, she believes, when it comes to the representation of members of minority nations.
"However, women slowly but surely want to be noticed, visible, because they have knowledge, rational decision-making and sensitivity," says Međedović-Begović for Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG).
The municipalities of Pljevlja, Berane and Petnjica do not differ from the rest of the local governments in the north of Montenegro in the political participation of women, especially those from national minorities.
Their participation in decision-making places is insufficient, and in some cases only in traces - CIN-CG research showed.
Slower than in other parts of the country, it seems, women manage to impose their initiative in the sphere of civic activism.
The non-governmental organization of Fatima Međedović-Begović is only one of only four that deal with women's issues, among a total of 192 NGOs registered in the Beran area.
Even after several calls and emails sent to the Municipality of Berane, CIN-CG did not receive answers to questions about the position of women in the political life of this city. According to data available on the website of the Municipality, 35 out of 11 seats in the Assembly are occupied by women, of which only one is a member of a minority nation. Eight women are involved in the work of six parliamentary committees.
There are three presidents of the board, for statute and regulations, finance, economy and development, as well as for social activities.
It is interesting that the Committee for Statutes and Regulations has the most women and only one man, while there are none in the working bodies for planning and spatial planning and communal-housing activities, as well as for inter-municipal and international cooperation.
The positions of president and secretary in the Assembly are held by men.
Fatima Međedović-Begović says that, according to her knowledge, there is only one woman from national minorities in a position from which she can make decisions - the director of the Health Center, Dr. Zuhra Hadrović.
"Women from minority nations, Muslim-Bosniak women from Beran, come to the fore in political or social life depending on who is in power. No attention is paid to the ability and desire of young, college-educated women. Their employment is also in short supply," notes Međedović. - Begovic.
In the Local Activity Plan for the Development of Gender Equality in Berane for the period from 2019 to 2022, it is stated that, with the support of the OSCE Mission in Montenegro, a memorandum was signed with ten municipalities back in December 2008.
This included, among other things, the appointment of the Council for Gender Equality as a parliamentary body.
Offices with this aim were established in six municipalities. One of them is Berane, where such a body has existed since 2011.
On the website of the municipality, it says that the president is Spomenka Ćalović, who is also one of the councilors.
This Council did not respond to CIN-CG's questions about the representation of women in decision-making bodies either.
In the aforementioned plan, the discouraging results of the research are stated - citizens are not sufficiently familiar with the Law on Gender Equality, as well as with the plan to achieve it.
"Lack of family and community support, indecisiveness, fear of being the target of unfounded and inappropriate criticism, are just some of the reasons why women in Berane have a hard time deciding to participate in political life. If they are in front of parties and involved, they resort to methods of obedience to men. In that, women's solidarity is also lost, which men use," explains Međedović-Begović.
The secretary of the Secretariat for General Administration, Amra Strujić, points out the low level of representation of women in certain segments of local government in Pljevlje, such as the Protection and Rescue Service and the Municipal Police, in an interview for CIN-CG.
In the bodies, special and professional services of the Municipality of Pljevlja, according to its data, out of a total of 245 employees, 125 are female employees.
Only twenty of them are members of minority nations.
"The Assembly of the Municipality of Pljevlja has a total of 35 councilors, of which 10 are women. Of the 11 parliamentary working bodies, seven are assembly committees and four are councils. Only one councilor is the chairwoman of the committee, and the same situation is when it comes to councils," says Strujić. .
Of the 16 bodies, special and professional services that exist organizationally in Pljevlja, seven are headed by women.
They perform the tasks of high-management staff, and among them are three members of minority nations.
The service of the Municipal Assembly of Pljevlja has 11 employees.
"The office is managed by a secretary and she is a member of minority nations, and of the remaining 10, eight are female employees, among them one is a member of minority nations," according to Amre Strujić.
"Very few women from the north are involved in socio-political life. When it comes to members of national minorities, their participation is more based on the local level, through the NGO sector and similar social engagement. Prejudices faced by women who would like to give their contribution to society through political engagement is, above all, the established opinion that politics is primarily a man's job. Through emancipation, albeit slowly, we are slowly fighting for women to be not only "in the house", but also an active participant in the decision-making process," he told CIN -CG Sandra Milićević, graduate in law and one of the participants of the training for empowering women to contribute to social cohesion within the regional Dialogue for the Future program.
In Petnjica, from which they also did not answer CIN-CG's questions, according to data from the municipality's website, ten of the 31 councilor seats in the local parliament are occupied by women.
The entire assembly consists of members of national minorities, Bosniaks and Muslims, who make up the majority of the population in this city. All important positions, from the president of the municipality and the assembly, all the way to the chief administrator - are reserved for men.
Symbolically, only three presidential positions of the working bodies in the committees for statute and regulations, for social activities, and for gender equality went to women.
Amina Cikotić, a resident of Petnji and president of the SDP Youth Forum, believes that in the municipalities in the north, especially in her place, there is very little representation of women in decision-making positions, and that this is one of the reasons why it is difficult to get official data on this.
"Except in Gusinje, we do not have women in the post of municipal president at the moment. The local self-government is aware that it is not commendable that they do not have members of the less represented gender in leadership positions, bearing in mind that there are those who are highly educated, ready and capable, and yes, at the same time, they cannot come to the fore. We are not yet ready to fundamentally advocate for it as a society," says Cikotić.
Although the majority of political parties programmatically advocate for women's gender equality and their greater involvement in political life and decision-making, both at the state and local levels, she assesses that practice does not confirm this.
"As a party, SDP can boast of supporting women in this sense, bearing in mind that we had the president of the Municipality of Kolašin from our ranks, as well as the fact that we have a president of the party and a president of the Youth Forum," she says.
Fatima Međedović-Begović points out that a woman who has responsibilities at work and in the family, without preconditions that would make it easier for her, such as kindergarten work in two shifts and the like, easily gives up on political activities.
"It's a great pity. Men have a strange motto for involving women in politics – Are they capable? Who asks about men's capability, in every matter, then when they decide to engage in politics? Individuals do it without measure and ethical code", points out the coordinator of Feniks.
According to Cikotić, one of the major problems faced by women in the north is the deep-rooted understanding that a woman must raise children and be devoted to the family, and that it is not for her to engage in politics.
"A woman is considered weak and insufficiently prepared to make political decisions. In this way, her self-confidence is shaken, and the desire for such a life is reduced. That is why it is very important to work on their encouragement, support and motivation to show their abilities," she says.
According to Sandra Milićević, the presence of women in political life is influenced primarily by factors of a personal nature: "In addition, existing political factors, the number of parties in representative bodies, the number of candidates on the electoral lists, even though now political parties are for greater representation of women on the lists, which is necessary for the democracy of a society...".
In order to improve the position of women in political life, according to Fatima Međedović-Begović, more education and training should be provided.
"It is necessary for women to publicly express their position and opinion. It is necessary to create an infrastructure for young, talented mothers to get involved, not only in politics, but in every form of public activity. Great support is also needed from the family. But also from the woman - to women. Without a change in consciousness and the understanding that politics means everyday life, there is no progress. Prejudices and a patriarchal environment prevent women from becoming more actively involved in the political life of the environment. We need to put an end to tribal ties and give a chance to capable, self-aware, women with an attitude." , says Međedović-Begović.
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