The political participation of women in Montenegro is accompanied by patriarchal attitudes, prejudices, but also numerous evasions of legal regulations, which hinder their activism, was evaluated at the forum "Political picture of Montenegro: Real or pretended democracy", organized by the Civic Alliance (GA).
GA program director Milan Radović said that this year, in addition to the 22nd generation of the School of Political Studies, the students of the first generation of the Academy for Women in Politics, whose program is mainly dedicated to local topics, will start working.
Head of the Program Office of the Council of Europe in Podgorica, Lejla Dervišagić, said that this year the Council of Europe is celebrating 75 years since its foundation, which is an opportunity to see what the member states have done to date and what can still be done to preserve common values.
As announced by the GA, she pointed out that the central topic of the Forum - gender equality, is very important for the pace of democratic development in Montenegro.
Member of the Democratic Party of Socialists Zoja Bojanić Lalović, at the panel "Women in Parliament: A game of numbers or real influence", said that it depends on women how they will be treated in a certain political organization.
She pointed out that Montenegrin society still believes that a woman's place is in the home, not in politics.
Bosniak Party MP Edina Dešić assessed that democracy in Montenegro, although it is still in the transition phase, is maturing and that progress can be seen compared to ten years earlier.
"When we look at all branches of government, we can say that we have never had a woman as president or prime minister, those positions remained unattainable for a woman and we should work on that," said Dešić.
Minister of Sports and Youth Dragoslav Šćekić pointed out that today it is very difficult for women to engage in politics, because they are exposed to various pressures and brutal behavior, which can be seen through various comments on social networks.
"Women are needed in politics, they have space, but solidarity, respect, culture and the need to treat each other with goodwill are necessary, because that's the only way we will achieve better results," said Šćekić.
The President of the State Election Commission, Nikola Mugoša, stated that he drew attention to deviations in the previous period related to the non-fulfillment of legal obligations that at least 30 percent of women should be represented on the electoral list.
According to him, women in the Montenegrin parliament have made a significant step forward with the establishment of the Women's Club.
Mugoša believes that a systemic and not an individual response to the "satanization" they experience on social networks is needed.
"The panelists also assessed that the development of digital platforms has led to the hyperproduction of online stigmatization of women, with the aim of silencing their voice in the public space," the statement says.
It was announced at the forum that the Media Literacy Strategy is a necessary tool, with which society will act preventively against the negative phenomena brought about by the digital age.
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