The Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabić, spoke to the Belgrade-based Pride magazine about her sexual orientation and the discrimination she experiences.
As reported by Blic, she was aware that being gay would be something that people would comment on, but it didn't bother her because she thought that it would change Serbia to learn how to accept differences.
"I hoped that it would help some other people to feel more comfortable in their own skin, to find the courage to live their own lives. However, it was a challenge that at the very beginning it was talked about much more than my professional resume and competences which are still the only ones relevant to the job that the then Prime Minister invited me to do," said Brnabić.
She reveals how people in Serbia welcome her intimately, without throwing insults or insults, even the older and more traditional ones.
"The so-called elite are calling me names"
"However, there were insults and name-calling exactly where I did not expect them, from the so-called democratic and European elite.
I did not expect and I was truly surprised that I received, and still receive, the greatest insults and inappropriate comments from the so-called 'democratic' and 'European' elite, among which the names of 'gay prime minister' or questions such as 'do they have gay prime ministers' stand out some special treatment in prison or the same as everyone else'.
Both of these comments came from people who in the past presented themselves as extremely liberal, but the real truth is obviously much different," says the Serbian Prime Minister.
She also adds that she suffers discrimination from political dissidents and that there are hardly any names that have not been used for her: "From the gay prime minister, to the fact that they don't know whether to address me as Mr. or Miss, to the fact that they call me brother or boyfriend, Pantela , sultana..."
"I hope they will get used to the fact that we are all the same"
"But good. My hope is that they will 'crack' on me, that they will slowly get used to the fact that there is no difference in a person, in their human qualities or lack thereof, that we are all the same and equal in that sense, regardless of whether someone 'straight' or LGBT, that over time it will cease to be taboo and interesting, that with too frequent and too rough use, that blade towards other people will become dull," says Brnabić and adds that there is no dilemma about whether her sexual orientation should remain hidden, and that she is grateful to her partner who agreed to accompany her in this.
Bonus video:
