Organized by the Women's Movement of the Una-Sana Canton (USK), a protest was held yesterday in Bihać regarding femicide and violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The last one happened seven days ago in Gradačac, when Nermin Sulejmanović killed his ex-partner Nizama Hećimović, who a few days earlier had reported him to the police due to violence, and two other people.
From the USK Women's Movement, it was announced that the government did not take any concrete action regarding their demands from October 14, 2022, Radio Free Europe (RSE) reported.
"After the murder of our fellow citizen Edina Odobašić on October 11, 2022, we organized the 'Our pain is your shame' protests in Bihać and 19 other cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 14. One of the demands was that femicide be legally defined in the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The authorities did not respond to any request," Enisa Raković, director of the "Voice of Women" organization, which organized the protests with the Women's Movement, told RSE.
According to the data of the BiH Gender Equality Agency, more than 60 women have been killed since 2015
Edina Odobasic (32) from Bihać was strangled by her husband Enis Odobasic in the center of that city. He hanged himself after that. They are survived by a minor child.
The USK women's movement demanded that the legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina be harmonized with the Istanbul Convention, to which this country is a signatory. They demanded from the authorities to ensure the prevention and protection of women from violence through a multi-sector protocol, which Raković says "exists on paper, but in practice women are killed."
"We asked our institutions to protect all women who report violence and to investigate all possible indications that violence is happening somewhere, as a matter of official duty. In the end, we asked for the development of a national strategy on the prevention of violence against women. The authorities did not respond and we witness various forms of violence against women every day," Raković said.
They repeated their demands at a peaceful gathering after the murder of Nizama Hećimović in Gradačac.
The informal group of the United Women of Bosnia and Herzegovina called on all women to protest and block the streets on August 21, with the messages "If women stop, everything stops" and "No one is free until we are all free."
Nermin Sulejmanović killed father and son Đengiz and Denis Onder, also from Gradačac. He seriously wounded their mother and wife Harissa Onder. He broadcast the murder live on his Instagram profile, which was later removed, and during the police action he committed suicide. On the same day, citizens' protests against the violence caused by the triple murder in Gradačac were held in several cities of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
RSE states that there are no single statistics on the number of femicides and violence against women in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
According to data from the BiH Agency for Gender Equality, which collected data from judicial institutions and non-governmental organizations, more than 2015 women have been killed since 60.
The informal group of the United Women of Bosnia and Herzegovina called on all women to protest and block the streets on Monday, August 21, with the messages "If women stop, everything stops" and "None is free until we are all free."
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