Opposite to international conventions treating issues related to gender equality, there are retrograde and negative effects occurring in our town in this regard. Instead of working to achieve the much-needed equality between women and men in the management of public affairs, at this point we can conclude that there is ongoing process of elimination of the few women in management positions. Since the beginning of the mandate of the new local and cantonal authorities, there has been a reduction in the number of women in leading positions in public and political life. We ask the municipal and cantonal authorities to review all cases where women were dismissed from public and political life, and men were allocated in their positions. We request implementation of the Law on Gender Equality and the Action Plan for Gender Equality of Tuzla municipality. Although Project “Promoting gender equality by Tuzla Municipal Council” was adopted on 31 October 2013, there are still no significant changes in favor of gender equality. We want to believe that these events are the consequence of an unintended and insufficient gender awareness, and not really a true desire to eliminate women from the public sphere of action and management.
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Women’s lobby group Tuzla was established in 2013, on the basis of need for collective action of all interested women in Tuzla Canton who want to solve the burning problem of diminishing the representation of gender equality in BiH society. It was created as part of the Project “Women’s Education Center” and to this date has brought together eight members (with the aim of further enlargement), women who are active in various political parties, as well as women who have their activities directed in the non-governmental sector and active participation in political and cultural life. The activities of the Women’s Lobby Groups are dictated only by its members, which have excellent cooperation with other women’s advocacy groups and (in)formal women’s associations across the country.
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