On March 27, 2014, Sarajevo Open Centre unveiled to the European delegation its written submission to the Women’s Rights Progress Report in front of the Women’s Network. The contribution was completed with cooperation from the CURE Foundation, Rights for All, the Helsinki Parliament of Citizens of Banja Luka, Women for Women Sarajevo, UDIK, and kolektiv.ba.

The contribution covers the areas of legislation and politics, education and economic inclusion, minorities (Roma, LGT, returnees, sex workers and drug users) and social inclusion, political participation and public life, violence against women and girls, sex crimes during wartime and human trafficking.

Women in BiH are still subject to much discrimination and are still not legally equal to men, although formal legislation and public politics regarding the defense of women’s rights in BiH has significantly improved over the last years. Real change in practice is very slow, and the dialogue between the government and CSOs that deal with promotion and defense of women’s rights is still far from satisfactory.

For details and a summary of the state of women’s rights in BiH, the contribution is accessible in English at this link.