Women's feminist - antimilitarist peace organization

Reports

ACTIVITY REPORT January - May 2011.


As we have done in the past, we present a brief report on the activities of the Women in Black in this period and if you're interested in more information can be found on our website www.zeneucrnom.org or contact us via mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Thank you in advance for solidarity.

Street actions: In this reporting period, we organized the following anti-war, anti-militarist-feminist, anti-fascist, anti-racist, anti-homophobia actions:

Commemorations on the anniversaries of the crimes committed in our name:

March 11, Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Presence of Women in Black activists from Belgrade at the monthly commemoration (organised on the 11th of each month) at the Genocide Memorial Centre in Potocari / Srebrenica, organised by the relatives of those killed during the genocide.

April 12, Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina: invited by the Association of the family members of the victims, eight (8) WiB Network activists from Serbia attended the commemoration in Srebrenica – commemoration of the crime committed by the forces of Republika Srpska, n April 12, 1993, when the shells hit the school yard and killed 62 Bosniaks, mostly children, while 152 children were wounded. This crime has never been punished. Women in Black laid a wreath with the inscription “In memory of the crime - Women in Black, Serbia“.


Feminist – antimilitaristic actions:
February 28th, Belgrade - Peace action against the violence in Lybia: support for non violence protests in North Afrika and Middle East; the action is organised on the Republic Square in Belgrade.

March 8th, Belgrade – International Women’s Day: WiB organized the performance at the Republic Square and in front of the „Beogradjanka“ building, and the women's street march "For Women's Labour Rights"; march had approximately 150 participants, activists of Women in Black Serbia Network, and activists of women's autonomous groups and other civil society organisations of Belgrade. This year's street events and other activities on the occasion of 8th March were dedicated to women workers in the textile industry worldwide and in Serbia and to the international feminist solidarity.

March 23rd, Novi Bečej, Vojvodina: As an activity organised on the ocasion of The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Women in Black and Roma Women’s Network of Banat organised various activities entitled “Stop the racism aganst Roma population”. Street action started with antiracist street march, which was followed by a performance “Do you know?...”organised on a main city square, where the activists addressed (in Romani and Serbian) the citizens and city/state institutions, regarding extremely unfair able position of Roma population in Serbia. During the action, there was a stand where Roma men and women could get legal aid advices from a lawyer from YUCOM (The Committee of Lawyers for Human Rights), Belgrade. After the street march, the action is completed at the premises of the Roma Women's Network of Banat. The rest of the time passed in the discussion with Roma Women Network activists - two documentaries about the actions of solidarity with of Women in Black with Roma population were shown and . Around a hundred activists from Belgrade, Leskovac, Pancevo and Novi Bečej were involved in this action.

March 28th, Belgrade: Street protest „Stop the violence in Lybia”, in solidarity with nonviolent movements in Magreb countries and in the Middle East, held at the Republic Square in Belgrade.

Aprile 8th, Belgrade: Participation in a street performance organised by Women’s Space from Nis and Dah Theatre from Belgrade, on the occasion of teh International Roma Day.


Dealing with the past/ Transitional Justice – Feminist Approach
This is one of the most important activities of Women in Black. It consists of many segments: street actions, workshops, lectures, various models of transitional justice from a feminist point of view, cooperation with allied organizations in the form of joint actions (campaigns, consultative meetings).

Visiting places of crimes committed in our name: Women’s Solidarity for the punishment of crimes: actions of female solidarity - a feminist ethics of care and responsibility, mutual support, exchange and cooperation in the region to build a just peace. In this period we attended following commemorations in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina:

March 11, Potočari/Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina: WiB activists from Belgrade attended the commemoration of the genocide, organized by the family members’ of the victims. 4 WiB Network activists and 15 women from Srebrenica and surrounding villages attended the commemoration.

April 12, Đulići, Bosnia and Herzegovina: Solidarity visits and meeting with women whose relatives were killed in crimes committed by the Serbian armed forces in 1992. Meeting was attended by eight (8) WiB activists from Belgrade and 30 women from Đulići, Klisa, Šetići and other villages near Zvornik.

Women’s Court – Feminist Approach to Justice

At the end of 2010, organisations - Initiative Board members (Women Studies Center and Center for Women War Victims (Croatia), Women to Women (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Anima-Center for Peace Education (Montenegro), Kosovo Women’s Network (Kosovo) and Center for Women’s Studies and Women in Black (Serbia)) started joint regional women’s initiative for the organisation of the Women’s Courts in the former Yugoslavia.

Women in Black are the carriers of program activities in organizing the Women's Court; their activists arrange and coordinate all activities with the representatives of the organizations – members of the Initiative Board.

In the reporting period, we have organised numerous activities. We will name some of them:

I Working meetings: Between January and May 2011, there were about fourty working meetings, in which took part, on average, from 4 to 10 people. Over 30 people so far, in various ways, have been involved in the process, in the various segments of the educational programs.

The working group of ten Women in Black activists, from the beginning of 2011, in various ways, have been developing the feminist approach to justice, especially the model of Women's Courts.

II - Regional educational seminars „Women’s Court – Feminist Approach to Justice “- Educational seminars include workshops, lectures, video presentations, documentaries and feature films. These three-day seminars are interactive and interdisciplinary in character, with the equal evaluation of the activist experience and academic knowledge in producing new concept of justice, that will serve better the needs of the women in the region.

Day I:
● The International Institutions of Justice and Institutions of Justice at the national level – case study: Serbia– power point presentation which provides basic information about the processes and mechanisms of transitional justice and international justice system and institutions and the a film with the statements of the families of the victims murdered in Trnovo, in the genocide in Srebrenica (the "Scorpions"), and families of victims of crimes in Suva Reka, Vukovar and Zvornik. Film is focused on the reactions of families of the victims, following the verdicts of the Special Court in Belgrade in these cases.
● Sexual crimes against women– (duration: 15 minutes) Power point presentation about the most serious forms of sexual crimes committed during the wars of the twentieth century.
● Economic war on the bodies of women
● Projections of documentary films
• Find the name for it (duration: 21minutes), Congo - A documentary that tells about the crimes of mass rape of women, during the conflict in Congo.
• Never Again (duration: 21 minutes), Morocco - A documentary about the experiences of women political prisoners during the dictatorship of King Hassan II of Morocco and about the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, founded by his son, King Mohammed VI.
• Femicide in Juarez (duration: 12 minutes), Mexico - A documentary about the killing of women / femicide in Juarez, the town on the border between the U.S. and Mexico, as well as about the activities of the Women in Black in Mexico against this crime.
• Hunt for justice (duration: 90 minutes), a fictionalized account of the dramatic struggle of Louise Arbour to indict, arrest and convict war criminals, culminating in the imprisonment of former president Slobodan Milosevic in The ICTY, followed by the discussion.
• Munira (duration: 52 minutes)- The film portrait of Munira Subašić, activist of the organization “Mothers of Srebrenica”, is the unique story about the exceptional Bosnian woman. Striving for truth and justice, with the sincere wish and firm will, without any fears or doubts, “ordinary woman” became the moral and real authority, the spontaneously chosen leader.

The discussions followed abovementioned film presentations.

Day II
● Ethics of responsibility of Hannah Arendt – Interactive lecture
● About Women’s Courts – Towards new concept of Justice
■ I part: Alternative models of justice: (power point on people’s tribunals -Russell Tribunal, Permanent People’s Tribunal- and Truth and Reconciliation Commissions worldwide)
■ II part: Women’s Courts – The documentary (duration: 42 minutes) on Women’s Courts held worldwide, followed by the discussion. The filmillustrates this alternative model of engendering Justice, and displays the testimonies and expert analysis from the Women’s courts held in Bangalore (India), Nairobi (Kenya) and Cape Town (South Africa).
● Towards the Women’s Court for the former Yugoslavia
■ I part –history of the Initiative for Women’s Court for the former Yugoslavia, and a projection of a documentary filmJustice with Healing (the duration 9 minutes) – video report from the round table "Women's courts - justice with healing", held in Sarajevo in October 2010, organized by Women to Women.
●We create together the Women’s Court for the former Yugoslavia– workshop and work in small groups
● I testify – the simulation of the testifying similar to those at Women’s Court
● Gender based crimes in war and after the war and female resistance – projection of a documentary “Femicid in Huarez”, about the femicide in Mexico, followed by the discussion.

Day III
● Women’s Court for the former Yugoslavia - The resumption of the discussion and concrete agreements and future activities- (questions, dilemmas, and international women's experience of the courts: achievements, successes, constraints, a place of maintaining women's court, and many more issues related to Women's Courts.)
● The film "Women's International Tribunal for War Crimes" (12 minutes), about the Women's International Tribunal for War Crimes Trial held in Tokyo in 2000, for the mass sexual crimes against women, committed by the Japanese army during World War II in the Pacific region.
● Power Point Presentation: Presentation of Women's groups, organizers of Women’s Courts and Tribunals around the world - duration: 13 minutes

Aforementioned activities were coordinated byDaša Duhaček, Ivana Vitas, Ljupka Kovačević, Nataša Lambić, Nevena Kostić, Marija Perković and Staša Zajović.

During the reporting period, following regional seminars were organised:

● Banja Vrujci, near Belgrade, February 19th and 20th 2011; test-seminar performed for Women in Black activists and for some of Women’s Court Initiative Board members, with 33 participants in total.
● Sijarinska banja (South Serbia), April 8th-10th 2011 – first regional seminar with the participants from southern Serbia. 42 women, from 9 cities in Serbia (Bojnik, Crna trava, Dimitrovgrad, Lebane, Leskovac, Niš, Pirot, Surdulica, and Vlasotince) and with 5 women from Skopje, Macedonia.
● Kotor, Montenegro, May 27th - 29th: organised byWomen in Black and the partner organizations “Anima” from Kotor. 27 women activists from nine cities in Montenegro participated in the seminar.

III - Public presentations “Women’s Court – Feminist Approach to Justice”

● Belgrade, Serbia, April 6th – The presentation was organised in DAH Theatre and was attended by aprox. 20 participants, mostly civil society activists and artists.
● Đulići, Bosnia and Herzegovina, April 12th 2011, at the premises of local victims' association, the presentation was organized by Women in Black. The presentation was attended by more than 30 women from Đulići, Klisa, Šetići and other villages near Zvornik.
● Montenegro - from April till July, group “Anima” organised several presentations with approximately hundred women present.

Public presentations were organised and led by Ivana Vitas, Ljupka Kovačević, Marijana Stojčić, Marija Perković, Miloš Urošević, and Staša Zajović.

IV - Meeting of the Initiative Committee for organizing the Women’s Court for the Former Yugoslavia: Held between April 18th and 20th in Tivat, Montenegro. The working meeting was attended by members of the Initiative Committee: The Women in Black (Serbia), Anima (Montenegro), Center for Women’s Studies (Serbia), Center for Women War Victims and the Center for Women’s Studies (Croatia), Kosovo Women’s Network (Kosovo) and Women to Women (BiH), and the representatives of international organizations: UNIFEM and Kvinna till Kvinna. During the meeting, we discussed about the current process of working on organizing the work of organizing the Women’s Court: educational activities, field experiences, challenges, dilemmas, problems related to Women’s Courts.

V – Publishing activity

● Women’s Court: Feminist Approach to Justice -manual, 208 pages, and four chapters (Women's Courts-feminist approach to justice; Male crimes against women in war and peace: Women's Groups - organizers of Women's Courts / tribunals and the legal system and institutional initiatives of civil society - transitional justice).
● Promo material: Leaflets – tree page leaflets bring basic information on the Initiative for Women's Court for the Former Yugoslavia, in BCS and Albanian languages. They will raise awareness about the international women's experiences of the courts (in the world and in the former Yugoslavia);
● Fascicle, with basic information on women's feminist approach to Women's Court and to justice in general.

VI Group for video activism

A) Documentaries about Women’s Courts and Tribunals

● „Women’s Court “ (duration:42 minutes), presentation of testimonies and expert analysis from the Women’s Courts held in Bangalore (India), Nairobi (Kenya), and Cape Town (South Africa);
● “Women’s International War Crime Tribunal” (duration: 12 minutes), a film about the Women’s International War Crime Tribunal on Japanese military sexual slavery, held in Tokyo in December 2000.
● “Women’s Courts – Justice with Healing“(duration: 12 minutes), a film about the round table organised in Sarajevo, in October 2010, organised by “Women to Women”.

B) Documentaries and feature films about feminist approach to justice

Women in Black’s Group for Video Activism translated and subtitled 7 additional films. Through these film presentations, WiB aims to spread knowledge about the experience of women with various forms of patriarchal violence; in accordance with that goal, video activists made the selection of appropriate documentaries and feature films. Video activists translated (from English and Spanish) and subtitled 212 minutes of documentary and feature material:

  1. Find the name for it (duration: 21minutes), Congo - A documentary that tells about the crimes of mass rape of women, during the conflict in Congo.
  2. Never Again (duration: 21 minutes), Morocco - A documentary about the experiences of women political prisoners during the dictatorship of King Hassan II of Morocco and about the establishment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, founded by his son, King Mohammed VI.
  3. The crime of rape (duration: 21 minutes), Mauritania - Documentary film about the crime of rape of women in Mauritania, in the name of customary law and tradition, through the use of brutal crimes (zina/adultery) under the excuse of Islamic law.
  4. Femicide in Juarez (duration: 12 minutes), Mexico - A documentary about the killing of women / femicide in Juarez, the town on the border between the U.S. and Mexico, as well as about the activities of the Women in Black in Mexico against this crime.
  5. Escape to the last minute (duration: 21 minutes), Nepal - A documentary about sex-trafficking of women from Nepal to India.
  6. Milk of sorrow (duration: 95 minutes), Peru - A feature film about sexual violence against women, during the internal conflict between leftist guerrillas Shining Path / Sendero Luminoso and the Government representatives in Peru.
  7. Honour killings (duration: 21 minutes), Turkey - A documentary about the crimes committed in the name of the customary law, the murder of women who were allegedly "tarnished the family honour."
    (These documentaries were produced by UNIFEM, and were translated and subtitled by Women in Black).

C) Power point presentations about justice - Presentations of institutional judicial mechanisms, its mechanisms and limitations, as well as of alternative models of justice, civil initiatives’ and feminist movements’ initiatives – The team made 6 power point presentations used during various educational activities.

· The International Institutions of Justice – 30 minutes long power point presentation which provides basic information about the processes and mechanisms of transitional justice and international justice system and institutions
· Institutions of Justice at the national level(30 min), brings the statements of the families of the victims murdered in Trnovo, in the genocide in Srebrenica (the "Scorpions"), and families of victims of crimes in Suva Reka, Vukovar and Zvornik. Film is focused on the reactions of families of the victims, following the verdicts of the Special Court in Belgrade in these cases.
· Women’s Body – Battlefield - Sexual crimes against women – (duration: 30 minutes) Power point presentation about the most serious forms of sexual crimes committed during the wars of the twentieth century.
· Civil society creates new forms of justice (30 min.), presentation about People’s Tribunals, Social Forums and other alternative forms of justice.
· Presentation of the activities of Women’s groups most actively involved in organising Women’s Courts.(30 min.)


Video activism: transitional justice – feminist approach
With the aim of improving the visibility of the effects of various models of transitional justice, particularly the one from the feminist perspective, promoted by Women in Black, we have created, in 2010, a group of video activists trained for video shooting, cutting, digitalizing and internet distribution of video and audio material gathered during regular activities of Women in Black, in order to make this material, in the form of short films, available to the broader public.

Next to abovementioned films, Video activism group of Women in Black, coordinated by Marija Vidic and Goran Lazin, edited following documentaries:

● “Don’t forget the genocide in Srebrenica” (14:19): The documentary film that contains video coverage of Women in Black’s street actions linked to genocide in Srebrenica, sequences from the actions of the Association of Women of Srebrenica from Tuzla, statements by activists, etc. The film is linked to Women in Black website and is translated in English.
● "The genocide in Srebrenica - 15 years later" (14.24) is a film about the activities of the Women in Black in July 2010, related to the commemoration of the fifteenth anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide. The film is linked to Women in Black website and is translated in English.
● “Stop with the racism over Roma population in Serbia” (4, 49)on activities related to the celebration of the International Day against Racial Discrimination. Women in Black and Banat Roma Women's Network organized a series of activities titled "Stop racism against Roma." The action started with anti-racist street march, and which the activists organised the performance at the main square in Becej.
● „Feminist poetry of Radmile Lazić from Belgrade”: documentary (12, 57) about the evening of interactive poetry, organised by Women in Black on March 8th, 2009. in Belgrade.
● “Guess who’s coming to dinner?” (14, 38) edited footage of anti- patriarchal socio drama performed by Women in Black activists.

Internet distribution: All films are uploaded on the Women in Black’s webpage. Also, they are uploaded, in English and BCS languages, on Women in Black’s accounts on www.tubemogul.com, www.youtube.com and www.blip.tv. All films are tagged, to make them searchable by their contents (topics they cover) and by the date, the place of creation and the occasion during which they were filmed.


Engaged Art in Transitional Justice:
In the reporting period, we have continued with the practise of cooperation with artistic organisations, professional theatres and artists engaged in shaping of female resistance to war, war crimes, repression and human rights violations. In the reporting period, WiB realised following activities:

A) “One pair of shoes – one life” is a continuation of artist-activist initiative, started by WiB and different artists and organisations, as a way to mark the 15th anniversary of the genocide in Srebrenica. The organisations and individuals who started original initiative in July 2010, continued with this process by formally requesting from the Mayor of Belgrade, from all members of the City Hall, from the City Secretariat of Culture and its Commission for monuments and names of streets and squares, to start official initiative to build a Monument to the victims of genocide in Srebrenica in Belgrade. Mayor of Belgrade was formally asked to include this request in the regular procedure, to assign space for open memorial, where will so far collected shoes and messages be exposed and where interested public can lead public debates about the memorialisation process. In March 2011, the authorities have responded negatively to the initiative, showing that the state representatives have neither the political nor moral capacity for empathy with the victims. We will continue with this initiative.

B) Artistic-activist solidarity support to the Omarska concentration camp prisoners, to raise the memorial at Omarska: Women in Black organized, along with artists' associations “Four faces of Omarska” and the group “Monument” from Belgrade, dozen working meetings and debates about solidarity support to survivors of Omarska (concentration camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina), in order to mark the place of suffering, and create a memorial in the former Omarska concentration camp. In this camp, based on the verdict of the ICTY, Serbian armed forces tortured thousands of Bosniaks. In March and April 2011, along with the Association of the prisoners of the Omarska concentration camp, we have created the Declaration of Anti – fascist struggle’s continuation, whosereading in Omarska, still an unmarked atrocity site, is an act of active support and participation in the memorial’s establishment.

C) Activist – artistic solidarity – As a sign of respect and support, 10 Women in Black activists went to Novi Sad, on February 24th, to visit the art exhibition of Nikola Džafo, engaged artist, the founder of Art Klinika and long term Women in Black associate.


Punishment of war crimes – road to a just peace: War Crime Trials Monitoring at the War Crimes Chamber of the District Court in Belgrade/Special Court in Belgrade.

The trial for the crime in Lovas: members of the JNA and of the paramilitary formation “Dušan Silni” killed around 70 Croatian civilians in Lovas, in October 1991. From the very beginning, in April 2008, activists of the Women in Black Network have been following the trial. In this period, the following appearances in Court took place:
● January: 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th.
● February: 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th.
● March: 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 25th.
● April: 19th and 20th.

The trial for crime in Ćuška/Kosovo: On May 14th 1999, during the armed conflict between Kosovo Liberation Army and Serbian military and police forces, the nine members of the “Jackals” unit killed at least 43 Albanian civilians in the village Ćuška, in the Peć municipality. The trial started in December 2010.
● January 2011: 24th, 25th, 26th and 27th.
● February: 21st, 22nd and i 23rd.
● March: 28th, 29th, 30th and 31st.
● April: 11, 12, and 13th.

In this reported period WiB activists attended 30 sessions of trials of Lovas and Ćuška. Activist Miloš Urošević regularly monitored the trials and sent trial reports to the organizations within Women in Black Network and to international networks with which we cooperate. About a dozen Women in Black activists periodically monitored the trial and provided moral and emotional support to families of victims.


Women, Peace, Security / Feminist Antimilitaristic Approach
As part of our continuous work on a feminist approach to security, the UN SC Resolution 1325 (“Women, Peace and Security”), WiB have initiated a number of different programs. In this reporting period, we have implemented the following activities:
I Educational activities: Preparatory activities for the implementation of the project Engendering Human Security.The project consists of monitoring the National Action Plan / NAP for the Implementation of the UN SC Resolution 1325, which is why WiB organized the training of CSO activists from all over Serbia on UN SC R1325 global and local indicators, and its application during the monitoring of the implementation of the Resolution and for the writing of the Shadow report on the implementation of UN SC Resolution 1325 (to UN).

II Participation in conferences, seminars, training, training related to human security and the Resolution 1325:

• Training on surveillance over the security policy at the local and national level, organized by the Belgrade Center for Security Policy, and the OSCE Mission to Serbia, held in Belgrade, from February 9th till Feb. 11th;
• Round table: Introduction of an Gender Equality Commissioner, a round table organised by the Belgrade Center for Security Policy and the Geneva Centre for Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), held in Belgrade on March 1st.
• Presentation of the fourth Collection of practical policy suggestions on police reform: organized by the Belgrade Center for Security Policy, BCBP and Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, held in Belgrade, on March 31st.

III Organization of the Belgrade Week of Security (BWS)- a joint initiative of more than 20 civil society organizations, launched to ​​introduce and encourage general public to take active part in the discussions about challenges and opportunities related to human security, in order to successfully respond to them.

The aim of BWS is to create an inclusive platform for dialogue that will bring together a wide range of actors from different parts of society such as professionals, activists, artists, designers, scientists, government officials, and representatives of governments in the region, media, universities, and civil society organizations, as well as other interested citizens who want to articulate and share their ideas about contemporary challenges and threats regarding human security.

BWS is designed as a one-week event held every year in late October. It combines various forms and activities such as discussions, workshops, exhibitions, performances, film screenings, and also seeks to create an enabling environment and encourage the creative potential of citizens in finding answers to issues of local, national and global security. Coordination meetings regarding preparation of the event were held three times - on March 14th, April 15th and April 25th.

IV Publishing and other activities:
Distribution of book Resolution 1325 - 10 years (in Serbian and English, published by Women in Black) to regional and international networks involved in human security and UN SC Resolution 1325, a feminist anti-militarist approach to security, as well as to international institutions and diplomatic missions.


Networks, coalitions - mutual support and solidarity
Women in Black are initiators and active participants in numerous regional networks, coalitions and alliances, active participants in the activities of related organizations, in order to strengthen mutual support, solidarity, civil society and democracy in Serbia and throughout the region. During this period, many activities were implemented – we will single out the following:

Women in Black Network Serbia: Women's Peace Network with groups and individuals from all parts of Serbia. Network members hold working meetings to plan joint actions. In this reporting period, following working meetings were held:

Jastrebac, January 28th – 30th: The meeting was attended by 42 activists from 12 cities within the Network from Serbia (Kragujevac, Becej, Leskovac, Novi Sad, Nis, Belgrade, Pirot, Bajina Basta, Vlasotince, Krusevac, Kraljevo and Dimitrvgrad), and one activist from Kotor (Montenegro). In addition to joint analysis and evaluation of Women in Black activities in the previous period, the Network members have agreed about future activities.

Within feminist reading section, following titles related to transitional justice were presented:

o Capturing Justice - Confronting the past in the Balkans, by Jelena Subotic, Belgrade / USA (presented by Staša Zajovic);
o News from the past - Knowledge of history and citizens’ attitudes toward the events of our recent past - research project on transitional justice organized by Belgrade Centre for Human Rights, presented by Snezana Tabački;
o What’s the point of the revolution if I can’t dance – written by Jane Barry, presented by Milos Urosevic.

Within the panel discussion: Another World is Possible: the engaged art - there and here, spoke engaged artists: Djordje Balmazović-Zole (Škart), and Jovana Dimitrijevic: Life in a working house (Project House, Berlin), who also presented their work.

Video activism group presented following movies:

o “Girls are powerfull” – tenth anniversary of Women’s Association “Peščanik/Sandglas”, presented by Jelena Memet
o Feminist-antimilitaristic-antifascist actions – “We are returning your tenk”, “Antifascism is our choice – November 9th”, “Human Rights Day / December 10th, “Deconstruction of the masculinities – Different men” and “One pair of shoes – one life”.
o Feminism of Isabel Allende, the writer from Chile – documentary presented by Nataša Lambić.

Horizontal Networking - Women in Black Network Serbia: an educational and activist program that is continuously going on since January 2007, in order to expand WiB network, to decentralize it, to strengthen the cooperation among the groups operating within the network, and launch joint initiatives, gaining additional knowledge related to certain matters in accordance with the needs expressed by the activists. In addition to the above mentioned joined activities, in this reporting period we realized a number of joint activities, of which we will chronologically list some of them:

March 8th- International Women’s Day: Women in Black implemented various activities.

Kragujevac, March 4th: organized by the “Alternative circle” from Kragujevac, with Women in Black activist from Belgrade (Marijana Stojcic, Ljiljana Radovanovic, Zinaida Marjanovic and Staša Zajović) as participants at the session “Women's struggle for solidarity and labor rights of women”, where they presented documentary films of Women in Black about this topic (Women in the labor market - Serbia (21 minutes), Women in the informal economy (8 minutes); In solidarity for our rights – March 8th 2010. (4.14 minutes). The activists also presented a short power point presentation about the international feminist solidarity (Iranian women, you are not alone – about the protests of women in Iran, the protests of women in Egypt and other countries of the Maghreb and the Middle East, etc. The event was attended by approximately fifty women.

Center for Cultural Decontamination, Belgrade, March 8th: This year's activities on the occasion of March 8th were named "For working women's rights and solidarity” and were dedicated to workers in the textile industry, predominantly women. The textile industry worldwide represents a difficult situation of working women's rights, but is also a place of rebellion and emancipation of the workers.

After the street march and a performance “For Women’s Labor Rights” WiB held the following activities:
Jovana Dimitrijevic held an exhibition in solidarity with the textile women workers in Serbia: the exhibition was inspired by Virginia Woolf's thesis that women should unpick old clothes and re-compile them, but in completely different way. This relates to roles that are imposed on women, as well as the position they play in society.

Always in the rebellion - the continuity of women's resistance: feminist films of internationalism and solidarity, dedicated to women of Egypt and other countries of the Maghreb and the Middle East.

Women in textile industry: group of activists from SOS phone from Vlasotince organized a performance dedicated to non employed women in textile industry in this town. After the privatization of a textile factory “Vlasinka”, women workers were subjected to constant discrimination and are working in extremely hard conditions.

Activist art – for Women’s Labor Rights: the performances of the quires LeWhore and Proba iz Belgrade.

The event had approximately 200 participants from different towns in Serbia.

To see, to know, to change: In accordance with the arrangements and the needs expressed during this period, members of the Network in many towns (Leskovac, Dimitrovgrad, Novi Becej and Vlasotince) organized screenings of documentaries and feature films that are related to the dealing with the past, resistance to women's atrocities, resistance of women to the abuse of religion, traditions and customs in various parts of the world. After the screenings the discussions were organised. This educational program (selection of movies, film, subtitling, supporting material, distribution, transmission, etc) has been prepared by the Women in Black, Belgrade.

Monthly Bulletin "Solidarity is our strength": since January 2009, Women in Black issue monthly newsletter in Serbian language (with translation and organization of English). Bulletin spreads knowledge about the solidarity campaigns that WiB Network participates in. In order to strengthen global solidarity and mutual support, bulletin is distributed primarily in the Women in Black Network Serbia, as in other regional networks.


Networks, coalitions - mutual support and solidarity
Women in Black are initiators or active participants in a number of regional networks, coalitions and alliances, active participants in the activities of related organizations to strengthen mutual support, solidarity, civil society and democracy in Serbia and throughout the region. During this period many activities were implemented, we will single out the following:

Women’s Heritage - In January 2011, WiB continued the work to increase the visibility of women's heritage, along with 4 organizations(Center for Women’s Studies (Zagreb, Croatia), Center for Contemporary Art (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina), Casa Internazionale delle Donne di Trieste (Trst, Italija) and Serbian cultural Center Danilo Kiš (Ljubljana, Slovenija)).

We want to confirm the continuity of women in public space and time, and the continuity of their struggle for equality; in order to contribute to include in history often omitted women's experience and contributions. As feminist activists, we want, through the exchange of experiences, to contribute to the strengthening of autonomous feminist organizations.
The first part of the process involves research, digitization of feminist texts and relevant historical and artistic materials, travelling exhibitions and meetings that enhance feminist networking in the region. The first two years of this process (2011 - 2012) are supported by the European Commission. Center for Women's Studies from Zagreb are the leader organisation in this project.
The focus of research (historical, sociological, anthropological and artistic) is documenting the feminist movement in Europe during the communist regime and, in general, documenting women's contributions to the development of societies from which we come.

Women in Black have been involved in this research through the "Feminist mapping of Serbia" - historical research in Serbia (in cities: Belgrade, Leskovac, Uzice and Bajina Basta) and time (since the beginning of the twentieth century to the present time),that is "mapping" individuals, women's movements and initiatives that have contributed to the emancipation and equality and, above all, peace activism. After six months of research, which began in May 2011, WiB will issue a tourist map " Belgrade from the female perspective", in Serbian and English, and short publications, which will present short biographies of women and the data about the most important associations, in order to use these maps, direct historical discoveries in everyday life and in the immediate practice of the city. In the same way, WiB will present the results of research in other towns. The research will eventually expand to other cities of Serbia, and will be presented on the website, on the map of Serbia, with the information about individuals and movements "re-discovered" during the research.

Another activity that the network will organize are the conferences and meetings, where experts, artists and feminist activist will jointly discuss women's heritage. We want to work together to create knowledge that will later be translated into a common political action.So far, in the process, organized three meetings:

o Feb 10th – 11th 2011- Istanbul, Turkey - Members of all five organizations have presented their project, which was held after a meeting with representatives of the EC, regarding project activities and conditions of their realization. We also participated at the Second Congress of Civil Society "Civil Society as a challenge to governments: the political commitment to active dialogue" with more than 400 participants from the Western Balkans. The congress discussed the possibilities and methods for dialogue between civil society and government. The workshops have served to exchange of experience, after which the proposed recommendations to the EC authorities should be presented to the representatives of the countries from which CSOs came. For Women in Black, this was a useful opportunity to meet with the ruling tendencies in civil society and donor trends that influence the work of civil society, jeopardizing its autonomy.
o February 24. 2011. – Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina – First working meeting (laboratory)Women spaces, women stories: heritage and contemporary art, where the activists met the artists whose works will be a part of a travelling exhibition “The Dowry”, which will represent the reality of Bosnia and Heryegovina through its art.Activists met with Amra Zulfikarpašić, Danica Dakić, Maja Bajević, Alma Suljević, Gordana Anđelić-Galić, Šejla Kamerić, Lana Čmajčanin, Adela Jušić, Leila Čmajčanin, Lala Raščić, Sandra Dukić, Jasmila Žbanić and Borjana Mrdža.
o April 2nd – 4th 2011. – Portorož, Slovenia – Second working meeting (laboratory) Women's stories: gendered histories and cultural archaeology / Women's spaces, dedicated to the activities of the network “Red Athena”, dealing, predominantly, with studying and documenting feminist movements in Europe during the communist regime. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the feminist history of the region during the 1980s. This legacy of the feminist movement is not sufficiently systematic, well-known and preserved, so that the meeting discussed the translation and publication of unpublished texts, the creation of a common archives and methods to overcome the oblivion, primarily because of the emancipatory potential of feminist heritage, which is very important for preserving democratic values ​​in our societies.

Joint initiatives related to transitional justice: consultations, conferences, seminars, of which we mention only a few:

RECOM Activities: Coalition for the establishment of the Regional Commission for the establishment and public disclosure of facts about war crimes and other serious violations of human rights in former Yugoslavia is one of the most important initiatives that brings together hundreds of civil society organisations in the former Yugoslavia. Women in Black from the start have participating in the coalition in RECOM. In this reporting period we participated in the following activities:

• March 26th, Belgrade: The Fourth Assembly of the Coalition for RECOM;
• April 1st, Belgrade: The war in numbers - Book promotion Ewe Tabeau, published by the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia.
• April 12th, Belgrade: Images of war crimes, the conference organized by the Humanitarian Law Center;
• April 15th, Belgrade: Promotion of the book “Bosnia and Herzegovina at the time of the dissolution of Yugoslavia 1990-1992 - Thematic collection of documents " published by the Humanitarian Law Fund and the Institute for Contemporary History.

In addition, we have actively participated (as panellists) at numerous conferences, including:

April 14th, Belgrade: Prohibition of Discrimination against Women, the subtopic “Challenges of feminism today, with special emphasis on the economic status and work rights of women” (Women in Black activists Marija Perkovic and Staša Zajović), organized by the Center for Advanced Legal Studies / CUPS.

Solidarity with the Roma population: against institutionalised violence and apartheid against the Roma population, for the human Security and human rights:

January 21st, Novi Bečej - artistic and activist meeting: organised by the art association Biro/Bureau (Vladan Jeremic and Rena Rädle), Women in Black Belgrade and Banat Roma Women's Network held a screening of documentary films "Gazelle", "Bellville" and "Solidarity in five images", about the solidarity with the Roma population. The screening and film presentations were attended by 23 people.

The monitoring of the trial in Pancevo: Roma boy BJ (17 years) who is suspected of killing a young man (DS of 17 years), on June 10th 2010, in the village of Jabuka / Vojvodina (40km from Belgrade). The accident was followed by the escalation of violence against the Roma population. Women in Black have attended all the sessions held so far in front of the District Court in Pancevo. In this reporting period, we have attended the following hearings in January (8, 21, 24 and 26) when the verdict was made. BJ was sentenced to 4 years in juvenile prison. The punishment was criticized by human rights organizations, including Women in Black. Goran Lazin, WiB activist, monitored all held sessions and sent written reports to Women in Black Network and other organisations.

March 23rd, Novi Bečej: Activists of Women in Black Network from Serbia visited the Roma Women's Network Banat / Vojvodina, talked with them and watched the documentaries made by a Group for video activism of Women in Black, in connection with solidarity actions with the Roma population.

April 12, Belgrade: Solidarity support to the displaced Roma population, four families from the Roma settlement Belvill, whose barracks were burned in a fire in April 12. Women in Black activists, together with the Regional Centre for Minorities visited the families and provided solidarity assistance and support.

Public appeals to the relevant institutions ofWiB and related organizations, in connection with an extremely difficult position of the Roma population, and a drastic violation of human rights (economic, social and educational-cultural).

Anti-fascist solidarity – monitoring the trial to clero-fascist organizations and their leaders

During this period, Women in Black activists monitored following trials:

The trial for burning mosque to the suspects indicted for the ignition of Bajrakli mosque in Belgrade in March 2004. The mosque was burned on the night of March 17th and 18th 2004, by members of the extreme right (neo-Nazis and clero-fascists) in retaliation for violence against the Serbian population in Kosovo, in March 2004. During the reporting period, Women in Black have attended the First Municipal Court hearings held on February 25th and March 31st . The next hearing is scheduled for September 23rd 2011.

The trial of the violence at the Pride Parade, 2010: Fourteen members of clero-fascist organization "Obraz - Otačestveni movement”, led by their leader Mladen Obradovic, face charges for the violence during the Pride Parade, held on October 10th 2010 in Belgrade. They are also accused of "spreading racial and other discrimination, as well as violent conduct towards the police." Women in Black have attended all hearings before the First District Court in Belgrade. In this reporting period, we attended the following sessions: March 3rd, 4th, and April 13th, 15th and 20th. WiB activists have written reports and sent it to domestic and international human rights, LGBT, anti-fascism / anti-racism and solidarity networks.

The trial of the violence on the occasion of the Pride Parade, 2009.: Trial held at the First Municipal Court in Belgrade against Misha Vacić, leader of the clero-fascist organization "Serbian People's Movement 1389”, for the violence during the preparation for the Pride Parade that was scheduled to be held in Belgrade in September 2009, but was postponed due to the unwillingness of the authorities to ensure the maintenance of the Pride Parade and prevent the violence of fascist organizations. In this period we attended the following sessions: April 7th and 8th , and sent reports to international and domestic human rights organizations.


Internal debates, workshops and film presentations – in Women in Black premises, we have organised “Those who dared”, a series of discussions, presentations and film and documentary presentations about the important women who left their mark in art, literature and science. Women who are chosen went against their time, and the dominant social tendencies, which paid a very high price for their choices. This program is a tribute to their courage, dedication, passion...During this period, the following activities , within this cycle, were held:

o February 23rd: Lecture on Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and video presentation held by Ana Vilenica, art historian, activist, and performer.
o March 2nd: Lecture about Yoko Ono and multimedia video presentations held at the WiB premises by Ana Vilenica.
o March 30th: Lecture on Rosa Luxemburg (1871 - 1919), German revolutionaries and socio democrat, held by Marijana Stojčić, at the premises of the Women in Black.
Out of other debates, lectures and screenings, we single out:
o February 9th: Screening of the film “Haircut” about neo fascist violence in Serbia's during the 1990ies, by S. Filipović. Projection and discussions were held at the premises of the Women in Black.
o 3rd March 3rd: Lecture in Women in Black in "Kant's theory of perpetual peace" held by Veljak Lino, activist and professor of the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb.

Each of these actions involved between 10 and 20 activists.

International politics: active participation at international conferencies and in global actions of solidarity, exchange visits, etc...

During the reporting period, several dosens international activists and researchers from Europe, USA and Latin America visited Women in Black.

Report written by Staša Zajović, in cooperation with Ljiljana Radovanović, Miloš Urošević, Nataša Lambić and Snežana Tabački.

Belgrade, July 2011.

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