Give girls their deserved place in society

We must enable girls to have their deserved place in society and a place at every table where important decisions are made - Commissioner for the Protection of Equality Brankica Janković joins forces with the national club "With and for girls" in advocating and implementing feminist policy. "We must enable girls to have their deserved place in society, as well as a place at every table where important decisions are made" - these are the words with which the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, opened the National Conference "From local to national youth feminist movement: With girls and for girls", and then invited the members of the newly founded club "With and for girls" to advocate and implement feminist policy together with her.

Only a month after the formalisation of the National Club "With and for Girls," Brankica Janković met in her office with the representatives of this youth feminist initiative, supported by the Citizens’ Association Atina, to jointly tailor strategies and a cooperation plan for the coming year 2024, focusing on the comprehensive improvement of the position of girls and women in society.

This meeting enabled young feminist activists from Belgrade, Čačak, Novi Pazar, Novi Sad, and Vranje to present the challenges that women and girls face every day in these cities and the activities they have carried out so far. They also pointed out the lack of support, most often institutional, in addressing and solving those problems.

The commissioner expressed her full support for this initiative that contributed to the achievement of equality and emphasised the importance of the active involvement of women and girls in the decision-making process and continuous education, both formal and non-formal, to strengthen social capacities for the struggle in a patriarchal society in which the oppression of women and still exists. On this occasion, together with the Commissioner and her advisers, the representatives of the Club "With and for Girls" defined topics of common interest, as well as topics that represent an essential part of the feminist policy of both the cabinet of the Commissioner for Protection of Equality and the youth activist club, at the national, but also the local level.

This constructive meeting marks the beginning of productive cooperation between the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, the national club "With and for Girls," and the Citizens' Association Atina. This creates a strong alliance and a strong base aimed at achieving broader goals of equality and women's rights in the coming period.

This news was created as part of the project "Initiative of young feminist advocates in Serbia", which has been implemented by the Citizens' Association Atina with the support of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Belgrade, in cooperation with the organisation Schüler Helfen Leben (SHL).