Violence against women: 'tradition' confronts Europe

[Celerity]

The European Commission recently proposed that EU accession negotiations be opened with Bosnia-Herzegovina.

https://www.socialeurope.eu/violence-against-women-tradition-confronts-europe

A placard on a protest against femicide in Sarajevo in 2022 (Ajdin Kamber / shutterstock.com)

In August 2023, in Gradacac, a small town in Bosnia-Herzegovina (B-H), Nermin Sulejmanović brutally murdered his ex-wife, Nizama Hecimovic, during a live stream, with their child in the room. On the morning of August 11th, the bodybuilder started the live stream with the chilling words that viewers were about to witness a murder. Having killed his wife, Sulejmanović went on to kill two other people before committing suicide. Over 10,000 people watched the live stream, some even encouraging the violence. The victim had reported the perpetrator to the official institutions, which decided to ignore his previous violence. Indeed, in the live video Sulejmanović cited the fact that she had reported him as a reason for the killing.

In B-H, one in two women has experienced violence since turning 15. Violence against women, particularly in the home, remains a pervasive social issue. Despite the advocacy efforts of non-governmental organisations to enhance legal protection for women against violence in public and private domains, it continues to enjoy alarmingly wide social acceptance. Nor is this phenomenon confined to B-H. There are similar occurrences, of alarming frequency, in other western-Balkan countries: Croatia ranks as the third-highest country in the European Union for femicides. Simply being a woman in the western Balkans is perilous.

Suffering in silence

In B-H, any woman can become a victim of violence, but women from rural areas and with less education are most at risk. Many who are victims suffer in silence, lacking support from institutions and often from their families. It is common for a woman’s family to distance themselves after she gets married, when she becomes ‘someone else’s problem’. In some areas, selective abortion of female foetuses is quite common too. Intimate-partner violence is not just physical but emotional, financial and sexual. The story of violence against women in the region has a broader cultural and historical context. ‘Tradition’ in the western Balkans ‘dictates’ that a woman is subservient to her husband and financially dependent on him.

Meanwhile, the man, as head of the household, is expected to assert his dominance, even if that means resorting to violence against his wife and children. Recently, a video circulated online featuring the Bosnian Muslim scholar Elvedin Pezić offering advice on how to hit a woman (the face should not be the target and no bruise should be left). This derogatory view of women, as tied to the home and children, distances western-Balkan countries from European values. Their political and religious elites must be rendered aware that the ‘traditional’ values they advocate often do not align with the universal norms espoused by the European Union and the Council of Europe. Cultural and religious identity matters, but it cannot stand in the way of progress, human rights, equality and the rule of law.

Insufficient shelter....................

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[jmbar2]

1. This is horrible

It's hard for me to think of parts of Europe being this backward still.

Another good reason not to let our own christofascists take control in the US.

[Phoenix61]

2. Wonderful. A religious leader offering advice on how

to commit domestic violence the “right way.”

[electric_blue68]

5. I suppose it shoudn't surprise me, but...!!!!! Day-um. Effin' pig! (apologies to our porcine creatures)

[DFW]

3. Europe is by no means monolithic

There are still many parts of Europe where you can get in a car, drive 50 miles, and be in another country with another history, language, culture and dominant religion. There is a reason some parts of Europe are still not in the EU, and some (notably Norway and Switzerland) don’t want to be.

[Celerity]

4. OMG, I never knew any of that!

[NanaCat]

6. I doubt that the post meant you didn't know

But I promise that plenty of people in the US don't comprehend the point at all. Remember, we're talking about a country that is so ignorant about basic geography that a significant percentage of them can't tell you what country is directly south of the US.

Or why the joke exists that war is how Americans learn geography.