Demonstrations against violence previously seen in Serbia have now spread to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Thousands of Bosnians took to the streets on Monday to demand action from the authorities to curb violence against women. The peaceful protests started when a Bosnian man shot his ex-wife last week and broadcast his killing live on Instagram. The murdered woman was buried on Monday, and her funeral was attended by several thousand people.
Demonstrations were held simultaneously in several cities in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the capital city of Sarajevo, a large group of people walked through the city center demanding more protection for women, curbing violent media content and closer supervision of police work in cases of violence. “Silence is acceptance”, “We do not agree to live in fear” and “Stop femicide”, the protesters’ banners said.
Demonstrators in Sarajevo also carried a large banner that read “Sarajevo against violence,” a familiar slogan from the months-long street protests in neighboring Serbia.
– Today, Sarajevo says no to violence and shows its support to all victims of violence, the mayor who marched in the vanguard of the thousand demonstrators Benjamin Karic said.
Bosnian Minister of Human Rights Sevlid Hurtic demanded changes to the law so that violence against women and femicides would be punished more severely.
– We are horrified by the fact that the woman’s murder was seen live on social media. It is one of the latest attacks in a series of femicides and serious acts of gender-based violence in Bosnia-Herzegovina, said a UN representative Stephane Dujarric.
– Femicide, the intentional killing of women and girls because of their gender, is a blatant and serious violation of human rights, he continued.
Violence against women is common in Bosnia-Herzegovina and elsewhere in the conservative and male-dominated Balkans. Two mass shootings in Serbia in May sparked months of anti-violence protests.
Source: AP