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Partisans, rebels, feminists - fight for women's equality in Yugoslavia

Publication at Faculty of Arts |
2020

Abstract

The war has always been regarded as a male domain. In the context of the war, women have long been regarded as victims or war trophies; in the First World War, they were also assigned the role of caregivers of wounded and prostitutes who meet the needs of soldiers.

When there is a difference between the front and the hinterland, a more routine gendered division of labor occurs between men and women, but when the difference between the front and the hinterland is not specifically defined (as in the case of the Second World War), gender roles are different. The reason for such a distinction lies in the gender-regulated organization of society.

The construction of women's positions in the army is the result of the ideological constructs of femininity and masculinity in society, and not the reflection of decisions that are based on objective problems of women's involvement in the battlefield. Significant changes in the role of women in culture and society occurred with World War II.

The rise of fascism and Nazism demanded the rebellion of the nation as a whole, and the Second World War essentially interfered with traditional gender roles. Women began to co-create public space as active and equal members of society.

These processes from the time of the war, in many respects, also determined the position of women in the post-war period and influenced the modernization of the patriarchal society. The Second World War brought women at least apparent equality and electoral and other social rights.

Women received more education and started to enter the political, social and cultural spheres. Boris Kidrič, the leading communist in the OF, not long before the end of the war, found that there was no longer a dilemma, whether to recognize equality or not, since equality during the war has already been won.

In my contribution, I will write about the partisans and members of the rebellion, which decisively contributed to women's emancipation and equality in Yugoslavia in the 20th century. I will present key changes in the social and cultural position of women, and the impact of their action on the changing and development of a socialist society.

I will critically determine the position of women in socialist Yugoslavia, as also gender and social roles that have been set for them. I will also point out the importance of the women's military movement for the position of women in today's post-socialist society in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.