Promotion of a monograph on violence against women at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zenica: Academic and social contribution to an important topic

The Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Zenica was the host Book Talk: Violence against women: discourses, perspectives, lessons from Bosnia and Herzegovina. historyThe event brought together the authors of the monograph who presented to the audience the results of interdisciplinary research on the history of violence against women in Bosnia and Herzegovina, from the ancient period to the modern era.

The book is the result of collaboration between a team of historians, sociologists, lawyers and literary historians, and the following spoke at the promotion: Prof. Dr. Fahd Kasumović, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mirza Džananović, Prof. Dr. Amila Kasumović, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dženan Dautoović and Dr. Minela Radušić.

As pointed out by Prof. Dr. Kasumović, the book aims to fill gaps in domestic and regional historiography and serve as a basis for social dialogue on gender-based violence. He emphasized that violence against women is a universal phenomenon, present throughout different eras and social contexts, and that it knows no boundaries, religious, class or territorial.

"Violence against women is transnational, transreligious, transterritorial and transsocial. It endangers women of different age categories and different social backgrounds," said Kasumović, adding that speaking and writing about this problem must become the social responsibility of all of us.

Professor Dr. Mirza Džananović, who analyzed the position of women in socialist Bosnia and Herzegovina through the prism of media discourse, especially the press, pointed out that the political elites of the time attempted to improve the social position of women, but that their efforts were limited by deeply rooted patriarchal patterns.

“The system remained burdened by a traditional-patriarchal legacy, which is clearly visible in the way the ‘women’s issue’ was written about,” said Džananović. He added that newspaper articles from the 1970s and 1980s testified to a certain level of awareness of the shortcomings of that system, but also of the lack of effective protection mechanisms. “This research does not offer definitive answers, but it opens up space for new questions and represents an important basis for further research into the position of women in Bosnian society of that period,” Džananović emphasized.

Professor Amila Kasumović pointed out the gender-sensitive approach of the project and the importance of targeting both the female and male sections of the public. "Our goal is to influence young people, the generations to come, so that they develop awareness that any form of violence, especially gender-based violence, is not acceptable," she emphasized.

The Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy in Zenica, Acting Prof. Dr. Alica Arnaut, expressed her satisfaction with the organization of the event, emphasizing that the Faculty continuously works on addressing contemporary social problems.