“They often tell me that women have ‘more of a say’ today, but when we scratch beneath the surface, we realize that women’s voices about the violation of their rights are still not heard enough due to fear of judgment, losing their job, or the silence of those around them,” said Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Janković, during an informal discussion titled “My voice matters too”, held in Novi Pazar.

Participants in the discussion, from various generations and educational backgrounds, shared their personal stories, confirming the complexity of the issue of gender equality. Janković stated that women face discrimination daily — at work, in the family, and in society — and must be encouraged to recognize and report it.

“It is necessary to constantly empower women so they can, to a greater or lesser extent, illuminate their own prejudices, become aware of those of others, and understand how much these are obstacles to progress. We also need to patiently and wisely change our community for the better every day, using everything at our disposal — including language,” Janković concluded.

She emphasized that the fight for equality is a long-term process that requires daily work on oneself — in order to shed light on both personal and external prejudices — but also to transform culture, education, and the media.

The women’s discussion group “My voice matters too” was organized by Amela Bajrović from the portal Freemedia.rs, with the support of the OSCE Mission to Serbia.