Improving the quality of life of women in rural areas is important for our entire society because a strong woman means a strong village, which implies economic and other empowerment and a more equal distribution of property and income, said the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Brankica Jaković, at the “A Look in the Future” conference, which was held in Čačak on the occasion of October 15, the International Day of Rural Women, within the project “Improving the position of women and girls in rural areas”. She pointed out that it is extremely important that the role of women in the villages is actualized because many agricultural farms survive thanks to women.

Through this project, the Commissioner ensured the provision of direct assistance to women who want to start or improve their businesses in the field of agriculture. The project, which is implemented in the Zlatibor, Moravica and Raška districts, ensured the purchase of agricultural equipment, such as a hydraulic press for squeezing domestic juices, a greenhouse, or a digger. In addition to female farmers, the purchase of technical equipment also provided assistance to newly formed non-governmental organizations that are engaged in providing support to women and girls from rural areas, the Commissioner pointed out.

Given the importance of media support, within the same project, special media awards were also given to journalists who, through their publications in 2022, promoted tolerance and equality and reported on women and girls from rural areas. In the portals and press category, the following were awarded: Rada Šegrt, a correspondent for Večernje novosti from Kikinda, Sanja Đorđević, a journalist from the Storyteller portal, and Olja Ruskovski, a journalist from the “Ruske Slovo” newspaper and publishing institution from Novi Sad. In the category of radio and television reports, the awards were given to Nataša Jovanović, journalist of “Euronews Serbia”, Dušica Markešević, journalist of TV “Galaksija 32”, and Dragan Nikolić, editor of “Glas Zapadne Srbije”. Special awards were given to the editorial staff of the RTS correspondence office and the “Move on” editorial staff of the TV station Nova S.

The project “Improving the position of women and girls in rural areas” is implemented as part of the initiative “Improved safety of women in Serbia”, which the Commissioner for the Protection of Equality implements in cooperation with the UN Agency for Gender Equality, UN Women, with the support of the Embassy of Norway in Belgrade.