Žene Ženama

National Network
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Telephone
00 387 33 219 640
Telephone (other)
00 387 33 214 673
Fax
00 387 33 219 640
E-Mail
zene2000@zenezenama.org
E-Mail (2)
zenezenama@gmail.com
Mobile Phone
00 387 61 136 610
Organisation Type
Non-Governmental Organization
Year of Establishment
1997
Fields of Activity
  1. Human rights
General Information
Žene Ženama is a self- organized women's group which contributes to development of civil society through empowerment of women and women's groups and advocates for respect of women's human rights in all spheres of private and social life. The organization's work and activities are based on: Statute of the Organization, Strategic plan and Working regulations. Structure of the organization/ Employees and volunteers: • Advisory Board • Management of the Organization • Working Teams • Administrative- financial service • Supervisory Board • Council of Beneficiary Groups Achievements: • 48 three- day seminars, • 17 local actions, • 614 workshops, • 116 round tables and public lectures, • 2 conferences. • Involved 54 women's organizations from BiH and region in network «Common acting» through the program: «Empowerment of Women and Women’s Groups in Private and Public Life», • Provided honorariums for 296 women and girls based on Contract on labor and voluntary work, • Provided small support funds aimed for sustainability of program activities of 15 women’s and youth groups in whole BiH, • Motivated 12.325 women and men citizens from all over BiH to voluntarily contribute to the goals and activities of the organization, • Printed 22 different publications such as: reports on our activities, manuals, magazines and translations, • (Database: researches, experiences, reports of governmental, international and non- governmental organizations, information form field). Partnerships, Solidarity and Collaboration Žene Ženama and: “Fondacija lokalne demokratije”, “Žene za žene Internacional”, “Unija ŽAR”, “Centar za promociju civilnog društva”, “Obrazovanje gradi BiH”, “Krug 99”, “HCA” and “Udružene Žene” Banjaluka, “Lara” Bijeljina, “Zora” Milići, “Sara” Srebrenica, “Pokret majki enklave Srebrenica i Žepa”, “Žene sa Une” Bihać, “Budućnost” Modriča, “ART” Glamoč, “Udruženje žena Doboj”, “Želja” Skelani, “Demokratski centar” Ljubuški, “Centar za djecu sa posebnim potrebama” Mostar, “Udruženje žena Tomislavgrad”, “Udruženje žena Odžak”, “Žene okruglog stola Distrikt Brčko”, «Privrednik» Stolac, «Oaza» Trebinje, «La Strada» Mostar, CRI Gacko, «Udruženje žena Teslić i Doboj», «Info Centar» Nevesinje, CAM and NORA Šekovići, «Centar za Ženske Studije» Zagreb, «Centar za žene žrtve rata» Zagreb, «Centar za mir» Osijek, «Homo» Pula, «Centar za građansku suradnju» Poreč, «Ženski Centar» Karlovac, «Žene u Crnom» Beograd, «Autonomni ženski centar» Beograd, «Centar za Kulturnu dekontaminaciju» Beograd, «Ženska soba» Zagreb, «BaBe» Zagreb, «Esma» Skopje, Women's group from Slavonski Brod, «BonaFida» Pljevlja, «Zenski Forum» Podgorica, «Sigurna kuca» Podgorica, «Urban-In» Novi Pazar, «Otvoreno drustvo» and «Antiko» Skopje and Gostivar, Kosovo human rights group, Kosovo Women's Network... are members of following networks: • RING • Women Waging Peace • Women Activists’ Cross Border Actions • Women in black • East- West Women’s Network • Women’s Court • V-day- Global movement against violence against women and girls • Daphne • Safe network • Referent Group Tuzla • NGO Council • Work and Succeed Together • NDC- Culture of Peace and Non- violence Network • LIŽ- Network of women members of Municipal Councils in Sarajevo region • “Be seen, be heard”, women engaged in Municipal authorities and women from NGOs create programs for economic and social reconstruction in local communities. • CSN-the establishment of a court support network
Mission and Objectives

BiH society does not recognize women's rights as human rights. Women's NGOs promote women's human rights as a priority and significant element of BiH society in order to point out the state of social women's needs in relation to health protection, social care, employment, health, accommodation, education and non-discrimination.
In BiH the scope of women's human rights depends more on political and economic situation in the country than on legislation based on international human rights documents.
The difficult social context disables realization of rights guaranteed by local legislation and international conventions and declarations. There are many examples of violation of women's human rights.
Most of women are not informed about possibilities that certain laws and institutions can provide.
Žene Ženama has played a very important role in civil society development in BiH in area of understanding of the concept of «democracy» and «human rights».
By working on improvement of lives of women and other marginalized groups and individuals, we recognized disharmony between speeches of politicians about gender equality and their rejection to accept women out of their traditional roles. It stimulated us to reexamine women's approach to human rights and to let human rights be a priority in context of democratic reconstruction.
The model of our approach to women's human rights helped women to get rid of old symbiotic forms regarding male/ female relations determined by culture, religion, state and economic structure, but it also made us different from other groups.
By providing unique creative space for women's empowerment and advocacy in area of education, social rights, security, peace and gender equality, «Žene Ženama» members built an approach that preserves coherency of women's human rights and women's solidarity in BiH.
At the beginning, women establishers of «Žene Ženama» had different motives. Some of them wanted a safe space for articulation of war and post- war experiences; others wished for a creative space in which they will reexamine their knowledge through feminist theory and practice and plan actions in order to make changes in BiH society in area of human rights and male/ female relations.
Methodology and working principles
• Team work
• Feminist approaches in definition of goals and values of the organization
• Good information exchange
• Respect of diversities
• Good communication
• Motivation and voluntarism
• Partnership and solidarity
• Transparency of work and actions
The mission of the organization is a guideline for everyone whose social needs can be satisfied through the organization’s work. It determines the organization’s position in the society.
The mission is everlasting and came as a result of common work on definition of goals, values and future of the organization.

Main Projects / Activities

Žene Ženama has developed a program which integrates gender perspective in interpretation of human rights, democracy, feminism and non- violent communication using unique and creative model focused on education and activities of women and women’s groups in BiH context.
Program called «domestic concept of women's empowerment» is realized through:
• Education
• Support and
• Promotion
Program activities are education, research, publishing and public work.
Žene Ženama is aware of the current situation and that is why we rationally plan the activities by harmonizing our real goals with personal and organizational capacities as well as with assumptions of the surrounding which gives us possibility to find alternative ways of action which will lead us to the society which respects and realizes women's human rights.

Contact (1) Full Name
Memnuna Zvizdić
Head of the organisation
Memnuna Zvizdić
Contact (2) Full Name
Theresa Maria Bešić