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Women’s political representation in Croatia
After the independence process from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1990, Croatia started the transition to democracy. Since 1990, Croatia has held several parliamentary elections and has had a spectrum of political parties, similar to other EU countries, with social-democrats and Christian-democrats as the most important political forces.
The Gender Equality Act which applies to representative bodies, was first implemented during local elections in May 2017. The Act stipulates that when submitting electoral lists for the election of representatives to the Croatian Parliament and the election of members of representative bodies in the units of local and regional governments and the election of representatives to the European Parliament, that political parties and all political actors observe a gender quota of 40 %. However, women’s representation in major political parties remains low until today.
Croatia had one female president, Kolinda Grabar Kitarović, from 2015 to 2020 and one female prime minister, Jadranka Kosor, from 2009 to 2011.
The feminist movement in Croatia
The feminist movement is a very vibrant movement in Croatia and acts predominantly trough non-profit and non-governmental organizations, networks, and informal and grassroots initiatives that tackle different issues affecting women and their health, such as sexual and reproductive health rights, their right to abortion, their right to be protected from violence and to enjoy equality and safety in the workplace.
Forms of discrimination against women
According to the Gender Equality Index of European Institute for Gender Equality with 57.9 out of 100 points, Croatia ranks 20th in the EU on the Gender Equality Index. Croatia’s score is 10.0 points below the EU’s score. Croatia’s scores are highest in the domains of health (83.7 points) and money (72.6 points). The country’s rankings in these two domains are comparatively low, 22nd and 21st, respectively.
Croatian feminists still demand:
- The full implementation of Istanbul convention
- A new stronger law on abortion
- A better protection for women victims of violence
Highlights
The Croatian Parliament ratified Istanbul Convention on the 13th of April 2018, with 110 votes in favor, 30 against and 2 abstentions. About a dozen of the 55 MPs of the ruling HDZ party were against the ratification of the document. The feminists were the vital factor that increased the pressure on politicians throughout this process.
The initiative #spasime organized a huge protest in 2019, demanding more protection for victims of violence against women. The organizers were then invited to the Prime Minister’s office who accepted their request to improve the law and secure more funding to the victims, among others.
