Women’s rights petition against men’s public prayer vigils, sparks counter-petition

Women’s rights activists have launched a petition to stop an ultra-conservative Catholic men’s group from holding monthly prayer vigils in central town squares across Croatia.

On the first Saturday of each month, the group kneels in prayer, asking for guidance to become the spiritual authority in the family, for premarital purity and chastity, and for an end to abortion. In Zagreb’s Ban Jelačić Square, which is usually crowded on Saturday mornings, the vigils often include dozens of men clutching rosary beads.

Women’s rights groups argue that the gatherings promote a patriarchal culture that contributes to rising violence against women. So far this year, 18 women have been killed in Croatia, including two in the past week. The petition calls for the prayer vigils to be moved out of central public spaces. It has been submitted to Parliament, the Government and the Constitutional Court.

Sanja Sarnavka, the activist behind the petition, said Wednesday that more than 63,000 people had already signed it.

“This shows how many citizens feel there is something wrong in our society and that we have to put an end to the discriminatory labeling, bans, and demands of which these ‘kneelers’ are only one part of the problem,” Sarnavka said.

In response, the youth wing of the right-wing Homeland Movement, a member of the governing coalition, launched a counter-petition calling for an end to gay pride and anti-fascist parades in central public spaces. Homeland Movement leader Ivan Penava said his party opposes any form of bans and accused women’s rights activists of double standards.

“This proposal is quite totalitarian, incomprehensible to our libertarian, democratic way of thinking. If people who pray in public are considered a problem, then should we also ban gay pride and anything else that promotes a ‘woke’ ideology, and push them to the countryside so they won’t annoy most Croatian citizens?” Penava said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Veterans’ Minister Tomo Medved was asked for comment on the petitions. “We’ve seen a series of petitions now. We’ll review the content and then consider it,” Medved said, noting he had not yet examined this particular petition.