Women across the country march to demand equality on International Women’s Day

Women across the country marked International Women’s Day with marches and events celebrating women’s rights but also warning that women still faced many challenges in the struggle for gender equality.

The activities culminated in a series of Night Marches held in major cities around the country. In Zagreb a procession of women and men marched to Zrinjevac Park demanding greater rights for women including equality, protection from harassment in the workplace, and protection from abuse at home. These night marches on International Women’s Day have been held since 2016. This year they are taking place Zagreb, Split, Šibenik, Osijek, and Rijeka.

This year activists are highlighting the rights of women in the workplace. Statistics show that women are paid less than men on average and that men receive higher pensions on average than women.

“Women are exposed to structural violence every day. On the street, at the workplace, in their home, through a system that is supposed to provide efficient help and support, but instead abuses them further with long procedures and by neglecting the fact that women and children are direct victims of gender-based violence,” said Mirjana Kučer, and activist and organizer of the march in Split.

In Rijeka, the organizers of the Night March said the protest was an expression of dissatisfaction with the state of women's rights in Croatia and persistent gender inequality. It manifests itself through the unequal distribution of power, unequal working conditions and disproportional burden of women with household and emotional work, through norms, values and expectations, activists said.

Ana Ajduković, speaking on behalf of the organizers, read a proclamation in Adriatic Square. The longing for a return to traditional values was threatening to deprive women of their acquired rights, she said.

“We have to show that we are ready to defend ourselves. They impose norms and expectations on us. They expect us to be all-powerful, to do all kinds of work, and if we fight for ourselves, they think that we are secondary, powerless and hysterical at the same time,” she said.

Mirna Šostarko, an organizer with the Night March Osijek initiative, claims that women's voices are constantly being silenced and that there are mounting problems on the gender equality and women's rights front.

“We want to tell women to go out into the streets, to raise their voices and let their voices be heard. In this way, we want to motivate women to go to the polls and tell them to make an informed decision about who they will vote for, to take a closer look at what options are offered and who offers solutions to improve women's rights,” said Šostarko.

Although Croatian society has made progress on gender equality and improving legislation to facilitate it, everyday gender-based injustices, from workplace harassment to violence in public and at home, are still significantly present, warns Višnja Ljubičić, the ombudswoman for gender equality.