22nd May 2015

Bosnia Women's Court: A Feminist Approach to Justice

From 1991 through 2001, a series of conflicts, including the Bosnian War, were fought on the territory of the Former Yugoslavia. During that time, ethnic, sexual and economic violence against women was rampant and rape was used as a tool for “ethnic cleansing”. Neither international nor domestic trials adequately addressed these multiple forms of violence against women, and neither was focused on the interests of victims. It was evident that a court designed by and for women was needed in order to develop a feminist approach to justice in this context.

Recognizing this need, diverse women’s organizations, including the Mothers of the Enclaves of Srebrenica and Zepa, Women’s Forum, and Foundation CURE from Bosnia and Herzegovina; the Centre for Women’s Studies and the Centre for Women War Victims – ROSA from Croatia; the Kosovo Women’s Network; the National Council for Gender Equality from Macedonia; Anima from Montenegro; Women’s Lobby Slovenia; and Women’s Studies and Women in Black from Serbia worked for the past five years to organize a Women’s Court. The Court was a ground-breaking event. During its hearings, which took place May 7-10, 2015 in Sarajevo, Bosnia, women testified publicly about their experiences of ethnic and sexual violence, and about militarism and economic harms throughout the wars that engulfed the region during the 1990s.

To read the interview by Peace is Loud with Karima Bennoune, University of California-Davis Professor of Law, author of Your Fatwa Does Not Apply Here: Untold Stories from the Fight Against Muslim Fundamentalism, and Peace is Loud speaker, click here.