Despite being important social actors in times of crisis, women’s contributions and work are often erased and neglected. In Serbia, under Slobodan Milošević’s regime, feminist groups were some of the first to oppose the war and lead nonviolent protests against the authoritarian regime. Our current patriarchal, militarist and clerical environments seriously marginalize women, resulting in a society that does not understand the concept or value of investing in women. Despite the uphill battle, there are groups in Serbia making much-needed efforts to bring women’s issues and rights to the spotlight.
As a feminist foundation, the Reconstruction Women’s Fund (RWF) is the only local funder that mobilizes resources to strengthen women’s organizations in Serbia. In 2015, we issued 60 grants to 43 different groups through our grantmaking programs and 13 of these went to first-time grantees. The groups come from 18 different locations and some of them are working in their wider surroundings. Also, as part of our “Žarana Papić” progam, we awarded three stipends for women’s or gender studies at the master’s and PhD level, and two stipends have been conditionally approved for the second semester of 2016. Over the past year, RWF provided $131,644 in grants and issued $27,229 in indirect support.
Philanthropy for us means investing in a better future, building together the relations of equality, solidarity, transparency and humanity. However, over the years, society has shifted and generosity seems less common than it once was. Recently, 73% of surveyed Serbians stated that donations for the public good are too scarce, and the most common reasons cited were lack of resources, people being overburdened by their own problems, and mistrust in where the funds would go. Many Serbians now work under inhumane conditions, submitting to harmful situations just to survive, often risking their health but with no money for medicine. Education has been privatized and has deteriorated, and the social system does not offer adequate protection for most people. Women have the double burden of worrying about their job security while also doing most of the housework and family care.
