In the words of Ljupka Mihajlovska: "Men play in the first league, women in the second, while women with disabilities in the third"
Source: UN Women
Ljupka Mihajlovska is a politician and human rights advocate with special focus on women with disabilities. She served in the Serbian Parliament until 2020 and is now a program director of the non-governmental organisation "For accessible environment". Last year, she was one of the participants of the UN Women's training for trainers on women's political participation and leadership.
"Participating in political processes where change is initiated and decisions are made whether at the local, regional or national level is the most powerful platform for change. Representative bodies should reflect the structure of the population. As we are collecting data on the population that is gender disaggregated, we should do something with it to enable everyone exercise equally their human rights. The right to political participation is one of the basic rights and that is a sufficient reason not to deny it to women. Political participation itself does not guarantee power and influence, but it is a basic prerequisite.
On the Serbian political scene, women are generally not competing with their male counterparts. As if there is an A list or the first league which is male and a B or second league which is female. I believe that no man sees a woman as competition, regardless of what qualifications she has, because he is aware that he is always in a better position. On the other hand, a woman with a disability can eventually see another woman as competition, although due to the double discrimination she is facing, she belongs to a third league. A woman with disability is at a disadvantage compared to a man on at least two grounds- as a woman and as a person with disability.
Read here the full interview posted by UN Women on 4 July 2024.
Ljupka Mihajlovska is a politician and human rights advocate with special focus on women with disabilities. She served in the Serbian Parliament until 2020 and is now a program director of the non-governmental organisation "For accessible environment". Last year, she was one of the participants of the UN Women's training for trainers on women's political participation and leadership.
"Participating in political processes where change is initiated and decisions are made whether at the local, regional or national level is the most powerful platform for change. Representative bodies should reflect the structure of the population. As we are collecting data on the population that is gender disaggregated, we should do something with it to enable everyone exercise equally their human rights. The right to political participation is one of the basic rights and that is a sufficient reason not to deny it to women. Political participation itself does not guarantee power and influence, but it is a basic prerequisite.
On the Serbian political scene, women are generally not competing with their male counterparts. As if there is an A list or the first league which is male and a B or second league which is female. I believe that no man sees a woman as competition, regardless of what qualifications she has, because he is aware that he is always in a better position. On the other hand, a woman with a disability can eventually see another woman as competition, although due to the double discrimination she is facing, she belongs to a third league. A woman with disability is at a disadvantage compared to a man on at least two grounds- as a woman and as a person with disability.
Read here the full interview posted by UN Women on 4 July 2024.