SOZM

I was finally able to meet with another women’s rights organization for my next meeting. SOZM or the National Council for Gender Equality (НСЖМ), is an NGO located in Skopje focusing on domestic violence. They had the smallest office I have yet seen. They had some room that was at most 10 feet long and 5 feet across. They fit about 5-7 people in this office at the time I was there. It was very disorganized- papers and books everywhere, but they were in the middle of a campaign. This was my shortest interview, because they had allotted less than one hour for our meeting. Also, they were very busy at this time.

This interview took place through a translator, because the head of the organization didn’t speak English, however, some of the information I got from the lady who translated. She also worked there and was not just a translator.

After the “reorganization” of Macedonia in 1991, they created the organization in Skopje and a few in other towns. They hosted humanitarian and peace events across the country. About 4 years later, there were 13 different women’s organizations in a network for international women’s rights.
Back then, many women were not involved in political activity. From the first and second parliamentary elections only 4 or 5 of the 120 members were women. The Reason for this, according to SOZM, was the parties themselves. They didn’t have women in the parties, they saw no need at first. This was one of their first goals- to get more women involved in politics. This was one reason for the establishment of their NGO- they saw this as a channel for social activity.
Using the political empowerment of women as the jumping board, they went as network throughout MK. All the different organizations completed independent activities but shared a common vision.

The government is supposed to support local women organizations and build their capacity. In 2011, there are 110 local independent organizations in the network that SOZM is a part of. They are the result of organizations acting as a network to promote the interests of women. Outside of the network, there are 200 other independent local women’s organizations The NGO sector outside of Skopje is not very active, nor visible. But there are a few NGOs that are very active.

SOZM works with the government and the municipalities, but mostly with the municipalities. They have no problem working with the government. They work closely with the local government, but it is “a different story” when working with the national government. Every time they approach the national government the situation is different. The national government  is fine to work with, but just not good for money. They have not received funding from the government for over 5 years; what funding they did get, was very minimal. All the funding comes from international donors. There is more money coming from the national government in the future. After MK became a Candidate Country, there was less funding available to NGOs in MK. In the future, they want to their use of international donors. While many of the people active in their organization are volunteers, they need funds to pay for their office space and main activities.
They work towards fighting the perception of opposition NGOs. They admit there are some NGOGOs and ones that are specifically one party or the other, but not all are. SOZM claims that not very many organizations are perceived this way. They did not elaborate.

While they mainly focus on violence now, they want to branch out to focus on economic and political issues. They do not yet have the funds to realize these goals yet.
SOZM provides a SOS line in three different mobile numbers, so it is no charge to the victims. They are able to reach someone to talk about their problems. Then the women who call will be refereed to other organizations for shelters, legal aid, etc. They can also be advised on their legal rights.  They also have an intervention center. You can stay there for 24 to 48 hours before you have to move. The center provides accommodation and food for the women. Outside of Skopje other organizations provide the same services within the network or women's organizations. They promote the call lines and shelters on local media, leaflets, etc. They even organized a round table with the stakeholders when the lines first became active.

They probably serve about 80 women monthly.

They also focus on the economic empowerment of women. They provide English and computer courses. They will train women how to start their own businesses. Or how to expand a current business. There is also a program for peace and conflict resolution that they work with. They promote the UN Resolution 1325. Towards increasing the participation of women in politics/democracy, their input for decision making, peace and in upper levels in the police and army.

Civil Society Institute

(Not to sound like a broken record, but..) My next meeting was with Center for Civic Initiative (CCI). CCI has been in operation for 15 years. They have had great success with local reform with two different political parties in power. And to put it lightly, they made me actually feel important. It started with a car to pick me up in Skopje rather than taking the bus (which I was willing and able to do and even tried to convince them that I should do). Then I was taken out to lunch and dropped off in front of my friend’s apartment! And they were super super nice, some of the nicest people I have met yet and they were willing to help!

Once I arrived in Prilep, where their NGO is located, we immediately started talking about them! Their office is near the center, but still on the outskirts of town. They have three rooms, a reception area, small kitchen, and bathroom. And the rooms were very full of furniture or books! I will try my best to organize this interview, but we jumped all over the place with questions and answers!

The civil society sector in MK, according to them, is highly dependant upon donors. The different NGOs fight for the same idea, but with such small funding sources, they compete for people and money. There are a large number of NGOs registered, but many are no longer practicing. Former ministers often see the civil society as a place to retire into- and they create their own special NGO just for them.  There are a few more NGOs than the normally accepted one that could be recognized, but there are not any watchdog organizations or any constructive critics. Many NGOS will not be politicized, or rather they will not join any parties or be associated with any political party. This way people will not see the NGOs actions as politicized. If they are seen as neutral then their funding doesn’t depend on whatever party is in power.

CCI tries to have a relationship with the entity and not the people in the positions. They partner with the local government, and are now in the position that they can ask them to try new ways of working without having to work for the party in the elections. In the last 2 years the local and national government and the NGOGOs have fostered a division of NGOs into the Soros NGOs and other NGOs. They tried to create the public opinion that the Soros NGOs are trying to make the country weak intentionally. Some of the people in government see enemies in the NGO/civil society sector because the government people think NGOs are trying to take over their jobs. There is now closer cooperation between the NGOs, partly because they are afraid of taking any action that may cause problems for them in the future. Now you can see NGOs working with the government without criticism from the public. Yet, they are working as a passive NGO sector. No one stood up in Feburary when ethnic tensions rose due to the conflict over the museum shaped as a church in the fortress in Skopje, because this was rather risky. The NGO sector is working as a passive sector right now- no one stands up when things are going badly, because they are afraid of the risks. They are happy that there is an NGO sector. They told me that “Our main concern is that we are lacking a strong partnership between NGOs.” There is no union of NGOs nor is there any cooperation. They even claim there there is no sense of working together because it is extremely difficult to get people to work together- make the meetings or phone calls. When asked why- they admitted that there is a known need, but there are some that disagree that there is a need. There is also a lack of effective action towards NGOs. If the NGOs are acting alone, then there is the idea that they are easy to eliminate, but if there is a network  of NGOs trying to work together then the government would be more responsive. They work mostly for their own community rather than the greater community of the nation.

For 15 years there has not been a very active NGO sector. From 1999-2001 a lot of money came into MK due to the different conflicts. Many new NGOs were formed to take this easy money without learning how to write good grant proposals or continue the activities after the easy money was gone. Now CCI tries to get the funds and then implement more locally, often through re-granting procedures, the programs to help local people. Some NGOs are afraid to take action because it may cause problems with the government or local authorities. However, you can see NGOs working with the government with out criticism.

CCI feels that protecting human rights isn’t just the responsibility of the government, but also of the NGO sector. The government claims it is working with grassroots organizations, but this is just an excuse for not being active in critical areas, CCI believes. They even emphasized that it is more true now than before because MK is on the edge of a crisis. No community member or government employee is trying to imitate dialog between the government and the opposition or the ethnic groups of MK. They see no other option but for the NGO/civil society sector to step up and help bring the sides together.

CCICCI is trying to make changes through constructive cooperation and showing them it is important through their work with the kids. As long as they are putting topics that bring reform on the agenda, but that do not criticise the government then it is OK to propose them. The reforms need to be satisfying to both sides; often that means focusing on women’s rights, handicapped people, and human trafficking.

The government has helped create the idea in public that if you criticize the government then you are part of the opposition. There is no ‘mature-ness’ about democracy, according to CCI. The previous government/leaders are the ones who have changed it. There is a greater fear of obstacles, more personal power tendencies, and a lack of democratic experiences. While NGOs are making study visits to see how democracy is functioning in other countries, the government officials are not. Everyone is waiting for others to initiate a network rather than being the ones to initiate the network. That NGO that starts it will have the focus of the government (and it is implied the criticism). But waiting for other to act, CCI states, creates a dark atmosphere for NGOs; soon reality will force them to act with democracy.

CCI was began in 1997. They work with human rights/democracy, capacity building for the NGO sector, and the improvement public sector. They mostly focus on human rights/democracy. They began with refugee education, teaching kids so they didn’t loose their place in school. They helped form children/youth centers around MK. They offered classes and clubs in English Language, debate, theater, social skills, IT. The groups would have some focus on human rights and equality. Many kids were targeted through these extra-curricular activities. Then a different agency took over the camps, and some still function today but CCI does not run them.

After the camps, CCI focused on institutional development and capacity building. They did different studies on how to run an NGO. They received funding to build their own NGO up so they could help others. They want to share their experience and help with deeper cooperation. From the funding that they received to capacity build they also learned the “zig-zag” process. This process states that they go to the community and learn their needs. Then they go back to the board to create a program. When they have an idea, they go back to the community to implement to project.

They have over 80 implemented projects. They have discussed needs with different NGOs. They also deliver training to other NGOs and organizations. They will often give the new NGOs support, they monitor the implementations and assess their success. They believe that this could be applied to all sectors of governmental work. They have a big involvement in the beginning of new NGOs they fund. They have been granted money and through a process of re-granting they have helped over 30 other NGOs (such water meters, healthy, violence) all in the Prelip region. This re-granting has helped their reputation.

Another thing that CCI helps in providing legal aid to victims of human rights violations. They hired a lawyer to provide legal advice on domestic violence or work violations. This is still required in today’s climates, people come to complain to them almost every day. Since 2004 they focus on police violence. Now the lawyer is an internal asset to CCI rather than an external collaborator. Through cooperation with NGOs in Kumanovo, Strumitca, and Skopje all under the coordination of the Skopje organization this way they have almost the entire country covered.

Another thing they work on is prevention of human trafficking by training in schools and in the center of social care. They have developed teacher manuals and tested them in schools. They have lobbied to have the manuals adopted, but so far they have not been successful. MK is both a transit (girls are passed through MK) as well as an origin company (girls originate in MK). They are trying to make people more aware about the problem and what they can do to stop it. Most people who are responsible for the origin are members of the girls family. Most girls are traded for sex and are minors. Human trafficking needs to be recognized, and reported in especially in some areas. Part of the difficulties is the lack of knowledge. The government has called for proposals, but only certain NGOs get money from the government. There is some public perception of human trafficking  but it needs more PR to have a higher awareness.

They also work on public administration a bit. They have an office in the municipality to help people become familiar with the NGO sector. They use this mainly to work with the the municipality on the NGO sector. They are working with neighborhood units so they can decide that their needs are locally rather than national government decided. There are 16 communities in the Prilep area. The neighborhoods are able to promote their positions in the municipalities. They are not asking for individual needs but rather the neighborhood action. They are trying to implement these in other countries or municipalities. The neighborhood units are a potential civil society outreach, but they need minimum funds to support volunteerism and lobby for the community.

They have received funding from many foreign donors, such as the US, EU, and individual organizations. However, they have never received funding from the MK government. CCI has applied but there is a very selective approach to who gets the MK funds. While they do not receive monetary funding, the government helps them out non-financially. There is great cooperation between the ministry of education , ombudsman, justice and the interior. Most NGOs have problems with funding a few have received funding through the EU as well as the US. This funding is mostly to new or different NGOs.

Gender vs. Sex Beginings...

Now that I have decided to “summarize” these books I have been reading and I look towards what yesterday appeared to be a very small amount of research, I feel overwhelmed. Do I just provide you with quotes? Do I provide you with my reactions to said quotes? Do I try to integrate these quotes into a paper? (What do I write the paper on? Have you ever tried to write a paper without a prompt? Let me tell you that it is hard.)

 
So here’s to trying to figure something out!

Jelisaveta Blagojevic argues that notions of gender are understood in a way that cross other differences (such as race or class) (Blagojevic, 11). Due to the fact that gender crosses so many different boundaries, Blagojevic continues her argument by stating that to classify gender into one discipline, such as women’s studies, is false. Besides the fact that gender crosses many boundaries, “gender” is also a dynamic concept and the ideas are constantly changing. Rada Ivekovis supports Blagovevic by stating that “the sex or gender dimension is…a social, economic, political, [and] symbolic order which means that is it a hierarchically constructed” (Ivekovis, 43). Since the notion of gender is both a social notion and a political argument, Ivekovis argues that by those definitions it is hierarchically constructed, with the male gender above the female gender (or any other gender that may exist). The differences between the sexes (of male and female) was the first “globally accepted [order] in a patriarchal regime [that was] subsequently made into a complicit instrument for the maintenance of all other known hierarchies and orders” (Ivekovis, 46).**

It is also important to note, and often forgotten or just not noticed, that ‘sex’ or ‘gender’ or anything really is “accessible to us only through culture, as already mediated, and thus as already gendered” (Ivekovis, 45). Culture is already gendered, or often becomes gendered as we consume it though advertising or walking down a street. A question can be raised where do we draw the line (further, DO we need to draw a line?) between biological sex (such as in the DNA) and social gender? Ivekois argues that the line is not important, but what is important is to acknowledge the differences between the definitions and their possible applications. If we draw the line socially between biological sexes, what do we (society) do with people who so strongly identify with the gender that not match their biological sex? Where are they to fit into our social discourse? Where are they to go to the bathroom? Which side would they be on when we split into boys vs. girls in the playground? Most often they are forced to join in with their biological commonly accepted sex of male or female (in the western world), no matter the emotional or psychological consequences. If we draw the line based on what these individuals choose to  identify themselves as we (as society) would have to address all of the above issues as well as many more. Why do we delineate the roughly 6.97 billion people into only two categories? What happens with the established hierarchy between male and female if we acknowledge that gender/sex is not predetermined by random happenstance in the reproductive cycle?

The world would have to change. And that scares many people.

*In fact it could be noted that all examples of identity in fact cross all other boundaries and to specify that one form of your identity cross any other more so than the other form is far to simplistic an outlook on a complex issue.

**I acknowledge that this is a western feminist perspective and is not seen in many other cultures as the basis of society or even other hierarchies. While this particular subject is far to vast for me to cover at this time and in this research, I wish to acknowledge that I recognize the problems with this quote and others like it.

Jelisaveta Blagojevic, “Introduction,” in Gender & identity: Theories from &/or on South East Europe, ed by Jelisaveta Blagojevic, Katerina Kolozova, Svetlana Slapsak. (Belgrade Women’s Studies & Gender Research/Athena, 2006).

Rada Ivekovic, “The Fiction of Gender Constructing the Fiction of Nation: On How Fictions are Normative and Norms Produce Exceptions,” in Gender & identity: Theories from &/or on South East Europe, ed by Jelisaveta Blagojevic, Katerina Kolozova, Svetlana Slapsak, 43-65. (Belgrade Women’s Studies & Gender Research/Athena, 2006).