ILO - Post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina - Martha Walsh

ILO Action Programme on Skills and Entrepreneurship Training for Countries Emerging from Armed Conflict

Post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina:
Integrating women's special situation and gender perspectives in skills training and employment promotion programmes

Martha Walsh

ISBN 92-2-110678-0
First published 1997

Abstract

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Training Policies and Systems Branch
Employment and Training Department
International Labour Office, Geneva, 1997

Preface
Abbreviations
Executive Summary
1.	The conflict
2.	Socio-economic issues: The pre-war situation and impacts and implications of the conflict
3.	Political and institutional issues
4.	Rehabilitation assistance
5.	Women's organizations
6.	Guidelines
Annotated bibliography
Additional references

Annexes

Annex 1	Interviews
Annex 2	Relevant institutions and organizations
Annex 3	Terms of reference

List of boxes, tables and figure

Boxes

Box 1.	Magbula: A displaced woman
Box 2.	WFP vulnerability indicators
Box 3.	Draft labour law provisions on protection of women
Box 4.	Progressing towards integration
Box 5.	Intellectual women's needs

Tables

Table 1.	1989 wages per month
Table 2.	Unemployed persons according to qualification, 1996
Table 3.	Registered unemployed in Sarajevo and Mostar, 31 October 1996
Table 4.	Percentage of age group enrolled in education in Yugoslavia

Figure

Figure 1.

Diversity among Bosnian women

PREFACE

This document, prepared by Martha Walsh through BRIDGE -- part of the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex -- is an input to the ILO Action Programme on Skills and Entrepreneurship Training for Countries Emerging from Armed Conflict. This multidisciplinary and interdepartmental programme, under implementation during the 1996-97 biennium, is geared to, inter alia, making policy proposals, elaborating guidelines for national and international capacity building, producing training materials, a database and a compendium of major training and employment-related initiatives in conflict-affected countries. The programme has undertaken several country-level research activities to generate relevant data and insights to underpin preparation of the above-mentioned outputs. Ms. Walsh's study is one example.

This report on the study examines the gendered consequences of war. They include gender role changes emanating from exigencies of the conflict-affected context; weakened community structures, cohesion and trust and their impact on women's coping strategies and vulnerability after war; increase in numbers and vulnerability of female-headed households; and greater differences between men and women in their opportunities in the postwar labour market including greater discrimination against women and their limited representation in decision-making bodies. On the other hand men appear to receive limited focus in the programmes set up to tackle the war-related psychological traumas of the population. This could have adverse effects on women in terms of the high level of male violence against them in postwar households. The report also shows that pre-war differences in the conditions of the diverse groups of women influence the impact of war on them. Apart from gender, other causes of vulnerability identified in post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina are ethnicity, disability, age and social class which all have to be tackled in the technical assistance projects implemented for the vulnerable in the postwar society.

The study finds, from a review of some of the ongoing postwar projects executed by the different international agencies and NGOs, that they do not contribute substantially to empowering women through enhancing their absorption in emerging productive opportunities in the labour market. On the whole, they do not target women's strategic needs. While many women's associations currently exist in the country which can make a contribution to improve women's postwar situation, extent of their contribution is currently limited since they do not "engage in the public arena". The only exception appears to be the Bosnian Women's Initiative.

The report makes a number of proposals regarding policy and programme to guide future action.

Eugenia Date-Bah,
Coordinator,
Action Programme on Skills and Entrepreneurship Training
for Countries Emerging from Armed Conflict,
Training Policies and Systems Branch,
ILO, Geneva.

ABREVIATIONS

BIH	Bosnia and Herzegovina
BWI	Bosnian Women's Initiative
CEDAW	Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women
DM	Deutschmark
ECHO	European Community Humanitarian Organization
EIU	Economist Intelligence Unit
ETF	Employment and Training Foundation
FHH	Female-Headed Household
GDP	Gross Domestic Product
GSP	Gross Social Product
IDP	Internally Displaced Person
IFI	International Financial Institution
IFOR	International Peacekeeping Force
ILO	International Labour Office
INGO	International Non Governmental Organization
IRC	International Rescue Committee
LDI	Local Development Initiatives
LEDA	Local Economic Development Area
LNGO	Local Non-Governmental Organization
MDC	Municipal Development Committees
NGO	Non-Governmental Organization
OHR	Office of the High Representative
OSCE	Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
PR	Proportional Representation
RS	Republika Srpska
SFOR	Stabilization Force
UN	United Nations
UNDP	United Nations Development Programme
UNHCR	United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF	United Nations Children's Fund
UNOPS	United Nations Office of Project Services
UNPROFOR	United Nations Peacekeeping Force
USAID	US Agency for International Development
WFP	World Food Programme
WHO	World Health Organization

GLOSSARY

Ambulante	Community-level primary health-care clinics
Dom zdravljas	Larger primary health-care centres which coordinated and supervised the ambulantes
Hejab	Headscarf worn by Muslim women

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On 14 December 1995, the Bosnian conflict officially came to an end. After nearly four years of war which engulfed the country, 250,000 persons are dead, over two million are displaced internally or abroad, the infrastructure is in ruins, the economy in collapse, and society fragmented by distrust and suspicion as well as displacement and shock. Moreover, the conclusion of the conflict resulted in the division of the country along ethnic lines. Bosnia has now moved into what is referred to as the stabilization period in which it is envisaged that the economy will be revived, self-sufficiency increased, and the return and reintegration of refugees and the displaced will be achieved. However, many political hurdles stand in the way of achieving these objectives.

The gendered consequences of the war are most immediately apparent in the predominantly male death-toll and from that the sex-ratio imbalance and increased dependency ratio in the post-conflict population. These demographic factors will pose constraints to women's mobility, time, and access to resources. In addition, the exigencies of the war (e.g. the absence of male labour) necessitated women assuming responsibilities beyond those traditionally ascribed, posing a challenge to conventional gender roles and identities. Whereas fluidity in gender roles and responsibilities was accepted during the war, in the postwar era there has been an emphasis on returning to the pre-war construction of gender roles, stressing women's obligations in the home. Importantly, this has been expressed by both men and women from varying class and geographical backgrounds. These attitudes will further inhibit women's ability to take advantage of strategic gains made during the war, for example increased access to and participation in community administrative structures.

In many conflicts, women are seen to constitute the overwhelming majority of the displaced. However, the lack of data in Bosnia, specifically gender-disaggregated data, renders it impossible to draw any conclusions as to the make-up of the displaced population. Regardless, displacement has significant gendered consequences, relating particularly to the breakup of community structures and the ability to integrate into new environments. While both women and men rely on communities for basic forms of social exchange, women defined community organization and relations, particularly in rural settings. The breakup of carefully crafted networks based on trust and reciprocity will limit their strategies for coping with duress. The distrust which pervades Bosnia has and will continue to hamper people's ability to forge new ties or integrate into new communities, which will pose particular problems for women on their own or with children.

Despite increased economic activity and efforts to improve self-sufficiency in the postwar period, many households remain vulnerable to shocks and crises. Again, it is impossible to discern from available data if women are more likely to be vulnerable than men, nor should that assumption be made. Gender is an important element determining vulnerability, notably with regard to the heavier work burden on women in the home, discrimination against women in the labour market and economy and restricted access of women to resources. However, ethnicity also remains a key determinant of vulnerability relating to preferential access to resources, benefits, and jobs. Class, age and disablement have also been seen to affect ability to cope with shock. While programmes to provide basic necessities exist for those considered most vulnerable, they fall short in not identifying and addressing the multifaceted causes of vulnerability.

Efforts have been made, however, to decrease dependency and increase self-sufficiency for which employment and income generation have become central to the strategies of international donors. However, the opportunities for men and women in the labour market are starkly differentiated and seem to reflect pre-war gender-typing of occupations. Women, for example, are virtually excluded from construction-related jobs, which is where the bulk of current job vacancies is to be found. Rather, they are encouraged to assume "traditional" occupations in administrative fields, clothing manufacture, or in the production of home-made goods. Horizontal as well as vertical segregation in the labour force, where women constitute the lowest strata, also keeps them marginalized from decision-making bodies and spheres of influence.

Women's health declined appreciably during the war, particularly their reproductive and mental health. Concerted efforts were made by numerous international organizations to provide support to women survivors of trauma. Significantly, it was noted that one of the main causes of depression was unemployment. Moreover, where there have been sundry initiatives to address the mental health needs of women, few such programmes target men. This oversight at the same time emphasizes women as victims and neglects the health needs of men which, if unattended, may result in increased family and community violence.

In considering the impact of the war on women, it is critical to appreciate the heterogeneity of the population prior to the war. Not only did different women experience the war differently, their pre-war positioning informs the way in which they respond to the consequences of war -- for example, among the displaced population as well as women who had been housewives with only a primary-school education and women who were urban professionals with secondary or higher qualifications. The same is true for female ex-combatants and other categories of what are often referred to as "war-affected" groups.

The situation of women is unlikely to be improved through extant institutional structures, which in fact appear to be biased against increased participation of women in the public sphere. Women are virtually invisible in decision-making bodies, particularly in the political realm. Current legal and regulatory frameworks inhibit private initiatives in the business and NGO sectors. Particularly disturbing is the recent draft labour law which emphasizes women's reproductive role, diminishing opportunities for their advancement in productive capacities.

Both emergency and rehabilitation assistance have been targeted at women in their domestic capacities, focusing on their practical needs, with minimal consideration or room for identification of strategic interests. Overall, there has been a limited use of participatory methodologies in the design and implementation of projects. In some cases, this has led to a misidentification of needs and sources of vulnerability. Moreover, there appear to be few gender specialists or focal points on the ground and almost no collection of gender-disaggregated data on beneficiary populations.

In addition to international programmes for women, there are now over 50 local organizations run by women, mostly targeting women beneficiaries. They range in mandate from basic needs provision to human rights monitoring and encouraging women's political participation. Some organizations were founded during the war as either off-shoots of international programmes or as spontaneous initiatives. Others have emerged in the postwar era. These groups clearly constitute a solid base of the civil society, yet many are reticent to engage in the public arena and have not had the institutional support which would prepare them for that role.

Bosnian women's own initiatives offer the best opportunity for identifying and redressing the inequalities and barriers to women's equal participation in the economy, labour market, and key decision-making bodies. That so many diverse organizations have emerged is a positive sign of women's increased willingness to play active roles in emerging civil society. These efforts should be fostered, carefully, to ensure that sustainable organizations remain in place well beyond the withdrawal of the international community, to continue to serve and promote the diverse interests of women in postwar Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The ensuing report is based on data collected and interviews conducted during a two-week visit to the field in January 1997. The consultant carried out 33 semi-structured interviews in all with representatives from government ministries, the donor community, international and local NGOs, and with individuals and groups of Bosnian men and women. Additionally, the report refers to secondary texts and information gathered during a previous visit to Bosnia in June 1996.

During the field visit, the consultant travelled to Sarajevo, Mostar, Tuzla, Gorni Vakuf, and Banja Luka. Much of the evidence gathered is from federation territory given logistical and political constraints to obtaining information from the Republika Srpska (RS). These factors obviously detract from the conclusions of the report and it is suggested that more extensive research be focused on the particularities of the RS. It also proved difficult to gain access to rural areas in either entity. Additionally, time constraints, unavailability of relevant data, and language posed particular difficulties.

The consultant is deeply indebted to the staff of the ILO Office in Sarajevo for facilitating practical and logistical aspects of her visit.

1. THE CONFLICT

1.1. Political history

The war in Bosnia, which erupted in April 1992, is best described as a complex political emergency encompassing elements of an eroding nation State, a faltering economy, external aggression, internal fracture, international engagement, massive population displacement, and the prominence of ethno-nationalism.

From 1945 to 1980, Josip Broz (Tito) sought to establish unity and ethnic harmony among the populations in the six republics of Yugoslavia. Following his death in 1980, national unity began to disintegrate. As the republics began to demand more autonomy from Belgrade, Serb nationalism experienced a revival. Moreover, the Yugoslav economy had suffered first from massive debt in the 1970s and then from hyper-inflation in the 1980s. This combination of factors led the northern and more prosperous republics of Croatia and Slovenia to declare independence in July 1991. Rejecting what it considered an illegal secession, Belgrade attacked first Slovenia (the fighting there lasted only ten days) and then Croatia. The Serbo-Croat conflict was ended by an internationally brokered cease-fire in January 1992.

In March 1992, Bosnia held its own referendum on independence, which was approved by a two-thirds majority. Seeking to remain part of a Greater Serbia, Bosnian Serb nationalists boycotted the referendum and threatened military resistance to secession from Yugoslavia. Upon international recognition of Bosnia's independence, Bosnian Serb militias, with support from the Belgrade-controlled Yugoslav National Army, began their offensive in Bosnia on 6 April 1992.

Fighting between the Bosnian Muslim/Croat and Bosnian Serb forces was concentrated in the northern and eastern parts of Bosnia. Yet in 1993, fighting broke out between the Bosnian Croat and Bosnian Muslim armies as a result of growing distrust between the two sides and Croat claims to parts of western and southern Bosnia. This conflict spread through the central, western and southern parts of Bosnia thus leaving virtually no part of Bosnia untouched by the war.

For four years, the war in Bosnia was fuelled by a politically manufactured resurgence of ethno-nationalism which had two principal outcomes. First, distrust and fear spread among the population leading to a breakdown in community and personal relations. The second consequence, ethnic cleansing, which came to characterize the war, was at once a military strategy to prevent reprisal from defeated areas, and for the Bosnian Serbs it was also a means of expunging the elements which were perceived to threaten the existence of the Serbs and the Serb nation.

Ethnic cleansing was a gendered process in which women of other ethnicities were raped systematically both to mar their ethnic purity and to engender fear throughout the community and encourage flight. Men were sent to concentration camps and/or executed. It is estimated that 20,000-50,000 women were raped during the war, some in rape camps. Over 10,000 men remain missing. More than 2 million people were forcibly displaced, largely as a consequence of ethnic cleansing. It should be noted that while ethnic cleansing was primarily implemented by the Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Croats and Muslims also adopted this strategy.

International mediation efforts were ongoing throughout the war and succeeded in ending the conflict between the Muslim and Croat armies in March 1994, at which time the Bosniac-Croat ⁽¹⁾ Federation was created. A United Nations Peacekeeping Force (UNPROFOR) was deployed to secure safe passage for humanitarian aid convoys. UNPROFOR did not, however, have a peace-enforcing mandate to protect the population. NATO was authorized to and did carry out air strikes against Bosnian Serb positions in response to violations of international agreements, such as the Bosnian Serb attack on the UN Protected Area of Srebrenica. An international arms embargo had been imposed on the whole territory of Bosnia and an economic embargo against the Bosnian Serbs and Serbia.

In November 1995 a peace agreement was finally reached through negotiations conducted at an American airbase in Dayton, Ohio. On 14 December 1995, the warring factions signed the Dayton-Paris Peace Agreement, formalizing both the cessation of hostilities and the partitioning of Bosnia along ethnic lines. According to the Agreement, the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina now consists of two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (51 per cent of the territory) and Republika Srpksa (49 per cent). Under the accords, the International Peacekeeping Force (IFOR) was established, a framework for elections was constructed, and mechanisms for the repatriation of refugees and protection of human rights were created. In addition, the Constitution for the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was included in the agreement, identifying government structures and delineating responsibilities between the Republic and the entities. Also mandated by Dayton was the extradition of war criminals to the International War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague.

1.2. Stabilization period

Following the September 1996 elections, Bosnia entered a two-year phase referred to as the stabilization period. It is envisaged by the international community that during this phase the full implementation of the Dayton Accords will be achieved, the repatriation and reintegration of refugees and the internally displaced will be completed, and that humanitarian assistance will be phased out. Despite the extended presence of an international peacekeeping force (Stabilization Force-SFOR) to promote a stable environment, there remain significant hurdles to achieve these objectives.

While the war has effectively ended, ethnic cleansing continues throughout the country and is being conducted by all three ethnic parties. This makes difficult, if not impossible, the task of rebuilding trust and restoring relationships at the interpersonal, community and national levels. Moreover, it is likely to stymie the return of refugees from abroad and the integration of internally displaced persons. A related concern is the wide-scale abuse of human rights which persists throughout both entities.

Reconstruction and economic revitalization efforts have achieved some success since the Dayton Accords were signed. However, unemployment continues to exceed 50 per cent with few new job opportunities being created. Additionally, the lack of demining activities continues to threaten both lives and livelihoods, particularly in rural areas.

During this period, men and women in Bosnia are coming to terms with the consequences of the war which includes the redefinition and renegotiation of gender roles. The exigencies of war had necessitated an increased reliance on the participation of women in community mobilization, wage labour, and in maintaining the security of the household, some of which are activities normally beyond the ascribed responsibilities of women. While the war has ended, the vestiges of the conflict (e.g. absence of men, high unemployment) have prevented men and women from returning to their traditionally ascribed roles. This situation does offer transformative potential for women in Bosnian society. However, both men and women from urban and rural areas have expressed discomfort with the expanded role of women in society. How postwar gender identities are shaped in the coming months and years will depend largely on the ability of Bosnian society to accept an expanded role for women and on the opportunities for women in the economy, labour market and society as well as the extent to which external support stresses gender sensitivity and supports women's changed roles.

2. SOCIO-ECONOMIC ISSUES: THE PRE-WAR SITUATION AND IMPACTS AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE CONFLICT

2.1. Demographics

In both population and land mass, Bosnia was the third largest republic in Yugoslavia (EIU, 1991: 8). The 1991 census registered Bosnia's population at 4.3 million of whom 41 per cent identified as Muslim,⁽²⁾ 31.4 per cent as Serb, 17.3 per cent as Croat, and 7.6 per cent as "Yugoslav" or other (World Bank, 1996a: 2). Of the pre-war population, women constituted 51 per cent (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 6). Sixty-seven per cent of the population was between the ages of 16 and 65 (ibid). Birth-rates in Bosnia of 14.9 births per 1000 inhabitants (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 5) were almost identical to the Yugoslavia average of 15 per 1000 (World Bank, 1992: 271) and on a par with most high income industrial states (ibid). The majority, or 62 per cent , of Bosnia's population resided in urban areas (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 4), higher than the national average of 56 per cent urban residence which had increased from 31 per cent in 1965, reflecting a shift from agricultural production to industrialization (World Bank, 1992: 279).

As a result of the war, Bosnia's demographic profile has been dramatically altered. The gendered impacts of demographic change, evident in the current sex ratio imbalance, an increasing dependency ratio and in displacement and migration, have long-lasting implications for household composition and relations and for women's prospects in the economy and society.

2.1.1. Sex ratio imbalance

Combining figures from the Republika Srpksa and the Federation, 250,000 people are thought to have been killed or remain missing (World Bank, 1996h). There is no available disaggregated demographic information on the war dead. Although civilian casualties are said to have been extensive, the majority of casualties are presumed to have been male civilians and combatants in their productive years. The gendered death-toll is particularly evident in areas of ethnic cleansing. In addition, there is current evidence of increasing male out-migration and of male refugees remaining in host countries while their wives and children return to Bosnia.⁽³⁾

According to informal surveys conducted by local authorities, women's share of the total population has increased to 55 per cent (from 51 per cent pre-war), although sex ratios may vary between municipalities (UNHCR, January 1996: 10). While there is no data on female-headed households or war widows, the absence of men and male labour not only increases the economic burden for women heads of households, but also has implications for housing, agricultural prospects, and access to resources and benefits.

Housing poses a particular problem for female-headed households with regard to both claiming and rebuilding property. Anecdotal accounts suggest that women, particularly those internally displaced, are more likely to be evicted from temporary housing than are men. There are also no specific mechanisms to guarantee women's claims to the property of deceased male kin. Also, construction of dwellings was a community process undertaken and organized by men. Hence the gendered component of the process may make it more difficult for a woman to mobilize men in the community on her own, particularly in situations where community composition and structure have changed.

Food sufficiency and agricultural income opportunities will also suffer from the absence of male labour in that women relied on male labour for more physically demanding tasks such as clearing fields and harvesting of the garden plots they tended (Bringa, 1995: 53). Without the unpaid labour of male kin, women's capacity will be reduced in producing certain foodstuffs for home consumption and market sale.

It was reported in a focus group meeting that, prior to the war, women had little involvement in formal community structures, as households were represented by male members at community meetings. In some cases, the war brought about more active female participation, given the absence of men during the war and the necessity of mobilizing all community members in collective survival strategies. However, where women have no prior experience in dealing with local authorities, they have been reticent to approach authorities to request their pensions and other benefits. This is particularly the case with displaced women who have to deal with persons and administrations unfamiliar to them .⁽⁴⁾

2.1.2. Change in age structure

In the Federation, the fertility rate was halved during the war, while the infant mortality rate trebled. In 1993, there were 7.2 registered births per 1,000 inhabitants, and an infant mortality rate of 25-30, which represents a negative growth of 18-23 per 1,000 inhabitants (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 6). Maternal mortality is also thought to have increased significantly, although there is no recorded data. In the months following the cease-fire, however, birth rates jumped back to pre-war levels. In Sarajevo and Mostar, birth rates are said to have doubled in the first half of 1996 but then began to decline in the second half of the year.⁽⁵⁾ The postwar increase in births combined with concentration of war deaths among the productive-age population will increase the dependency ratio over the next few years as the under-16 and over- 65 age groups increase their share of the population. As the responsibility for the care of both children and the elderly has traditionally been ascribed to women, the change in age structure of the population will result in a growing strain on women's time, mobility, and resources.

2.1.3. Displacement

The war engendered massive population movements through widespread fighting and strategic ethnic cleansing operations. Approximately 1 million Bosnians remain internally displaced persons (IDPs), while another million remain as refugees abroad in 25 host countries in Europe (UNHCR, 1996c),⁽⁶⁾ the US, Canada, and Australia, and the former republics of Yugoslavia.

It is difficult to draw conclusions on the gendered composition of the internally displaced and refugee populations given the dearth of disaggregated data. However, in areas which experienced ethnic cleansing, particularly in eastern Bosnia, women are likely to account for a high percentage of the displaced population, given that men were separated from their female kin and probably killed. Whether or not women constitute the majority of the displaced population, the effects of dislocation have significant gender consequences, particularly with regard to community structure and ability to integrate.

Community breakup through dislocation is a common result of conflict (Date-Bah, 1996: 8). In pre-war Bosnia, especially in rural areas, the community was integrated through the social bonds and reciprocal obligations created by women (Bringa, 1995: 69). This involved forms of social exchange which included, in rural areas, for example, barter agreements (ibid., 51, 70). Community bonds were also established by men through voluntary and community work activities (ibid). Households were reliant on such arrangements to undertake projects such as house-building or agricultural tasks and in the celebration of major life-cycle events (ibid., 68). The breakup of these networks has left people without the support systems from which they had drawn both moral and material support and lacking a means for mitigating the consequences of crises. The reconstitution or rebuilding of networks is hampered by a pervasive atmosphere of distrust. Community integration has also been cited by Bosnian refugees abroad as a key reason for not returning to Bosnia.⁽⁷⁾ By contrast, some communities displaced as a group have been able to maintain their local networks. The Women of Srebrenica, for example, were evacuated as a group to Tuzla by the Serbs. They, and other displaced persons' associations,⁽⁸⁾ have become vocal advocacy organizations, in addition to providing mutual support. Additionally, in some communities the exigencies of the war brought people together and expanded community structures to include refugees. These have served as a basis for collective action and have also offered women more opportunities to participate in decision-making.

Yet, there is also evidence of acute difficulties with integration into new communities for both internally displaced persons and refugees returning from abroad. The integration or reintegration of such individuals has not been smooth as resentment has been expressed by men and women in resident communities towards both categories of displaced persons. In urban centres such as Tuzla and Sarajevo, which absorbed a great number of refugees from rural parts of eastern Bosnia, Bosnians and international personnel report that urban residents maintain a prejudice against the rural refugees, regarding them as dirty, illiterate, and generally backward. In a focus group study on education, it was revealed that parents in a suburban area close to Sarajevo "equated lack of proper hygiene to the issue of refugees and the displaced" (Shahriari, 1996: 7). By contrast, those from rural areas have tended to view city dwellers as lacking moral turpitude (Bringa, 1995: 60). For older women, the urban culture is perceived as threatening to the identities and values of which they are guardians and their own suspicions may impede their willingness to integrate (ibid., 1995: 58).

Both men and women suffer from such prejudice and in the case of displaced persons from rural areas, some have become second-class citizens in cities. This discrimination has affected men and women differently. For example, as most employment schemes are targeted at displaced women, men may have particular difficulty accessing employment or engaging in income-generating projects.

Box 1

Magbula: A displaced woman

Magbula Divocvic is living in Tuzla, having been displaced from Srebrenica. Currently, she is enrolled in a weaving project for displaced women. She has only a primary-school education and had not worked outside the home during the war. In Tuzla, she lives with her 26 year-old son who had attended vocational school prior to the war but is unable to find work in Tuzla. Thus they both live off the income she earns through her weaving

In addition to being vulnerable to housing eviction, displaced women are likely to have to undertake demeaning jobs which urban women refuse. With regard to refugees returning from overseas, organizations involved in repatriation have reported difficulties in facilitating return programmes as some within local communities and municipal structures have expressed resentment towards people who not only fled the violence, but also had the opportunity to earn wages in hard currency.⁽⁹⁾ For refugees, bias and exclusion in Bosnia will compound the negative experience many have had abroad. Legal status, rights and benefits varied from country to country, and while refugees were allowed to work in most countries, integration assistance was somewhat less available. The special status given to Bosnian refugees called temporary protection was "lifted" by UNHCR in December 1996, paving the way for large-scale repatriation which is expected to begin in spring 1997.⁽¹⁰⁾

2.2. Working and living conditions

Working and living conditions differed between rural and urban areas in pre-war Bosnia. For example, where 50 per cent of the population in urban centres resided in housing owned by socialized enterprises, in rural areas most people lived in their own homes which they had built themselves with help from the community (World Bank, 1996d: 33; and Bringa 1995: 70). As it was part of an overall national strategy to encourage migration to urban areas, resource allocation was focused on improving the general quality of life in cities. Hence, rural areas did not have the same access to clean water, sewage systems and electrification. For example, in all of Yugoslavia in 1988, 92 per cent of urban areas were supplied with water through the public delivery system compared with only 47 per cent of rural areas (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 8).⁽¹¹⁾

Those who lived in urban centres enjoyed a lifestyle not dissimilar to that found in Western European cities. Travel abroad and ownership of vacation homes were common among city dwellers in pre-war Bosnia. In part, this may have been facilitated by the fact that double-income households were also the norm, compared to rural areas where women were less likely to work for wages.

Work in the socialized sector entitled employees to other benefits which, in addition to housing, included supplementary education and health services. As private enterprise was not encouraged, those engaged in the private sector had less access to the generous benefits provided by the State. Given that most farming activities were in the private sector, the rural population was also disadvantaged by government social investment priorities.

In the course of a few years, Bosnia was transformed from a fairly sophisticated middle-income European country with an educated population and a reasonable standard of living to a country with indicators comparable to a least developed country. Basic utilities such as water, electricity, sewage systems, heating and telecommunications were largely wiped out during the war. Both agricultural and industrial production in most parts of the country ground to a halt, necessitating reliance on international aid handouts. These deprivations impacted particularly severely on women who are responsible for the care and maintenance of their families.

Since the end of the war, living conditions have improved in many areas. For example, glass has been replaced in windows in homes and buildings in much of the country. However, despite concerted efforts in reconstruction, there remains a critical shortage of adequate housing. Shelter, in fact, remains the largest line item in the United Nations Inter-Agency Consolidated Appeal (UN, 1996: 36). Utility services have also been restored throughout much of the country, though service is somewhat irregular and differs from region to region. In Sarajevo, electricity is fairly reliable; water, however, is rationed. By contrast, Banja Luka has regular water, but electricity is sporadic. Telecommunication links have also been restored in the Federation and the RS. These links are of course vital to separated families. Political complications, however, still impede communication between the two entities.

A long-term consequence of the war affecting both working and living conditions is the privatization of former socialized enterprises which will probably limit the size of the workforce to be re-employed, end jobs for life, and reduce generous benefit packages. Despite the fact that transition to a market economy began prior to the war, the old system was so entrenched that the new realities are proving difficult for many people to grasp. This is due, in part, to the fact that as the Director of the Employment Institute stated, Bosnians had come to consider employment a basic human right.

2.3. The economy

As part of former Yugoslavia, Bosnia's pre-war economy was governed by a socialist, centrally planned regime. Most of the social and public sectors operated under the self-management system, which was unique to Yugoslavia and intended to devolve control of enterprise operations to the workers (EIU, 1991: 4). While the system had been cited as an example of industrial democracy (Pateman, 1970), the workers' councils, which were meant to be the decision-making bodies in enterprises, increasingly became subordinate to appointed directors and technical experts (EIU, 1991: 4).

Bosnia ranked fourth among the Yugoslav republics in terms of its gross social product (GSP) which in 1988 constituted 12.7 per cent of Yugoslavia's total GSP.⁽¹²⁾ During the 1970s, Yugoslavia became heavily indebted and though it managed to recover from its debt crisis in the 1980s, inflation reached 2,000 per cent by 1989 (EIU, 1991: 8). In 1989, then Prime Minister Ante Markovic introduced a series of structural reforms designed to curb inflation (ibid., 9). Although his policies were successful in restoring financial stability, they had devastating effects on the real economy, including an 11 per cent decline in national industrial production and a sharp rise in unemployment (EIU, 1991: 9). Bosnia was among the hardest hit of the republics. In 1991 in Bosnia, there were 61 jobless per vacancy compared with 13.6 in Serbia, 44.3 in Montenegro, and 35.7 in Macedonia (ibid., 13). Inflation rates, though much reduced, were still 68 per cent in Bosnia just prior to the war (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 4). With the exception of unemployment data, there are no available indicators for the level of poverty prior to the war.

2.3.1. Formal sector

The base of Bosnia's pre-war economy was primarily mining and industrial production which was predominantly socially owned. The industrial sector alone accounted for 50 per cent of Bosnia's GSP (World Bank, 1996d: 77). According to aggregated information on Yugoslavia, it was this sector in which women's participation in wage-earning sectors was concentrated (ILO, 1991: 448).

During the war, the economy collapsed in most of the country, though the impact and extent of the war on productive capacities in the formal sector differed between the three ethnic regions. According to the World Bank, production in Bosniac territory suffered most severely due to large-scale devastation to communications, transport, water and energy supplies, productive assets and human resources (World Bank, 1996a: xv). A survey of Bosnian businesses concluded that the present utilization of pre-war capacity was only 18 per cent, revenues had dropped by 90 per cent and employment by 75 per cent (Bosnian Business Assistance Centre, 1996: 2). Although Bosnian Serb areas experienced a lesser extent of damage, they were greatly affected by the embargo imposed by the international community and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (ibid.). Croat areas, however, were able to maintain 85 per cent of pre-war levels of industrial output (World Bank, 1996a: xvi).

2.3.2. Informal sector

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, both the private and the informal sectors began to expand, largely in response to deregulation and rising unemployment in the socialized sector (EIU, 1996: 18). During the war, the parallel market formed a significant part of the informal sector but was controlled by a very small number of persons in authority in both entities. While parallel market trading has been banned in the Federation, the Director of the Chamber of Commerce expressed concern over the continuing expansion of the informal sector which detracts from the tax base needed to revitalize formal sector enterprises.⁽¹³⁾ While scant information is available on the level of participation or composition of the informal sector, it is thought that women constitute an increasing share. Given the burdensome levies on formal sector enterprises and the gender bias in employment, it may be expected that this trend will continue.

2.3.3. Agricultural sector

Bosnia's pre-war agriculture sector was predominantly privately controlled with the exception of forestry production, which constituted 10 per cent of Bosnia's GSP (World Bank, 1996d: 103). The World Bank estimates that there were 540,000 small private farms in Bosnia and Herzegovina before the war accounting for 14 per cent of GSP (ibid.). Women's participation in agricultural activities was largely as unpaid labour on family farms or in small-scale agriculture. Income-generating activities of rural women included handicraft production and trading in agricultural produce. For example, married women in rural areas did earn an independent income from taking sewing or knitting orders from the village and by selling milk and cheese products at local markets (Bringa, 1995: 52).

War damage to the agriculture sector resulted in a decrease of over 50 per cent in most agricultural outputs, a 70 per cent loss of farm equipment and a 60 per cent loss of livestock, and the disutility of 15 per cent of farmland and 20 per cent of forests due to landmines (World Bank, 1996d: 103). However, the World Bank believes agriculture to be a growth sector both for employment and for expanded production as private farms will no longer be penalized by socialist priorities favouring industry. While the first postulation is debatable, the second is foreseeable and may offer expanded and remunerated opportunities for rural women (see section 2.4.3).

2.3.4. Wages and pensions

According to World Bank calculations,⁽¹⁴⁾ per capita income in Bosnia in 1991 was $1,900, placing Bosnia between more developed republics such as Slovenia ($6,500) and lesser developed republics such as Macedonia ($1,400) (World Bank, 1996a: 3). The income differentials that existed between men and women were largely determined by the gender-segregated nature of the workforce in which women constituted the majority of workers in lesser paid (or unpaid) occupations. Women's lack of economic power has been directly correlated to their lack of political power as their exclusion from top jobs in the most profitable sectors has restricted their influence in policy and decision-making bodies.⁽¹⁵⁾ There are and have been no women, for example, on the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce.⁽¹⁶⁾ Women have also been absent from higher levels of political representation. At the household level, it is difficult to generalize about the relationship to income and decision-making, given the variety of household arrangements.

Overall, per capita GDP fell 75 per cent from 1990 levels of $1,900 to $500 in 1995 (World Bank, 1996a: xvi). While income-earning potential during the war varied greatly between and within the three ethnic areas, 80 per cent of the population was still reliant on international assistance in mid-1996 (World Bank, 1996a: 15). Although people, particularly women, continued to go to work throughout the war, salaries were extremely low and paid irregularly, if at all. Even combatants were not consistently paid and were sometimes given cigarettes or other consumables as payment. This obviously affected both soldiers and their families who were at least in part dependent on soldiers' salaries.

Social safety nets and benefits did exist in pre-war Bosnia as in the rest of former Yugoslavia. Unemployment insurance, disability pensions, retirement pensions, health care, day care, paid maternity leave, and education were paid for through payroll taxes and other locally levied taxes, though the adequacy of the social welfare services varied. Women reported, for example, that the operating hours of day-care facilities did not coincide with working hours.

During and in the aftermath of the war, payment of pensions for the unemployed, elderly, disabled and war widows has been as irregular as with the payment of salaries. The World Bank reports that approximately 400,000 elderly and disabled persons are reliant on pensions. The number of war widows eligible to receive pensions is not yet known as the registration process is ongoing. However, for those who have been registered, the Director of the Department of War Widows and War Invalids reported that his department was at least seven months in arrears.⁽¹⁷⁾ In Bosniac areas, pensions averaged only DM10 per month although in Croat areas the payments were estimated at DM60 per month (World Bank, 1996c: 24). Those who are not eligible for government pensions and benefits include widowed women whose husbands were not soldiers, those on waiting lists from defunct industries, and those displaced from areas now controlled by another regime.

In the year following the peace agreement, the World Bank reported that net wages had quadrupled, reaching an average of DM160 per month (World Bank, 1996b: 1). In urban centres such as Sarajevo, Tuzla, Zenica, Mostar and Banja Luka, there are a variety of both domestic and foreign goods available in the increasing number of small shops and markets. Prices, however, remain high, particularly for imported goods. In fact, there are many anecdotal reports of individuals and families travelling to Hungary and Italy to buy appliances and other consumer durable items for both home use and sale. Additionally, the slow growth of the economy and employment opportunities, and the non-payment of pensions, coupled with persistent war-related obstacles, including landmines, mean that a significant number of individuals and households remain vulnerable.

2.3.5. Vulnerability

Vulnerability defined as "inadequate capacities to cope with stress, crises, and shocks, and the risk of exposure to crises, stresses, and shocks" (Watts et al., 1993: 45) can either be intensified or mitigated by a number of factors, including possession of assets and property, employment/income, existence of support networks, ethnicity, age, displacement, disablement, class, and gender.

Gender, while not a sole determinant of vulnerability, is a significant factor and in fact can compound other sources such as disability, displacement, and ethnicity. This is most evident with regard to physical security as during the war women, particularly Muslim women, were vulnerable to sexual assault, whilst men were more at risk of forced conscription and combat- related injuries and death. In terms of economic security, women may be seen to be more at risk by virtue of their gender in two areas. First, ex-combatants, 90 per cent of whom are male, are being given preferential access to benefits, including housing and employment. Additionally, the death, disablement and departure of income-earners (principally males) was in some cases compounded by the adoption of other dependent family members. For women, given their ascribed domestic obligations, the time and resources required to tend to an expanded household will limit their ability to maintain a viable livelihood.

Age is another key factor in determining vulnerability, but not only for the elderly. In Bosnia, middle-aged persons of both sexes may have difficulty finding a space in the new economy as it may be considered less efficient to train people closer to retirement. As reported in Croatia, "the middle-aged are broken, few have enough for a decent pension. For many it is too late to start again ..." (Vukman cited in Duffield, 1996: 31).

Displacement perpetuates vulnerability as insecurity of residence, prejudice, and inappropriate skills hinder integration into local economies. Additionally, many of the displaced were dispossessed of their assets and property when they fled, depriving them of a means with which to minimize financial stress.

Ethnic identity, the central current underlying the conflict, became an issue of economic survival, whereby ethnic origin either facilitated or hindered access to resources and material support.

Disablement is a serious hindrance impacting on the type and location of activities which can be undertaken. Yet there are a number of programmes through the Government, local and international NGOs to train and employ disabled persons. The majority of these projects (such as the Sarajevo-based Hope '87), are targeted toward war invalids, the largest share assumed to be men. Hence there appear to be fewer opportunities for disabled women. A notable exception is the Lotos Centar in Tuzla which is a local initiative providing training opportunities for disabled men and women.

Again, the breakdown of pre-war community structures and support networks limits the ability of individuals and households to draw on local and familial human resources.

Donors are restructuring their programmes to target those who remain most vulnerable. The World Food Programme, for example, has reduced its food aid provision by 40 per cent to 1.9 million beneficiaries in both Republika Srpska and the Federation (World Food Programme, 1996: 1, 9). The criteria used by WFP in assessing vulnerability established indicators of vulnerability and categories of eligible individuals as set out below.

Box 2 WFP vulnerability indicators
Vulnerability indicators	Priority assistance
• Mentally, physically handicapped • Single, female-headed households • Elderly • Invalids • Host families of displaced persons • Participants in home-care programme or especially-vulnerable-individuals programme • Households with more than three dependants per income-earner	Priority 1 • Individuals residing in institutions • Individuals served at public kitchens • Resident in collective centres • Monthly income of less than DM25 plus one vulnerability indicator • Monthly income less than DM75 plus two vulnerability indicators Priority 2 • Individuals with monthly income of less than DM75 plus one indicator
Source: WFP (personal communication, Rhein).

The World Bank has also established a cash transfer system to address the immediate needs of the poorest households and most vulnerable individuals, particularly the elderly, disabled, and unaccompanied children (World Bank, 1996d: 144). These transfers are awarded through the social service centres in the municipalities on proof of household income and vary in amount according to the number of dependants (World Bank, 1996a: 47). While vulnerability indicators may serve to identify the populations most at risk, they do not necessarily illuminate the root causes of vulnerability and hence assistance programmes to the most vulnerable rarely tackle vulnerability at source. Black (1994) and others have illustrated the shortcomings of programmes which address only the effects but not the causes of vulnerability. Yet there are tools available, such as capabilities and vulnerabilities analysis (Anderson and Woodrow, 1991) which do account for the broader picture and may better serve to reduce vulnerability in the long term.

2.3.6. Coping strategies

As the conditions which created or intensified vulnerability persist, households and individuals in Bosnia have employed a number of strategies to cope with duress:

Those with family members abroad as refugees rely on remittances as supplementary or in some cases primary income. In other cases, there was intentional family splitting whereby able-bodied males went abroad in the hope of finding higher paid employment, or where men may remain abroad as refugees while the rest of the family returns home. While labour migration or family splitting may prove financially beneficial in the long run, it places a strain on men to find productive employment in an era when foreign workers are no longer welcome in other Western countries. At the same time, the strategy places on women the onus of de facto headship responsibilities and in some cases of resettlement and local reintegration. Evidence is now emerging of the strain of separation and the tension wrought by the assumption of new and expanded roles.⁽¹⁸⁾
There is evidence that individuals and families are selling personal assets to increase their incomes.
Skilled and professional women and men are assuming employment in fields unrelated to or below their skill level, particularly in international organizations where the wages are high. As a consequence, women who had been employed in less-gendered professions (e.g. engineers, lawyers, architects) are now finding work in gender-typed roles as secretaries and receptionists.
Begging has become the principal strategy for the most marginalized sectors, notably Roma women who are visible with their children pan-handling on the streets of Tuzla.
Petty trade is a common activity for those who cannot find work and are unlikely to be retrained. Of the petty black marketeers, the majority in both Republika Srpska and the Federation appear to be middle-aged men and women.
Denial of ethnic origins became a necessity for women in certain collective centres where they were a minority group, in order to ensure their access to humanitarian assistance (Korac, 1996: 11). By contrast, reifying one's ethno-religious identity (e.g. donning the hejab) in some cases granted preferential access to assistance.⁽¹⁹⁾

In some conflict situations, women have formed sexual partnerships in order to secure physical protection and material assistance for their families (el Bushra, 1993: 27; Byrne, 1995: 37, Date-Bah 1996: 14). There is insufficient research and data on this issue in Bosnia to draw any conclusions as to the incidence of such relationships there. However, a gynaecologist in Split who conducted examinations of women in collective centres in Croatia and Bosnia noted a dramatic increase in the number of abortions in some collective centres and an increase in sexually transmitted diseases.⁽²⁰⁾ Her findings led her to believe that there had been elements of sexual exploitation in and around the centres.⁽²¹⁾ Other women in Sarajevo have also commented that younger women are loosening sexual mores in order to attract foreign men.

2.4. The labour market

In 1991, Bosnia had a labour force of 1,337,000, of which 76 per cent was employed in the socialized sector (EIU, 1996: 19). Approximately 10 per cent of the total workforce was employed in the 50 largest enterprises (Bosnia Business Assistance Centre, 1996: 2), most of which were socially owned and concentrated in the areas of heavy industry and light manufacturing (ibid.). The single largest employer was Zeljezara Zenica, a steel company employing 20,000 in 1991 (Bosnia Business Assistance Centre 1996: 4). The agricultural sector employed about 20 per cent of the labour force full time and another 20 per cent part time (World Bank, 1996g: 2). It is unclear whether these estimates include unpaid family labour, where women's participation in agriculture is concentrated.

There is no comprehensive data available on employment in the public or private sectors. However, statistics show that before the war there were 33,479 teachers (World Bank, 1996: 30) and 7,032 medical doctors (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 10). There are no statistics with which to evaluate the size or composition of the informal sector.

2.4.1. Women in the pre-war labour market: Gender-typed occupations

Data on women's share of the labour force in Bosnia and Herzegovina or the distribution of their employment is unavailable. Aggregate figures for Yugoslavia in 1988 show women constituting 38.7 per cent of the national labour force and equalling 63 per cent of male labour force participation (UNDP, 1991: 179, 183). Interestingly, these rates were significantly lower than all of the other Eastern bloc countries (ibid.). Unfortunately, given the dearth of data, it is not possible to determine how Bosnia compared with the other republics and indeed with other States in this respect.

Government officials, trade unionists, business representatives, and Bosnian women interviewed, suggested that women constituted a significant share of the labour force, largely in the industrialized sector. There was no mention of women's unpaid labour on family farms or in the household. These interviews also revealed that while women were engaged in a variety of sectors, the labour market was largely sex-segregated both vertically and horizontally. According to the president of the Garment Workers' Trade Union, while women constituted 88 per cent of employees in the textile industry, their labour was concentrated on the production floor and few reached upper management positions.⁽²²⁾ The same is said to be true of the medical and education sectors.⁽²³⁾ According to another trade union official, women predominated in the areas of textiles, tobacco manufacturing, pharmaceutical production, graphics, computers, administration, health care and education.⁽²⁴⁾ Significantly, with the exception of the textile industry, these occupations and skills do not correspond directly with those of the largest and most profitable industrial enterprises.

Data on wage differentials between sectors are also not available for Bosnia. However, aggregate figures for Yugoslavia may be used to point to some trends.

Table 1. 1989 wages per month*

Textiles	Tobacco	Steel	Mining
473	656	876	917
* Figures are in Yugoslav dinar and only represent the socialized sector. Source: ILO Yearbook of Labour Statistics 1991, pp. 860, 870.

Textiles and tobacco are predominantly "female" industries, while steel production and mining were generally male occupations. Here, it can be seen that those occupations identified with women were less well remunerated than those identified with men. The gendered nature of employment in Bosnia is similar to that of other formerly centrally planned economies, as analysed in previous studies (see e.g. Molyneux, 1981; Einhorn, 1993).

The austerity measures imposed in 1989 brought the unemployment rates in Bosnia to 20 per cent.⁽²⁵⁾ According to the director of the Employment Institute in Bosnia, in 1989, the Government attempted to reduce overall unemployment by encouraging women to stay at home while increasing the man's wage to compensate for the loss of women's wages (i.e. by instituting a family wage). Thus, women would be withdrawn from the workforce and the unemployment register. Women reacted to this proposal by staging public protests, indicating that they viewed their wages as more than a supplementary income.

In 1992, women constituted 53 per cent of the registered unemployed (Employment Institute, 1996: 8). The largest category of unemployed women were those with secondary vocational training who had held predominately administrative occupations (ibid.), perhaps reflecting the gendered nature of the process of downsizing enterprises in the course of economic reform, as has been found elsewhere (see e.g. Einhorn, 1993).

As the war significantly reduced productive capacity in industrial, agriculture and private enterprise sectors, unemployment was estimated to be 80-90 per cent in mid-1996 (World Bank, 1996c: 1). Current data on unemployment, particularly women's share thereof, varies greatly between sources. The World Bank claims that overall unemployment has now been reduced to 50-60 per cent (ibid.). However, government officials and other individuals in the NGO and business sectors report unemployment at around 70 per cent. It should be noted that official unemployment data do not include the estimated 40,000 people on waiting lists at defunct or reduced-capacity factories (Bosnia Business Assistance Centre, 1996: 2). Nor do unemployment figures account for the significant degree of underemployment. Similarly they do not reflect unrecorded economic activity such as contract work, or participation in the parallel market or in petty trade.

In the Federation, figures available on women's unemployment rates have been recorded at 35 per cent (Ministry of Social Affairs, Refugees and Displaced Persons), 41 per cent (ibid.) and 55 per cent (Employment Institute). The current data is problematic in a number of areas and may be misleading. Hence it is important to "unpack" the data as much as possible as the statistics may be used as a basis for resource allocation.

Table 2 indicates that overall, unskilled workers constitute the largest percentage of the total unemployed. However, whereas for men, there is an almost equal number of unemployed among highly skilled workers, for women, the next largest group of unemployed are those with secondary vocational qualifications. For both men and women, the overall unemployment rate is unclear because of the lack of data on the labour force and employment structure. In addition, only one-third of the total registered unemployed are women, but this probably reflects the fact the women are less likely to register. This may be particularly true in the unskilled and semi-skilled sectors where women are less likely to be employed outside the home.

Table 2. Unemployed persons according to qualification, 1996

	Total	%	Men	%	Women	%
Total	168 778	100	109 302	100	59 476	100
University degree	1 876	1	1 122	1	754	1
Higher vocational	1 480	1	950	1	530	1
Secondary vocational	34 632	21	18 742	17	15 890	27
Skilled and highly skilled	56 605	34	41 872	38	14 733	25
Semi-skilled, low skilled	6 453	4	4 563	4	1 890	3
Unskilled	67 732	40	41 963	38	25 769	43
* This table is assumed to refer only to the situation in Sarajevo and Mostar given the similarities in numbers of the unemployed with table 3. Source: Ministry of Social Affairs, Refugees and Displaced Persons.

Table 3 provides information on unemployment for Sarajevo and Mostar according to war-affected population groupings. According to this table, the largest sector of the unemployed is actually in the category referred to as "other" (i.e. not considered "war-affected"), accounting for more than three-quarters of female unemployment. In fact, in absolute numbers, women account for a larger share of the unemployed than do demobilized soldiers, though ex-combatants constitute the greatest proportion of male unemployment. Significantly, however, this chart does not contain a category for displaced persons, presumably as the displaced had been previously registered in their original municipalities, if at all.

Table 3. Registered unemployed in Sarajevo and Mostar, 31 October 1996

	Total	%	Men	%	Women	%
Total	166 481	100	97 025	100	69 456	100.0
Demobilized soldiers	56 388	34	54	56	1 801	3.0
War invalids	4 341	3	4 >287	44	54	0.1
Civilians with dependants	2 886	2	1 045	1	1 841	3.0
Other invalids	1 058	1	849	1	209	0.3
Newly registered unemployed	6 549	4	3 897	40	2 652	4.0
Other unemployed*	92 379	55	32 918	34	59 461	86.0
Beneficiaries of humanitarian assistance	465	3	247	0.2	218	0.3
Job vacancies	450		320		130
* Previously registered, not in war-affected group. Source: Ministry of Social Affairs, Refugees and Displaced Persons.

Additionally, some of the groupings are unclear and the numbers questionable. Again, the negligible numbers of women in the "war invalids" and "demobilized soldiers" categories may be a result of their not having registered. Yet what is also most striking about this table, despite methodological problems, is that by indicating that there are treble the number of jobs available for men than for women, it underscores that employment is identified in gender bifurcated terms.

2.4.2. Current constraints to women's employment

When questions were raised in interviews as to opportunities for women's re-entrance into the postwar workforce, the stock response was the need to revitalize the textile industry. Emergency employment programmes such as those implemented by the World Bank, ILO and bilateral donors are focused on large-scale infrastructure and public works aimed primarily at the employment of demobilized soldiers. The importance of employing demobilized soldiers has been extensively documented (see Framework of guidelines for the reintegration of demobilized combatants through training and employment, ILO, 1995). Moreover, women interviewed in Bosnia expressed positive opinions about such programmes as the employment of demobilized soldiers relieves both economic and psychological strain on their families. However, as the Women's Commission has pointed out there is always a danger of creating a situation where "men get jobs and women get counselling" (Women's Commission, 1996: 3). While women were reported to have participated in the physical reconstruction of Yugoslavia after the Second World War,⁽²⁶⁾ there was no evidence of any willingness to encourage women's participation in this area now.

However, gender-typing is not the only barrier to women's employment in the post-conflict era. Ethnicity and displacement have significant influences on the type of work women are able to obtain. In Mostar, for example, the director of the Mental Health Institute was a Muslim woman who, after the change in Government, was replaced by a Croat woman.⁽²⁷⁾ Women in mixed marriages who live with their husbands in an area in which they are an ethnic minority also have difficulties finding employment, regardless of their skill level.⁽²⁸⁾ In towns such as Mostar and Gorni Vakuf, ethnic lines of division constrain mobility and set geographical limits on employment opportunities. Bias has not only been expressed on the basis of ethnicity. While some urban professionals are taking up more menial work, others are turning down employment below their skill level, despite their economic circumstances, leaving more menial jobs to displaced women.

Where there are employment opportunities for women, the composition of the household with regard to the number and ages of dependants to be cared for will be a factor in determining women's ability to assume full-time employment outside the home.

2.4.3. Opportunities and advantages

While the priorities in the reconstruction of postwar Bosnia appear to offer more opportunities for men than women, women have had some advantages. Despite the fact that many are underemployed, because women were more likely to have studied languages than men, they have been better placed to find well-paid employment with international organizations as interpreters and/or administrators. This experience could be built on for the future if opportunities are provided for women in these positions to utilize and upgrade their skills and professions.

As agriculture may become a leading sector in postwar Bosnia, women's pre-war predominance in small-scale agricultural production could be built upon and enhanced. It will be important to bear in mind that, given high levels of unemployment, there may be a tendency for men to move into previously feminized sectors which become profitable.

2.5. Education

In pre-war Yugoslavia, primary, secondary, and tertiary education was financed by public expenditure, partially through the collection of an education tax of 2-5 per cent placed on wages or agricultural earnings (Shahriari, 1996: 6). Government spending in the education sector constituted 6 per cent of national GDP in 1991 (World Bank, 1996c: 1). Communities further contributed to the building of local schools at a contribution rate decided on by referendum (ibid.). Management of financial matters relating to local education was devolved to communities under the self-management system (Shahriari, 1996: 6). There were no fees for education at any level although students did have to buy their textbooks (World Bank, 1996e: 1).

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there were 641 primary schools, 243 secondary schools and 46 faculties of higher education attached to the four universities located in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Mostar and Tuzla (World Bank, 1996e: 30; EIU, 1996: 17). In addition, there were workers' universities which offered continuing education courses for employees of major industrial enterprises.⁽²⁹⁾ Primary schooling (ages 6-14 years) was compulsory in Bosnia, as in the rest of Yugoslavia (EIU, 1996: 17). Total enrolment in primary schools was 542,000, in secondary, 168,000, and tertiary, 35,000 (ibid.).

No enrolment ratios nor gender-disaggregated data were available for pre-war Bosnia. However, aggregated information from Yugoslavia, tabled below, may serve as a reference point.

Table 4. Percentage of age group enrolled in education in Yugoslavia

	Total primary	Percentage of female population enrolled in primary	Total secondary	Percentage of female population enrolled in secondary	Total tertiary*
1965	106	103	65	59	13
1988	95	95	80	79	19
* UNDP reported that women's tertiary education was 96 per cent that of men's (UNDP, 1992: 179). Source: World Bank Development Report 1992: 275

This information indicates that girls' enrolment levels varied little from the total, which in general was lower than most other middle-income countries at the primary level, but higher at the secondary (World Bank, 1992: 275).

Both government officials and other individuals interviewed in Bosnia confirmed that the education of girls and women was no less important than the education of boys. In rural areas, however, girls were less likely than girls in cities and towns to continue on to secondary school for three main reasons:

families could not afford textbooks, clothing, and bus fare;
there was a preference for girls to stay at home and help with domestic chores;
mothers were concerned that their daughters' values might be contaminated by the influences of the city (Bringa, 1995: 109).

When rural girls were encouraged to pursue their studies, it was primarily with a view to increasing their job prospects to help with family finances (ibid., 110). Additionally, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest that women may have had lower completion rates at the tertiary level as women left university to have children.⁽³⁰⁾ Moreover, there appears to have been a degree of sex segregation in fields of study at both secondary and tertiary levels. The Assistant Minister for Education stated that women were more likely to pursue the social sciences, with the exception of medicine, where women predominated.⁽³¹⁾

According to UNICEF, 55 per cent of schools in Bosnia were destroyed during the war (UNICEF, 1996: 3). Enrolment ratios are also less than half of pre-war levels (World Bank, 1996e: 3). Of schools remaining, about half do not have basic furniture such as desks and chairs (World Bank, 1996e: 3). Many facilities are also lacking heat, water, and electricity (Shahriari, 1996: 3). During the war, Croat-, Bosniac- and Serb-controlled areas established and maintained separate education systems. The availability of textbooks and materials varies between them. While little information is available from the Republika Srpska, evidence indicates that the Croat-controlled areas are better equipped and financed than Bosniac areas (World Bank, 1996e: 8).

The war impacted seriously upon the school-age population. Approximately 17,000 children died during the war and another 40,000 were wounded (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 6). The World Bank has also identified 14,000 unaccompanied children (World Bank, 1996d: 141). The number of refugee and displaced children is unknown. Additionally, draft-age young men at university or in vocational training were taken away from their studies to join the army. However, education clearly remains important both for students and their families, particularly in urban areas. At the tertiary level, students are reportedly attending university part time at a higher rate than before the war.⁽³²⁾ Interviews with a range of individuals indicated that parents, at least in urban and semi-urban areas, strongly support the education of their children, regardless of family financial circumstances. One woman reported that the entire income from her sewing enterprise was being sent to her son at university in Sarajevo, while her husband paid for other family expenses.⁽³³⁾

Families without any income are obviously faced with a heavier burden. Textbooks and school supplies have been donated by international organizations, although these provisions may end before economically disadvantaged families find sources of independent income. Additionally, a focus group study highlighted a main concern of both parents and teachers that school hours are not long enough (Shahriari, 1996: 4). Currently most schools operate on two or three shifts a day of three and a half hours each (World Bank, 1996d: 118). For working parents in particular, the lack of after school hours and activities restricts their ability to work full-time in order to make ends meet (Shahriari, 1996: 4). This problem may be particularly acute for single parent households without access to additional care facilities.

In addition to the needs of children and young adults whose education was disrupted, women displaced from rural areas with only a primary level education find themselves disadvantaged in urban areas and in need of higher-level education. The need to restart worker's universities or establish other facilities for adult education courses to address the deficit in women's education was mentioned both by women in the NGO sector and by the Assistant Minister for Education. In this regard, the bridging courses now being offered by the ILO in limited areas, might be expanded to help address these needs.

2.6. Training

Vocational training in Yugoslavia was linked to government priorities within the economy. Under the secondary-school regime, there were two types of vocational training. The first was a four-year technical school which combined general and vocational skills from which graduates received certificates at technician level (Boglia, Lutz and Parkes, 1996: IV). The second was a three-year course for a skilled worker qualification. Vocational training consisted of general education, theoretical technical training and practical technical education (ibid.). Many enterprises had their own training facilities from which they recruited workers. This link then provided almost guaranteed employment for most of those entering training.

As many of the industries throughout Federation and RS territory were destroyed, so too were their training institutes and other independent facilities. Many of those who had begun training courses had their education disrupted by the war. A number of industries for which people were trained will not be revitalized or will not regain sufficient capacity to absorb their previous trainees.

In addition to the need to re-establish training facilities, given that a new set of economic priorities is emerging, there will be a great demand for retraining. As the transitory measures to a market economy occurred just three years prior to the outbreak of the war, the bulk of the workforce is largely unprepared to enter the global and technologically advanced labour market. The role of training facilities will also differ in future as the skills demanded will fluctuate in accordance with market demand, and thus a degree of flexibility is required in courses offered.

A number of training programmes are currently being devised with assistance from international donors. Many of these projects are focusing on trades related to the construction industry to enable the unemployed, and specifically demobilized soldiers, to access employment opportunities in these areas as the reconstruction industry is the primary employer. The largest effort in this area is the Employment and Training Foundation (ETF) established by the World Bank and the governments of the Federation and RS. The ETF solicits bids from training institutions, both non-governmental organizations and pre-existing training institutes which train individuals and place them in jobs upon completion of the course. The project director in the Federation stated that there is no barrier to women's access to equal training opportunities, though the programme is targeted at demobilized soldiers, of which women constitute only 10 per cent in the Federation and a smaller number in the RS.⁽³⁴⁾ According to the ETF director, where women do pursue "non-traditional training", they are less likely to obtain employment than are their male counterparts.⁽³⁵⁾

When retraining was implemented during privatization in Eastern Europe, studies found that women were routinely marginalized from training in priority areas (Einhorn, 1993: 13). And, as within the centrally planned system, women were pigeon-holed into gender-segregated fields. Most training offered to women was in computer skills for clerical work, though there was less need for it than under the socialist system. For women who had been highly trained professionals, this was a process of deskilling (ibid.).

Training or retraining of women in Bosnia appears similarly problematic. A number of training programmes for women run by Bosnian NGOs have included typing as one of the skills they promote. However, according to a statistical bulletin produced by the Employment Institute, typing was the occupation from which the largest number of women were made redundant in pre-war Bosnia (Employment Institute, 1996: 12). Additionally, knitting and sewing, which are also high among the skills in which women are being trained, may have a limited market in the postwar era, given the availability of inexpensive ready-made items. Moreover, while women had sold handmade woven items in local markets, according to anthropological evidence, the income they received was supplementary to the wages earned by their husbands, and thus was not intended to support the family (Bringa, 1995). Short courses in foreign languages, also being targeted at women, will serve a limited function, given the insufficient time allowed to learn another language and the likely reduction of demand for these skills upon the withdrawal of the international community. Furthermore, of the projects visited few provide on-site child-care facilities or stipends.

2.7. Health

Under the socialist system, health care was provided at a number of different levels. At the local level, primary health-care services were provided by ambulantes which provided some basic services, but generally referred clients to specialists at the dom zdravljas level and hence above to general and regional hospitals.⁽³⁶⁾ In addition, larger enterprises had on-site clinics for their workers. Reproductive and maternal/child health concerns were addressed at the dom zdravljas level and also in enterprise clinics (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 30). Total health expenditure in BIH constituted 6.5 per cent of GDP in 1990 (ibid., 16). It was financed through publicly owned insurance administered by "self-management communities of interest" which levied set premiums on employers and employees (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 16). In general, the system was geared toward a curative rather than a preventive approach. Regular contraception methods, for example, were neither widely promoted nor available and hence abortion became the primary means of birth control.⁽³⁷⁾

Prior to the war, there were 7,032 medical doctors, 18,257 nurses and 1,408 dentists in Bosnia (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 10). No gender-disaggregated data is available on the structure of the medical profession. However, doctors in BIH report that women constitute at least half, if not more, of medical doctors. Still, they noted that while women predominate in the fields of gynaecology, paediatrics, and internal medicine, men dominate among surgeons.

Health indicators in pre-war Bosnia compare favourably with other middle-income countries (World Bank, 1992: 273). In 1990, infant mortality was registered at 14.5 per 1,000 live births, a significant decrease from 99.0 in 1965 (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 6). The maternal mortality rate in 1990 was 10.7 deaths per 100,000 live births (ibid., 7). The leading cause of death before the war was lung cancer for men and breast cancer for women.

The war crippled the ability of the health sector to respond to the dramatically increased emergency and non-emergency caseload. One-third of medical facilities are thought to have been destroyed with a loss of about 35 per cent of hospital beds (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 15). Diagnostic, pharmaceutical and other laboratory equipment has also been lost and remains lacking (ibid., 8). The number of health professionals decreased by 40 per cent due to flight, death, disablement or conscription. Of medical doctors, 35 per cent are believed to have fled the country (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 11).

With this reduced capacity, the system had to cope with war injuries, the spread of disease, malnutrition, and other war-related maladies. During the war, 60 per cent of surgical cases were war-related injuries (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 9). The strain on staff and facilities in responding to emergencies decreased their capacity to address the depreciation in general health conditions. Increases of water-borne and other diseases associated with poor sanitation are reported to have risen (UNICEF, 1996: 3). In addition, the impact of large population influxes into concentrated areas also facilitated the spread of communicable diseases. In particular, it is estimated that the incidence of tuberculosis may have increased by over 50 per cent (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 9). These problems were particularly acute among the displaced population (ibid., 9).

In addition to physical disabilities, the experience of post-traumatic stress disorder is thought to be widespread across the population and, as an illness, can be as debilitating as physical injury. According to the Ministry of Health in the Federation, international and local support organizations cover only a fraction of those in need of psychological assistance (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 10). The section below will address this issue in greater depth.

There has been a noticeable decline in the health of women, stemming from generally poor living conditions and the disruption in provision of regular health-care services. While starvation was largely prevented during the war in Bosnia, micronutrient deficiencies are reported to have increased, specifically affecting the health of women (UNICEF, 1996: 3). Among pregnant women, overall poor health has been related to increases in maternal mortality and a 25-30 per cent rate of infant mortality (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 6). Women's poor health has also been cited as the cause of permanent disabilities and premature births (UNICEF, 1996: 3). Women in remote areas are said to be showing signs of premature ageing, the result of stress, inadequate health care, and poor nutrition.⁽³⁸⁾ Specific issues of women's reproductive and mental health will be addressed below.

The costs of caring for the sick and injured are being borne largely by international aid agencies and the governments. Medical care is provided free of charge for local residents. However, it was reported that displaced persons in private accommodation must pay a fee as they had not been paying into the local social security system.⁽³⁹⁾ With insecurity of tenancy and, in many cases, income, health-care costs are likely to increase vulnerability among the displaced. In addition to any direct costs, the loss of an income-earner to disability or illness plus the burden of caring for him/her impacts significantly on the household economy and intra-household relations. In Bosnia, the responsibility for care of the infirm is the preserve of women, hence demanding more of their time and resources. It is less clear how men cope with the disablement of a female partner or other family members in the absence of an able-bodied woman.⁽⁴⁰⁾

2.7.1. Reproductive health care

As has been noted elsewhere, reproductive health care is often not a priority among agencies providing medical services during a conflict (Byrne, 1995: 35). This was found to be the case in Bosnia where few international agencies addressed reproductive health needs, the exceptions being WHO, Marie Stopes, Medica, Care Austria, UNICEF, Caritas, and Cooperazione Italiano.⁽⁴¹⁾ These organizations provided necessary equipment and pharmaceuticals (including contraceptives) as well as establishing mobile health clinics to reach women in isolated areas and collective centres.⁽⁴²⁾

Despite these programmes, given the lack of regular access to services, indicators of women's health worsened. Cervical cancer is now a significant problem noted both by WHO and in a study conducted by Marie Stopes of internally displaced women. According to the Marie Stopes study, rates of cervical cancer among those examined in six areas averaged 6.24 per cent. An average of 29 per cent of the population examined had some kind of gynaecological complication. Prior to the war, cervical smears were conducted every six months in an early detection effort, a notable departure from the usual curative approach.⁽⁴³⁾ Women in the military reported particular difficulties with reproductive health care as it was impossible to obtain such assistance through the military health system. The menstrual cycle was said to be especially problematic for women in the trenches.⁽⁴⁴⁾

While abortion was common before the war, the number of abortions during the war is reported to have doubled. It is estimated that there were three to four abortions per delivery. Often, there was not appropriate equipment or supervision leading to serious complications. A number of the "backstreet abortions" are speculated to have been the consequence of rape, though there is not sufficient evidence to make accurate correlations.⁽⁴⁵⁾

The health sector in both the Federation and the RS is undergoing reform in both structure and approach. The new strategies adopted by both entities will pursue a preventive approach with a focus on primary health care at the community/ambulante level (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996; Republika Srpska, 1996). It is hoped that through this new system, the specific health needs of women can be more effectively and efficiently addressed. For example, nurses would be authorized to distribute contraceptives and conduct cervical smears, formerly the responsibility of gynaecologists.⁽⁴⁶⁾ This community approach could be complemented by public information campaigns undertaken by other organizations in conjunction with their own programmes.

Also in their health reform strategies, both the RS and the Federation intend to improve services for maternal and child health care by establishing specific programmes within the Ministries of Health (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska). While the Federation strategy does mention family planning, the Republika Srpska does not. It was reported that there was a reluctance on the part of some health officials, in both entities, to advocate family planning in the light of the death-toll among the productive age population.⁽⁴⁷⁾ The hesitancy to initiate family planning programmes is common in the post-conflict phase, particularly among countries emerging from ethnic conflict, as seen in Rwanda, Croatia, and Serbia.⁽⁴⁸⁾ Pro-natalist policies carry implications for other aspects of women's lives as will be discussed in section 4.4.

2.7.2. Mental health

Men, women, and children are reported to be experiencing post-traumatic stress syndrome, although the prevalence of mental disorders is not verifiable. During and immediately following the war, the international community supported a number of initiatives for women in the area of psychosocial therapy, largely in response to the media reports on systematic rape. These projects aimed to address trauma-induced mental disorders through individual and group counselling. "Work therapy" was also utilized as a tool for rehabilitation whereby women collectively shared their experiences while participating in an income-generating activity, usually knitting or weaving. Some services were provided on an outpatient basis while others were residential and usually reserved for those in need of more intensive care. Those running residential centres reported that women, mainly from collective centres, were generally despondent and some were prone to child abuse.⁽⁴⁹⁾ Through the different therapy techniques, women were encouraged to address their grief and anxiety and confront the reality of their situation.

The number of actual rape victims is unknown but is estimated to be between 20,000-50,000 out of an approximate pre-war female population of 2,091,000 (1-2.5 per cent). The impact of rape and exposure to generalized violence has and will continue to affect women's capacity to cope with daily life and the increased burdens many will bear. However, it was also stressed by women's organizations, health professionals and NGO personnel, that rape and trauma resulting from direct exposure to violence or displacement affected a minority of women. This is not to say that women have been unaffected by the war. Rather, mental stress resulting in minor or major cases of depression and anxiety in many cases appears to extend from the fact that women have limited access to income-earning opportunities, while many are now sole providers for their families. The Health Minister in the canton of Mostar has identified female unemployment as a major source of depression among women and hence a mental health issue.⁽⁵⁰⁾ Significantly, a women's organization which attempted to obtain funds to initiate an employment/income-generating scheme was unsuccessful until the programme was described as work therapy.⁽⁵¹⁾ The emphasis on perceived war-based psychological disorders has thus, in some cases, inadequately addressed the real needs of women while simultaneously imposing a false picture of women as victims rather than survivors.

In addition, while there have been numerous, though perhaps still insufficient, organizations addressing the mental health concerns of women, there are far fewer programmes available for men, either combatants or civilians. One notable exception is the Employment and Training Foundation which, in addition to job training and placement for demobilized soldiers, offers them psychological counselling. Another is an initiative funded by the Swedish International Development Authority with the implementing partners WHO, UNICEF, and the University of Sarajevo. The project will establish 60 rehabilitation centres throughout both entities and will approach the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-combatants from a holistic perspective which includes counselling for the whole family unit.

Yet, by and large, in Bosnia and elsewhere, it is women and/or children alone who are targeted for psychosocial assistance, reinforcing a gendered stereotype of victimization and simultaneously neglecting the needs of men. The importance of addressing the psychological needs of men has been noted elsewhere (see, e.g. Byrne, 1995: 46), as combatants in particular may have serious difficulties reintegrating in society having been exposed to and participated in generalized violence. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has in fact attributed increases in domestic violence to untreated trauma (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996: 10). Hence, to effectively undertake the rehabilitation of society, the deficit in counselling programmes for men must be addressed and the mental health concerns of men and women and children be considered equally and holistically.

2.8. Diversity among Bosnian women

In Bosnia, it is difficult to establish a category of war-affected women. Most, if not all, women and men were affected by the war in some way as the conflict was not contained and did not discriminate among its victims in terms of age, location, or occupation. Ethnicity was a key determinant of vulnerability as Muslim women were more vulnerable to sexual attack by enemy soldiers, Muslim men to execution, and the Muslim population to displacement through ethnic cleansing. However the way in which women have dealt with these situations has, to a certain extent, been influenced by their pre-war positioning. Hence, given the diversity among Bosnian women prior to the war, it may not be helpful to draw up typologies or composites of women based on specific impacts of war such as displacement, widowhood, disablement, and sexual victimization as:

many women experienced more than one effect of the war; and
women's pre-war histories will inform the way in which they experienced the varied impacts of the war.

Ethnicity is far from the only factor differentiating women in Bosnia. Bosnian women have different levels of education, professional, and skills backgrounds. In addition, they obviously vary in age, income level, come from both rural and urban backgrounds and have differing civil status. Using skill level as a base, figure 1 attempts to illustrate cross-cutting characteristics and war-related effects which relate to women at each level. While it is impossible to elaborate on the impacts of war on all possible combinations of women, previous sections of this text have attempted to identify some examples where information has allowed.

Figure 1. Diversity among Bosnian women

Bosfam, a women's organization which derived from an Oxfam project, is a good example with which to illustrate the difficulty in characterizing a war-affected group. Most of Bosfam's beneficiaries are women from Srebrenica who arrived en masse in Tuzla after the fall of Srebrenica in July 1995. Missing are about 500-800 men from Srebrenica and the husbands, sons, and fathers of Bosfam's beneficiaries. Media images of these women, as with many Bosnian refugee women, portray them as older, rural women in cultural clothing. Yet there are also young, professional women who escaped Srebrenica. The contrast within this group is stark. The older generation, few of whom have non-domestic skills, are engaged in an income-generating weaving/knitting programme and maintain hope that their male kin will reappear. Thus, they are less willing to integrate into the local community. By contrast, the younger women have been enrolled in a computer training course and seem more likely to integrate. Thus homogeneity even within a specific group of beneficiaries cannot be assumed.

3. POLITICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES

3.1. The Peace Accords

The Dayton-Paris Peace Accords reflect a process which has been previously characterized as one which has "more to do with high-level negotiations and bargaining than actual peace and reconciliation" (Byrne, 1995: 29). As such it is a process which excludes the participation of the actual victims, aggressors, and peace activists. Indeed the Dayton pact brought about a general cessation of hostilities, but did little to redress incited ethnic hatred, rendering the current situation still volatile.

On the day of the official signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, representatives of international NGOs jointly wrote to the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Madeleine Albright, to call attention to the invisibility of women in the Accords. In their letter they raised issues regarding the implementation of the agreement and its lack of sensitivity to women's interests. Among their concerns were:

rules of engagement for IFOR troops with regard to the potential for the sexual exploitation of women;
prosecution of war criminals for rape and protection of witnesses;
protection of returning refugee women;
probable escalation of community and domestic violence;
the gender composition of the human rights chamber;
police training in domestic violence;
ensuring women independent legal status and rights to own property or obtain compensation in their own names;
non-discrimination in reconstruction and humanitarian aid;
ensuring the full participation of women in the electoral process;
training of women police officers.

Few of these issues have been systematically addressed by the international community. The exceptions are the protection of refugee women noted by UNHCR, efforts to encourage women's participation in the elections and the classification of rape as a war crime at the International War Crimes Tribunal. Still, Bosnian women feel that the War Crimes Tribunal cannot provide adequate protection and are reluctant to testify. Notably, Annex 6 of the Accords pertaining to human rights makes no mention of sexual violence and assault as a violation of human rights.

3.2. Constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted simultaneously with the rest of the Dayton Peace Agreement without the benefit of a transparent or democratic process through which input from the general Bosnian population could have been incorporated. There now exists a growing civil society consisting of democracy organizations, with a large female membership. Significantly, these groups extend across entity boundary lines. Such groups could be capable of organizing information campaigns and referenda on the Constitution, although it appears that no mechanism exists for amendment.

The language of the Constitution (which is not gender neutral) contains little with regard to gender, except in non-discrimination clauses. Missing in the Preamble is mention of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in the clause listing other major international human rights instruments which have "inspired" the Constitution, though Bosnia has acceded to it. Given that systematic rape became one of the hallmarks of the Bosnian conflict, the absence of reference to CEDAW within the document is particularly glaring. In addition to CEDAW, Bosnia has acceded to the 1957 Convention on the Nationality of Married Women. No reference is made in the Constitution to ILO Conventions on workers' rights. 3.3. The elections Unofficially, it was acknowledged that the Dayton mandated elections would do little more than consolidate the power of nationalist parties in the regions they controlled. Yet, efforts were made by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to encourage women's participation in the elections. Proportional representation was the system under which the elections were organized and is generally considered to be more "women-friendly" than single-member districts. In pre-war Yugoslavia, women constituted 22 per cent of the national Parliament (UNDP, 1991: 179). While impressive by most Western standards, women interviewed in Bosnia reported that this figure reflected not women's political empowerment, but rather the imposition of a quota system in which candidature was limited to party loyalists and spouses.

Despite the efforts of the OSCE, the PR system, the existence of a women's party and the adoption of quotas by some parties, only one woman was elected to the Republic's House of Representatives, only eight women were elected to the 140-seat House of Representatives in the Federation and one to Republika Srpska's 83-seat National Assembly. There are no women ministers in the Federation or in Republika Srpska, but the Cantonal President of Mostar is a woman. Biljana Plasvic, President of the Republika Srpska, is the highest ranking woman in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but she is better known for her hard-line nationalist stance than for any particular sensitivity to gender issues. The example of President Plasvic illustrates that women in positions of power are not a priori best suited to protect and promote gender interests.

When questions were raised in interviews as to the invisibility of women in the political arena, most responses reflected a gender ideology which maintains politics as a male activity. Both men and women have stated that women are too emotional to be in politics, that women are simply not interested in politics and that a woman's priority is her family. Others, however, cited women's preoccupation with the effects of the war on themselves and their families, intimating that over time women's activism may increase. Additionally, it is worth repeating here, as mentioned in section 3, that women's lack of political power has been directly correlated to their lack of economic power. Hence, prevailing gender ideology doubly constrains women's entry into politics as it (1) maintains the public/private dichotomy with relation to politics, and (2) keeps women in low paid and less prestigious occupations constraining their access and influence to political processes.

This is not to say that women have not been involved, directly or indirectly in the political arena. Meetings and workshops on women's political participation have been conducted in both entities. It is also important to consider the indirect political actions of women's organizations, such as countering ethno-nationalist rhetoric by providing services to beneficiaries without regard to ethnicity (Walsh, 1996). Both service-providing NGOs and activist groups are primarily led by urban women professionals and intellectuals. Hence, still unheard are the voices of "beneficiaries" and the more marginalized sectors of the population, men and women alike.

3.4. Legal and regulatory framework

Women's absence from the political realm entails their exclusion from the decision-making processes which impact upon many aspects of their lives. The recently elected governments in the entities are in the process of drafting new laws covering a wide range of sectors.

3.4.3. The labour law

The labour law in the Federation is currently being rewritten in a tripartite effort involving the Ministry of Social Affairs (at the time of the visit there was not a separate Ministry of Labour), trade unions, and business, with guidance from the ILO. The draft includes numerous provisions for the protection of women workers, based on the pre-existing law, and reflecting standards enshrined in ILO Conventions including No.89 (night work), No. 103 (maternity protection (revised)), and No.45 (underground work). Additionally, the law includes other provisions on gender in the workplace, noted in box 3. The progressive nature of these clauses is, however, undermined by the justification attached to the draft which states that "the special protection of maternity is necessary both for the safe protection of a child and in order to increase the birthrate on the territory of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina" (emphasis added).

Box 3
Draft labour law provisions on protection of women

Broad non-discrimination clause
Protection against redundancy or demotion due to pregnancy
One year, extendible maternity leave
Some exceptional provisions for paternity leave

This statement represents the most significant encroachment of the public sphere into the private. Moreover, it glosses over the distinction between child-rearing and child-bearing activities, presuming both to be the responsibility of women. As such, the labour law identifies women first in relation to their reproductive roles providing little incentive for the adoption of further measures which would benefit women's productive potential and address the structural inequality between men and women in the workplace. Hence, this should signal the need not only for additional or revised regulatory measures, but also for a gender awareness-raising component to be built into institution and capacity-building initiatives.

3.4.2. Other legislation and regulations

A law was passed in early 1997 regulating the formation of associations. Significantly, it does not distinguish between humanitarian/charitable organizations and other associations. The law does not provide for tax exemptions for NGOs or tax incentives for charitable contributions, which could facilitate local fund-raising and decrease donor dependency. Most local NGOs in Bosnia are run by women and target women beneficiaries. For their organizations to be sustainable, they need to look beyond donor funding. Additionally, some women's NGOs have reported administrative difficulties with the local authorities, although it is not certain to what extent problems relate to the gendered hierarchy of power or are simply a reflection of the authorities' general distrust of NGOs.⁽⁵²⁾ Efforts were being undertaken at the local level to amend the law on associations during the consultant's visit. In the absence of new statutes, codes adopted before or during the war are still in operation. The existing tax regime and framework for business, and particularly small business, is punitive for both men and women employees and entrepreneurs. Currently, about 50 per cent of gross salary is absorbed by payroll tax and social security payments, hindering the employment capacity of businesses (World Bank, 1996f: 3). Registration for small business of sole proprietorship is DM50-400 (ibid.). There are additional fees for changing or closing businesses which also maintain a deposit of DM300 in the company bank account (ibid.). In addition, a flat tax of 36 per cent is levied on profits, regardless of the size of the business or profit intake (ibid.). Such regulations and tariffs inhibit the development of micro-enterprises. Women are being targeted for micro-enterprise development schemes, the initial costs of which are being underwritten by donors. However, once donor funding is withdrawn, if the fees are not modified, some of these enterprises may collapse under their weight.

4. REHABILITATION ASSISTANCE

4.1. Background

That humanitarian assistance provided during the war saved tens, if not hundreds of thousands of lives cannot be questioned. However, the Bosnian crisis presented a significant challenge to the aid community. Relief and rehabilitation programming has developed out of experience responding to emergencies in developing countries in the south and was thus not designed to deal with the particularities of a crisis in a middle-income European country in which the majority of the population is educated and skilled. That some projects and strategies were inappropriate is evidenced in the oft expressed axiom by Bosnians that they are "not Africans". Such remarks would seem to indicate a lack of local engagement and participation, a recurrent problem in emergency operations (Date-Bah, 1996: 12). Indeed, the former Special Representative of UNHCR in the former Yugoslavia acknowledged that "We were unprepared to think of the Bosnians as people who might have something to teach us. Instead, we insisted on treating them as victims, as recipient populations" (Rieff, 1995: 205). In addition, the institutional context of military humanitarianism, of which Bosnia is a prime example, does not lend itself to community participation. Few of the organizations visited during the mission, both local and international, had used participatory methodologies in formulating project designs. Hence there was little scope for project beneficiaries to identify their own needs and solutions.

These and other problems associated with emergency relief have been extensively analysed, particularly with regard to the debate on linking relief with development (see e.g. Maxwell and Buchanan-Smith (eds.), 1994). One element of emergency relief which is gaining currency in practice but has undergone little analysis, has been the utilization of local NGOs as service providers or implementing partners by international donors and agencies. In Bosnia, the UNHCR and other donors have been criticized for building up and relying on local NGOs as service providers without committing resources to developing their potential role in civil society in the postwar era (Smillie, 1996). As most of the local NGOs in Bosnia are managed by women, who have traditionally been excluded from political participation, they in particular could have benefited from greater institutional support. Where NGO capacity building was incorporated into the overall strategy of local-international NGO partnerships, local NGOs have become more vocal and active in public affairs. Examples include Bosfam, which derived from an Oxfam project, and Bospo, initiated and supported by the Danish Refugee Council.

The lack of gender mainstreaming in programme planning is also common in emergency operations (Byrne with Baden, 1995: 1). In Bosnia, this was evidenced by the absence of gender- disaggregated data on beneficiaries, lack of personnel (e.g. focal points) dedicated to gender issues and analysis and the prevalence of programmes specifically for women, or women and children. Of the international organizations contacted, most (Save the Children UK, UNICEF, USAID, UNDP