We Are More Than Just Housewives : Young Women’s Expectations and Outlook on TheirParticipation Within the Post-Conflict Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina

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We Are More

Than Just

Housewives

KURS: Bachelor Thesis in Global Studies, 15 credits PROGRAM: International work - Global Studies FÖRFATTARE: Ebba Kärrholmen and Olivia Lange EXAMINATOR: Radu Dinu

TERMIN: Spring 2021

Young Women’s Expectations and Outlook on Their

Participation Within the Post-Conflict Society of

Bos-nia and Herzegovina

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JÖNKÖPING UNIVERSITY Bachelor Thesis 15 credits School of Education and Communication Global Studies

International Work Spring 2021

ABSTRACT

Ebba Kärrholmen and Olivia Lange Pages: 40

We Are More Than Just Housewives

Young Women’s Expectations and Outlook on Their Participation Within the Post-Conflict Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Peace processes have been slow to recognise women, which is later reflected in the political landscape of the post-conflict society. Researchers have emphasised that the post-conflict setting many times con-stitutes a greater challenge for women than men as they face more vulnerability and insecurity in forms of domestic violence and being excluded from the formal peace processes. This is the case for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is still facing difficulties both socially, politically and economically due to the civil war at the beginning of the 1990s. For instance, the country is facing major economic difficulties, which have contributed to high unemployment rates which is especially affecting women and the youth. Thereby this study which is based on eight qualitative semi-structured interviews explores how young women with tertiary education in Bosnia and Herzegovina experience their participation in the post- conflict setting, and what out-looks they have on their future in relation to the predominant gender order. Through the thematic analysis and by using a theoretical framework related to “Conflict, Gender, Eth-nicity and Post-Conflict Reconstruction” and “gender order” their experiences were analysed. The re-sults of this study show that although the young women experienced that they could participate in soci-ety, all of them experienced obstacles related to politics and gender traditional expectations of women. Their outlooks were relatively positive as they recognised several opportunities to fulfil their dreams due to education. Moreover, the majority of them wanted to stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The post-conflict setting is affecting the entire population, however, young women are further affected by the gender order. Ultimately, the patriarchal gender order which is heightened in the post-conflict setting is impacting these young women’s participation and outlooks, which limits their prospects. However, through their participation and how they conduct themselves, they are opposing the place they have been given in the gender order.

Keywords: Bosnia and Herzegovina, post-conflict, gender, young women, participation, outlooks,

gen-der orgen-der

Mailing Address Visiting Address Telephone

School of Education Gjuterigatan 25 036-101000 and Communication

Box 1026

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JÖNKÖPING UNIVERSITY Kandidatuppsats 15 hp Skolan för lärande och kommunikation Globala studier

Internationellt arbete Vår 2021

SAMMANFATTNING

Ebba Kärrholmen och Olivia Lange Sidor: 40

We Are More Than Just Housewives

Young Women’s Expectations and Outlook on Their Participation Within the Post-Conflict Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Fredsprocesser har varit långsamma med att erkänna kvinnor, vilket senare har återspeglats i det poli-tiska landskapet i samhället efter en konflikt. Forskare menar på att tiden efter en konflikt många gånger utgör en större utmaning för kvinnor än för män, eftersom de är mer sårbara och ofta möter olika former av våld i hemmet samt utesluts från de formella fredsprocesserna. Det här är fallet för Bosnien och Hercegovina, som fortfarande står inför svårigheter både socialt, politiskt och ekonomiskt på grund av inbördeskriget i början av 1990-talet. Landet står exempelvis inför stora ekonomiska svårigheter, vilket har bidragit till den höga arbetslösheten som särskilt drabbar kvinnor och ungdomar. Mot bakgrund av det här undersöker studien, som baseras på åtta kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer, hur unga kvin-nor med högre utbildning i Bosnien och Hercegovina upplever sitt deltagande i det post-konfliktsam-hälle som de lever i, hur deras framtidssyn ser ut och hur de förhåller sig till den nuvarande genusord-ningen. Genom tematisk analys och användningen av ett teoretiskt ramverk relaterat till “Konflikt, ge-nus, etnicitet och post-konfliktrekonstruktion” och ”genusordning” analyserades deras erfarenheter. Re-sultatet av studien visar att de unga kvinnorna upplevde att de kunde delta i samhället men också att de kände vissa hinder, relaterade till politik och de traditionella könsrollerna som finns i samhället. Sam-tidigt var de ungas syn på framtiden relativt positiv, då de ansåg att det fanns många möjligheter för dem att uppfylla sina drömmar eftersom de hade studerat. Många av dem ville stanna i Bosnien och Hercegovina. Miljön som är i ett post-konfliktsamhälle påverkar hela befolkningen dock är unga kvin-nor extra utsatta, då de också är påverkade av den regerande genusordningen. Den nuvarande patriarkala genusordningen som ofta kulminerar i ett post-konfliktsamhälle begränsar de unga kvinnornas delta-gande, vilket påverkar deras tankar om framtiden. Dock, genom sitt deltagande och agerande i samhället sätter de sig emot den plats som de har tilldelats i genusordningen.

Nyckelord: Bosnien och Hercegovina, post-konflikt, genus, unga kvinnor, deltagande, framtidssyn,

genusordning

Postadress Besöksadress Telefon

Skolan för lärande Gjuterigatan 25 036-101000 och kommunikation

Box 1026

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Acknowledgements

We want to start by giving a big thank you to all of the young women who took their time and partici-pated in this study. Without you, this study would not have happened. It was truly inspiring to listen to all of your thoughts and outlooks on your life in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There will never be enough words to express our gratitude. However, by doing this study we hope that people will get a glance at the reality you have shared with us.

Continuing, we want to give a special thank you to our friend Romana Rogić, for making this study possible by helping us get in contact with several young women in Bosnia and Herzegovina and also being there as support along the research process. Without you, this study would not have happened either. Further, we also want to express our appreciation to our friends and family for being there for us when we needed you to give us words of encouragement.

Lastly, we want to thank our supervisor Johanna Bergström for the guidance and support during this process. Especially thank you for cheering us on when we at times questioned ourselves.

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1. Introduction

After the weapons are laid, the negotiations are done and the peace agreements are signed, a time of peacebuilding and reconciliation begins for the actors involved. They enter what is called a post-conflict period, which is shaped by the rounds of peace negotiations both directly through peace agreements’ provisions on justice, power-sharing and constitutional issues, and also indirectly, by lending legitimacy to those represented at the peace table. Therefore, according to United Nations (2010) all actors of war must have the opportunity to participate (p. 7). What follows is a time in which people try to come to terms with the gruesome violence they have experienced and try to create a new normal after the time of war. This is a challenging period for all citizens, but in particular for women who often cannot par-ticipate as active members of society, at the same time as they suffer from the trauma of the violence they endured during the conflict. They are expected to take on multiple roles in the post-conflict period, such as caregivers, war survivors and informal peacebuilders. In addition to this, many women are not recognised for their participation as actors of war (Berry and Rana, 2019 p. 323–324; Niner, 2011, p. 421). In many cases, women are excluded from formal peace negotiations, which is then later reflected in the political landscape of the post-conflict society (United Nations, 2010, p. 7). This is the case for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is a well-known post-conflict society since the civil war in the begin-ning of 1990 (Byrne & McCulloch, 2012, p. 571, 576).

Women were not included in the negotiations nor reflected in the terms of the agreement, which has led to them being highly underrepresented in the political assembly today. Women’s vulnerable situation due to the underrepresentation is still manifested through many different challenges both indi-vidually and collectively (Byrne & McCulloch, 2012, p. 571, 576). This raises the question of how young women in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who did not experience the war, are affected by the result of the exclusion of women in peace negotiations. Additionally, as young women are a part of the youth population, they are not only affected by aspects related to their gender. The country is experiencing a large national and religious division created during the war both socially and politically (Kovacevic, Sijakovic & Petrovic, 2019, p. 371). The fragmented government has led to economic difficulties within the country, which has contributed to high unemployment rates, and dampened the prospect of their youth (Tomic, 2012, p. 289). This further increases the interest to explore how young women navigate in the post-conflict setting of Bosnia and Herzegovina as women and as young people. Therefore, this study is set out to investigate how young women experience their participation and how this has affected their outlook on their future in Bosnia and Herzegovina in relation to the post-conflict setting.

2. Aim

This study aims to investigate how young women with tertiary education experience their participation within the post-conflict society of Bosnia and Herzegovina and what their outlooks are on the future. By exploring how young women navigate in the post-conflict setting this study is set to highlight their voices.

Q1: How do young women in Bosnia and Herzegovina experience their participation in the development of their society?

Q2: What are the young women's outlooks on their future in Bosnia and Herzegovina in relation to the predominant gender order?

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3. Background

This section provides the reader with the context of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in which this study takes place by giving a short summary of the civil war events in the 1990s, the Dayton Agreement and the current state of the country. Additionally, a brief insight is given of the position of women in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

3.1. Bosnia and Herzegovina During the War and Now

Bosnia and Herzegovina became one of six constituent republics of a new federal and socialist Yugo-slavia after World War II. The country was founded by Josip Broz Tito, who managed to keep the prior national oppositions in order by a combination of oppression and relative autonomy for the republics. After his death in 1980, the formation of the state of Yugoslavia began to deteriorate and nationalism started to re-emerge between the three major ethnic groups; Bosniaks, Serbs and Bosnian-Croats. Subsequently, in 1990 Yugoslavia collapsed. Initially, efforts were made by Bosnia and Herze-govina to maintain the balance between the three ethnic groups. However, following the departure of Slovenia and Croatia from Yugoslavia in 1991, conflict within Bosnia intensified. As a result of a ref-erendum held in 1992 Bosnia and Herzegovina was declared independent, in which a majority of Bos-niaks and Bosnian-Croats voted for independence. The referendum was however mainly boycotted by Bosnian-Serbs as they did not want to leave Yugoslavia, which was the start of a civil war. During the war, which lasted three and a half years, over 100 000 people were killed and more than two million fled their homes and territories (Bosnien och Hercegovina, n.d.). Additionally, over 20 000 women and girls were subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence, in which many were enslaved, tortured and some even forcibly impregnated in the so-called ‘rape camps’ (Amnesty International, 2017, p. 10).

Negotiations and mediation efforts to try to achieve peace were ongoing throughout the war. In 1994, the United States managed to persuade Bosniaks and Croats to form a federation. However, the turning point in the war did not come until 1995 when public opinion was affected by the ethnic cleans-ing and war crimes that were happencleans-ing. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) flights could then partially stop the fighting by imposing a no-fly zone. The war officially ended when the Dayton Agree-ment, negotiated with international assistance by Presidents Slobodan Milošević (Serbia), Franjo Tudjman (Croatia) and Alija Izetbegović (Bosnia and Herzegovina), was signed at the end of 1995. The agreement included a new constitution, which is still in force today. It states that Bosnia and Herze-govina is a sovereign state consisting of two entities; the Bosnian-Croatian Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Serbia (Republika Srpska). There is a president, parliament and gov-ernment at both the national level and in the two entities. Thus, the country remained formally united but was divided territorially and politically according to ethnic criteria. While the Dayton agreement played an important role in ending the military violence it has also through its construction come to cement the division between the ethnic groups that once contributed to triggering the war. Two decades later the war still casts its shadow over Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the ethnic differences continue to influence the country, as well as its struggles with political stalemate, corruption and bureaucracy. The years of war and the transition from communism has affected the country’s economy negatively. Today the country is one of the poorest in Europe with a high unemployment rate, which has lasted since the end of the war. It is particularly difficult for women and young people to enter the labour market (Bos-nien och Hercegovina, n.d.).

The education system in Bosnia and Herzegovina is complex. School systems, curricula and funding principles differ between the three political units. Despite the decision on a nationwide educa-tion system with common curricula to facilitate reconciliaeduca-tion between the ethnic groups, attendance in schools has decreased in recent years. The most important reason is considered to be poverty, as parents

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have to pay for teaching materials, other materials and trips to school. The political and administrative complexity also exist in terms of tertiary education (Bosnien och Hercegovina, n.d.). As of 2019 the gross graduation ratio from a first-degree program at tertiary education was a total of 31.41 per cent, amongst women it was 38.37 per cent and amongst men 24.9 per cent (UNESCO, n.d.). However, the gap is growing between universities' education and the needs of the labour market. The unemployment among academics is thereby increasing and well-educated young people are increasingly applying for jobs abroad (Bosnien och Hercegovina, n.d.).

3.2. Women’s Position in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Women's opportunities to participate in society are still limited today in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for both cultural and structural reasons. As the society is based on traditional values, women struggle for a better position every day. Deep-rooted stereotypes regarding the role of women in society, lower wages and longer periods of unemployment are just some of the problems women face. In the last decade, significant efforts have been made in order to develop a domestic legal, institutional, and policy frame-work for the implementation of the principles of gender equality. However, gender equality is still not treated as a priority for development and is still considered as a matter that concerns only women (Berna, 2013, p. 130–131; UNICEF, n.d.). Gender inequality is particularly noticeable when it comes to the participation of women in public and political life, for instance the representation of women in the political parties is limited, especially in higher positions. Women’s position on the labour market is characterized by multiple burdens of women in the domain of market economy, for instance there are only a few women in high positions in publicly owned enterprises. Additionally, there is an increase in domestic violence and gender-based violence1_{, which is criminalized but few reports lead to prosecution}

(Berna, 2013; Bosnien och Hercegovina, n.d.; UNICEF, n.d.).

4. Previous Research

The section of previous research will present relevant aspects and examples connected to women in post-conflict societies and young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It highlights various challenges that have been identified of living in a post-conflict society. To get a better understanding of the content the identified challenges have been thematized and will be presented under three headlines: “The ex-clusion of women in the peace process”, “Women’s vulnerability and insecurity in the post-conflict setting” and “Young people’s outlook on life in Bosnia and Herzegovina”.

4.1. The Exclusion of Women in the Peace Process

Peace processes have been slow to recognise women, for instance the finding of a study done by Bell and Catherine O’Rourke showed that only 16 per cent of 585 peace agreements signed between 1990 and 2010 contained references to women (Byrne & McCulloch, 2012, p. 567). Further, several research-ers recognise the exclusion of women from peace negotiations and peace agreements as a factor to which position women hold later in post-conflict societies. Much of the research addresses the Dayton Agreement as a prime example of this, in which women were not included in the negotiations nor re-flected in the terms of the agreement (Berry & Rana, 2019; Bjökdahl & Mannergren Selimovic, 2014; Byrne & McCulloch, 2012; Cockburn, 2013). In addition, Ochieng (2003) and Berry and Rana (2019) 1_{Gender-based violence is violence directed against a person because of their gender, experienced both by women and men.} However, the majority of victims are women as the phenomenon is deeply rooted in gender inequality. It is one of the most notable human rights violations within all societies (European Institute for Gender Equality, n.d.)

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state that the exclusion of women was prevalent in the peace negotiations in Uganda and Nepal as well, which gave women little influence on the decisions taken (p. 57; p. 325–328). Further, this exclusion consequently creates gaps between formal peacebuilding efforts and women’s everyday lives, which affects the reflections of women’s concerns negatively in internationally orchestrated, national govern-ment, or non-governmental organisation (NGO) sponsored programs (Berry and Rana, p. 325–328). Continuing using Bosnia and Herzegovina as an example, women are not seen as recipients of repara-tions to right a wrong, but merely as poor and vulnerable victims that need assistance. Consequently, this devalues women’s wartime experience and also diminishes their ability to exercise agency to shape their own post-war existence (Bjökdahl & Mannergren Selimovic, 2014, p. 213).

The lack of female representation in post-conflict societies is also prevalent in the political landscape. Despite the increasing recognition of equal rights and opportunities between women and men in many of the countries they still struggle to promote gender equality (Berna, 2012; Byrne & McCulloch, 2012; McFerson, 2012; Niner, 2011). This could be seen as a result of not being properly included in the peace negotiations (Berry & Rana, 2019, p. 324). For instance, efforts have been made by the Timorese government to promote gender equality, but women still have in general very little public and political influence (Niner, 2011, p. 422, 426). Further, achieving gender-equal political rep-resentation in societies that have experienced ethnicized conflict has shown to be especially hard ac-cording to a study done by Byrne and McCulloch (2012). Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi and Ireland are all examples of this. Their findings also showed that the exclusion of women from peace negotia-tions and inadequacy in formal measures of inclusion is likely to lead to an underrepresentation of women in post-conflict institutions. This is most evident in Bosnia and Herzegovina as women were excluded from all peace negotiations. Even though the commitment to gender equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina looks impressive on paper, in which several formal commitments have been made, success has been limited as women are still underrepresented in the political assembly (p. 571, 576). In addition to the lack of political representation, women in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the other countries of the Western Balkans also face disparities in terms of jobs and wages (Berna, 2012, p. 129). However, growth in formal representation for women is not always equivalent to them participating effectively, which is the case of Burundi. Party culture expects female politicians to follow the lead of their male counterparts and they are often seen as illegitimate (Byrne & McCulloch, 2012, p. 574).

4.2. Women’s Vulnerability and Insecurity in the Post-Conflict Setting

As seen in several post-conflict societies that are struggling financially, women are more prone to ex-perience poverty after the war (Berry & Rana, 2019; Byrne & McCulloch, 2012; McFerson, 2012; Niner 2011; Ochieng, 2003). For instance, Berry and Rana (2019) argue that it is well established that women are particularly vulnerable to economic insecurity, which is largely due to their roles as caregivers for their families. Further, gender-based violence is prevalent in many post-conflict societies, which can be a result of the experiences of the war (Berna, 2013; Berry & Rana, 2019; Björkdahl & Mannergren Selimovic, 2014; Cockburn 2013; Niner, 2011; McFerson, 2012; Ochieng, 2003). Berry and Rana (2019) explain that there is extensive qualitative evidence which shows that for some post-conflict so-cieties gender-based violence is more likely because of the experiences of war. Due to a partner’s trauma, the experience of committing violence, and the increased availability of weapons. This is for instance the case for women in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Nepal where women report high levels of domestic violence (p. 336). Berna (2013), Björkdahl and Mannergren Selimovic (2014), and Cockburn (2013) identify the same problem of widespread domestic violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the other countries in the Western Balkans. Cockburn (2013) writes that a report by numerous NGOs claims that domestic violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a widespread social problem. Experiences in Bos-nia and Herzegovina, as well as Croatia and Serbia, suggests that domestic violence was particularly

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prevalent in the aftermath of the Yugoslav wars when men returned home, they were prone to turn the home itself into a battleground due to the brutalization of the fighting (p. 28–29). This is also empha-sised by Niner (2011), who states that sexual and gender-based violence in post-conflict areas is often prevalent long after the ceasefires and the peace treaties. This is notable in Timor-Leste where it is a generally accepted notion that the violence of the Indonesian occupation and the associated trauma has resulted in a more violent society (p. 422). To conclude, this exceeding violence against women perpe-trated during the conflicts spills over into the post-conflict period, which worsens women’s vulnerability and lack of rights (Björkdahl & Mannergren Selimovic, 2014, p. 208; McFerson, 2012, p. 141). Cock-burn (2013) further addresses that in addition to gender-based violence, women and girls in Bosnia and Herzegovina are experiencing harassment at work and school (p. 31)

Laws and programs have been established in many post-conflict societies in order to cope with gender-based violence, however without much evidence of positive impact (Berna, 2013; Byrne & McCulloch, 2012; McFerson 2012). For instance, in Burundi, despite the fact that the implementation of laws against sexual and gender-based violence have been strengthened they are still weak (Byrne & McCulloch, 2012, p. 574). The same applies to Sierra Leone, which has established Family Support Units in police departments to deal with domestic violence with little success (McFerson 2012, p. 141). Bosnia and Herzegovina is no exception, Berna (2013) writes that the government has made significant progress in penalizing domestic violence and introducing legal measures to protect victims. However, despite these progresses, victims of domestic violence do not have efficient and safe access to justice and proper protection (p. 129-130). In addition to this, women in Bosnia and Herzegovina are not merely defined as victims entitled to reparations, but as agents within civil society, who step in to perform reparations when governments fail to do so. The services to protect victims of domestic violence are therefore often provided by women NGOs and funded by international donors (Berna, 2013, p. 129; Björkdahl & Mannergren Selimovic, 2014, p. 214; Cockburn, 2013, p. 27–28).

4.3. Young People’s Outlook on Life in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina express concerns regarding the circumstances and prospects of young women in the country due to the international nature of youth cultures, promoted by Western capitalist corporations. These could be seen as an escape from the restrictions of pre-communist, com-munist and nationalist gender relations, but also as contemporary youth culture, which is manifesting a specifically capitalist form of patriarchy, in which women are reduced to mere commodities in a market (Cockbrun, 2013, p. 31). Cockburn (2013) explains that this sexualising popular culture generates re-actions such as a retreat into fundamentalist forms of religion, which represent a danger of a different kind to young women. Both lifestyles are defined exclusively through a heterosexual male perspective (p. 31). This creates a further division in the country, which is already experiencing polarization be-tween the different ethnic groups as a result of the conflict (Piacentini, 2018, p. 265).

Youth unemployment has reached almost 58 per cent in the country. This has led to a destruc-tive situation for young people, which is affecting their outlook on their lives and future in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Berry & Rana, 2019; Kadich, 2019; Kovacevic, Sijakovic & Petrovic, 2019; Magill & Hamber, 2011; Tomic, 2012). As Tomic (2012) points out, the problem of youth unemployment cannot be taken out of the context of the overall economic and labour market situation, as the economic state of the country is still very affected by the Bosnian war in the 1990s (p. 289). Further, both Tomic (2012) and Kovacevic, Sijakovic and Petrovic (2019) explain the politicians and the government's failure to implement a sustainable economy, education, and social opportunities for their inhabitants is a factor to the high youth unemployment (p. 288–289; p. 367–368). Tomic (2012) explains how young people are being isolated regardless of them having a significant education due to not finding a job, which is af-fecting those with a lower education the hardest. For those who succeed and earn employment, the job

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is often without official registration and offers a poor salary. He adds to this by describing how this is causing a bad circle of social exclusion, which can generate serious and significant harm to the devel-opment of Bosnia and Herzegovina (p. 288-289). This is also highlighted by Magill and Hamber (2011) who write that the sense of powerlessness and despair among young people might be increased by the economic insecurity the country is experiencing (p. 524). As a result of politicians’ ignorance and the division in government, young people are migrating to other countries to seek employment and educa-tion in order to have a sustainable lifestyle (Berry & Rana, 2019, p. 327; Kadich, 2019, p. 21). Further, Piacentini (2018) states that young people are also witnessing invisible boundaries created by the gov-ernment that are dividing the three ethnic groups in the country. These boundaries do not promote the lifestyle desired by many young people, which is a hindrance to real coexistence between them (p. 273– 274). However, Piacentini (2018) notes that the youth is witnessing a peaceful coexistence in Sarajevo, as different people, traditions and ethnicities exist together as a cultural heritage. Although, this is unique for the capital compared to the rest of the country (p. 273–274).

Furthermore, it is common amongst young people to feel mistrust and disappointment towards the government and for political parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina, they are negatively set as they do not feel that change is taking place in the near future (Kadich, 2019, p. 22; Kovacevic, Sijakovic & Petrovic, 2019, p. 376; Piacentini, 2018, p. 278–279). Kovacevic, Sijakovic and Petrovic (2019) further explain that a low number of young people participate in the political sphere. The reason for the low interest in political parties is related to the low trust in social institutions like the military, police, med-ical and educational institutions (p. 374–375). Further, many young people perceive national and reli-gious elements as a limiting factor for the development of trust between each other. This is a result of the large national and religious divisions created during the Bosnian war, which are still present today as the prejudices are passed on to young generations and is influencing the youth’s perception of trust in society (Kovacevic, Sijakovic & Petrovic, 2019, p. 371). Young people do not think that the politi-cians are taking responsibility for reconciliation and opine that they actually do more harm by dividing the people in the regions of the country instead of leading with a good example. Further, young people are expressing that those in power are not creating a substantial vision of the future as they rather main-tain the divisions of the past through words and actions (Magill & Hamber, 2011, p. 518–519).

5. Theoretical Framework

In this section the framework and concepts that have been used to interpret the empirical data will be presented and discussed as they constitute the foundation for this research. A framework of “Conflict, gender, ethnicity and post-conflict reconstruction” and the concept “gender order” will be used in com-plement to each other. Further, an explanation will be provided on how the term “post-conflict society” will be used in this study.

5.1. Conflict, Gender, Ethnicity and Post-Conflict Reconstruction Framework Handrahan (2004) has established a framework for analysis of gender and ethnicity in the post-war setting by merging literature on gender and war and feminist work on ethnicity. The framework covers aspects of conflict to post-conflict in relation to gender, male honour, female boundary-markers, and the implications of post-conflict policy (p. 431). This framework was chosen due to the focus of this study regarding gender and post-conflict. The study will not highlight ethnicity specifically, but as the focus is partly on the reconstruction after a violent conflict, which in this case was an ethnicized one, the framework was deemed of relevance.

Handrahan (2004) begins by explaining that the international community has historically failed to acknowledge the role that fraternity, male group identity, plays in relation to violent conflict despite

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it being evident that global conflict is largely perpetuated by varying ‘fraternities’ of men. She states that feminist research has established that men and women experience conflict and post-conflict situa-tions differently because of issues regarding identity and power. She continues by writing that conflict and post-conflict environments are distinctly about male power systems, struggles and identity for-mation. What follows in the post-conflict period are dramatically shifting identities, accompanied by the very immediate traumas and horrors of the conflict experienced by all parties. Added to this uncer-tain identity period is the presence of a competing fraternity from the international developing commu-nity who arrives after a conflict. They hold the upper hand, morally, economically and politically as they are there to enforce UN mandates, international laws and norms. Their new roles of leadership and positions of authority can provide a heady mix of power for many that are all too often abused as the fraternity begins to produce its own models of acceptable norms (p. 432–433).

Continuing, Handrahan (2004) states that it is easy to perceive the variable of gender identities as insignificant in relation to the larger issues of post-conflict reconstruction. However, while gender may be only one concern for women, it is a pivotal one, since theories of women as boundary-makers display how women’s fundamental human rights and dignity are often entangled in male power strug-gles as ethnicity appears partly to be created, maintained and socialized through male control of gender identities. She continues to explain that in all systems of male violence women are victims and perpe-trators. Conflict and post-conflict settings are no exceptions. The dominant framework in which women assist and enforce the communities' rituals is patriarchy. In these systems, women have no inherent value and the identities available to women are constructed within specific power relations which pro-vide the framework of choice. This framework is male-controlled, in which women who do not want to be rejected tend to comply (p. 338, 434).

National and gendered identities and the disadvantaged position of women within global and local power structures combined put women at risk, while simultaneously providing little room for them to express their security problems, explains Handrahan (2004). She acknowledges that both men as combatants and women as non-combatants2_{suffer immensely during war. However, while the status of}

women in all societies is less than equal to men under the best of circumstances, the vulnerability and insecurity of women is increased in the post-conflict setting. In the aftermath of a conflict, women are for instance more prone to economic insecurities, domestic violence, trafficking and gang rapes. In addition, she states that women at many times cannot display their war wounds or receive the medical care they need as the wounds often are sexual. She explains that due to the female body being strictly defined by the male-defined ethnic identity, women are controlled to only express sexuality with men from their own community. Therefore, when women survive sexual violence, it is an issue they can never admit to without causing harm and shame to both themselves and their surviving male relatives. If it becomes known, women are commonly seen as disgraced for having ‘submitted’ to contamination by an enemy male (p. 337, 434–435).

Furthermore, Handrahan (2004) notes that in post-conflict settings, gender construction appears to be complicated by the national agendas of identity formation and reformation, often involving an ethnic focus, and the presence of a competing fraternity as a result of the arrival of the international community. She proceeds to explains that the patriarchal system is upheld within most of the big actors that are involved in the reconciliation of a country after war. Therefore, women can expect little comfort or recognition after the war due to their war experience being minimised and even outright denied. Additionally, gender is often seen as something trivial by many in leadership positions. Consequently,

2_{Handrahan (2004) notes, that here are numerous examples of women who fight, kill and lead both peace and development} programmes, however, the involvement of women in leadership roles is noticed because it is exceptional (p. 432).

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there is often a lack of gender mainstreaming3_{in reconciliation programs resulting in them mostly}

look-ing after men's perspective. Since women's experiences are seen as less important, their participation is often left out in post-conflict developing plans. It is expected of women to return to “how they were before the war”, which often means a disadvantage for women due to its patriarchal order. This results in women not receiving the right help in the post-conflict society (p. 340, 436).

5.2. Gender Order

Connell and Pearse (2015) explain gender order as a pattern in our society created by history, which tells us what and how a man and a woman should and should not be. These patterns are socially con-structed but have become our truth as they are so usual. They write that we construct our own gender, but we are not free to construct it however we like. Our gender practice is to a large extent shaped by the gender order in which we find ourselves (p. 5, 73). Therefore, we cannot think of womanhood or manhood as natural, but nor should we think of them as easily imposed from outside by social norms or pressure from authorities (Connell & Pearse, 2015, p. 6). According to Connell and Pearse (2015) people construct themselves as masculine or feminine. They state that by the way we conduct ourselves in everyday life we claim a place in the gender order or respond to the place we have been given (p. 6). As gender order is in part socially constructed it can change over time. People can both conform to or challenge the current gender order (p. 74).

Further, Connell and Pearse (2015) state that the gender order of today, around the world, pri-marily privileges men and disadvantages women. It is a complex discourse and the scale of gender inequality varies in different places. Therefore, it is natural that there are different forms of privileges and disadvantages. For instance, in a strongly patriarchal gender order, women may be denied personal freedoms and education, while men may be cut off from emotional connections with their children (p. 1, 74). The concept of gender order was chosen as a complement to the framework constructed by Handrahan (2004), as all societies are constructed by gender order which many times disadvantages women. It helps to explain what Handrahan (2004) means when she states that the status of women in all societies is less than equal to men under the best of circumstances.

5.3. Post-Conflict

According to the UN (2010) there is no clear definition or description of what the term post-conflict implies due to its complexity. It is a political term and is therefore used differently depending on the context. For instance, some use it when a country has signed a peace agreement, however, a signed peace agreement is not equivalent to peace since conflict can continue. In this study, the UN definition of post-conflict will be used, which defines it as the situation after a war has taken place (p. 8). A more in-depth definition of the term is provided by Frère and Wilen (2015), which will be used in complement to the UN definition. This definition explains post-conflict as a highly politicized term due to the con-sequences that it entails for the state and the society, which is labelled conflict. Further “a post-conflict state is still in a fragile phase, but it does not belong to the more urgent phase of violent post-conflict and is, therefore, less likely to receive as much attention and aid from a country that is not categorized as post-conflict” (p. 2).

3_{A strategy in which the needs and interests of both women and men are considered when making plans and policies, in} or-der for them to be treated equally (Genor-der mainstreaming, n.d.).

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6. Methodology and Material

This section provides the reader with a description of the research process, including the choice of research design, the selection of respondents and delimitations of this study. Further, a discussion on how the empirical data was analysed as well as the methodological concerns that occurred during the research process is included. Lastly, there is also a discussion concerning ethical considerations and reflexivity with the purpose of increasing the transparency between the authors and the reader.

6.1. Research Design

The methodology of this study was based on a qualitative approach as the research question aims to explore the experiences and outlooks of young women in the post-conflict setting of Bosnia and Her-zegovina. As Bryman (2018) states, when interested in what worldview or outlook on life members of a particular social group have, a qualitative strategy is better suited to capture the individuals' percep-tions and interpretapercep-tions of the reality in which they live (p. 45–46). A qualitative approach was there-fore deemed as most suitable since it was desired to see the respondents' worldview from their perspec-tive. This was made possible by conducting semi-structured interviews. Having interviews as a research method makes it possible to understand phenomena from the respondents' point of view and developing meaning from their subjective experiences. Further, interviews open up for a broader understanding of vulnerable groups' life situation and societal processes (Kvale & Brinkman, 2014, p. 17).

6.2. Semi-Structured Interviews

The empirical data for this study was collected through eight semi-structured interviews. It was consid-ered the most relevant method based on its flexibility as well as structure. As Bryman (2018) empha-sises, semi-structured interviews give the possibility to steer the interviews in a direction that ensures the research questions to be answered, without affecting the respondents’ flexibility and freedom in their answers. It was sought after to let the interview move in different directions if needed, as it pro-vided knowledge of what the respondents felt was relevant and important.It also allowed for follow-up interviews or to ask additional questions retrospectively (p. 563–564). Furthermore, the study was set to interview eight respondents, therefore, some sort of structure was needed to be able to compare the different interviews with each other, which was made possible with a semi-structured interview guide (Bryman, 2008, p. 416). The interview guide (see Appendix II) included thirteen main questions, which were based on previous research. Theycovered certain topics deemed necessary in order to answer the research questions. A couple of potential follow-up questions were also included in the interview guide, with the purpose to cover topics that the respondents might not have mentioned in their initial response. However, the interview questions did not have to be asked or answered in a certain order and additional follow-up questions was asked as well. There was one question added to the interview guide after the first interview upon realizing that one important topic was not covered. This additional question was asked via email to the respondent from the first interview at a later time.

Before the process of collecting the empirical data started, one pilot interview was conducted. This was done with the intent to see how well the interview guide worked as well as to acquire some experience. As Bryman (2018) describes, conducting good interviews is a demanding job and requires some training (p. 567). The material collected from the pilot interview is not a part of this study as the participant interviewed did not fit all of the criteria for this study.

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Due to the current circumstances of covid-194_{, all the interviews were conducted over video}

chat via the communication service Zoom. Upon agreement of participation, the respondents were of-fered to choose a day and a time most suitable for an interview. The interviews were scheduled to last approximately one hour, but they could vary in length depending on how much time the respondents had available. In the end, the interviews lasted between 40 minutes to 160 minutes. One out of the eight interviews were conducted with the help of an interpreter, as the respondent was not comfortable an-swering the questions in English.

6.3. Selection of Respondents and Delimitations

Due to the time frame of the study, it was set to include interviews with eight respondents. The selection of respondents was initially based on three main criteria; the respondent had to be a woman in Bosnia and Herzegovina, between the ages 18 to 30, and be able to speak English. The first and second criteria were based on this specific target group’s experience of living as women in a post-conflict society without any own experiences from the war. The third criterion was formulated on the basis that it was considered more favourable to not use an interpreter due to the importance of hearing the respondents construct their own answers in their own wording. However, exceptions were later made regarding the third criterion.

Due to this study being conducted from Sweden, purposive sampling was selected to find po-tential respondents. For the purpose of this study a specific target group, young women from Bosnia and Herzegovina, was desired in order to answer the research questions. As Bryman (2018) describes with purposive sampling the aim is to select participants in a strategic way so that the sample is relevant to the research questions (p. 496). In finding potential respondents' we were assisted by one primary personal contact that had connections to Bosnia and Herzegovina. They provided emails of several potential respondents who fitted the criteria for the study. Later on, we came in contact with an addi-tional person who also had connections to Bosnia and Herzegovina but could only provide potential respondents' that did not fit the third criterion. They pointed out that a majority of the population in the country does not speak English. Therefore, the sample was expanded to also includewomen who did not feel comfortable or could not speak English as it was deemed important to also include them.

We had the opportunity to come in contact with eight young women who either were currently studying or had studied at university for five years (see table: 1). All of the respondents also expressed that they come from relatively supportive families, which encouraged them to study and pressure their own dreams. Thus, this study will only reflect their subjective thoughts and will not be generalizable nor representative for all young women in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Respondents Alias Age Date of the interview

Respondent 1 Amina 25 14-04-2021 Respondent 2 Bojana 26 15-04-2021 Respondent 3 Camila 25 15-04-2021 Respondent 4 _Dalila 24 16-04-2021 Respondent 5 Emira 24 16-04-2021 Respondent 6 Fatima 24 19-04-2021

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Respondent 7 Gina 27 26-04-2021

Respondent 8 Hana 25 27-04-2021

Table 1: Presentations of respondents

All interviews were recorded upon agreement and approval of the respondents. As the interviews were conducted via Zoom, the communication service's own recording function was used. It was deemed beneficial to record the interviews in order to avoid the risk of being distracted by the need for excessive notetaking. It was of importance to be responsive to the respondents' answers and follow them up if needed as the interviews did not follow a strict interview schedule. Thus, recording made it possible to have full focus on the respondents during the interview. An additional reason for recording was due to the interest in which way the respondents chose to express themselves and was therefore important to have a complete account of the exchanges that were made during the interviews. When only taking notes, it is easy for special phrases and expressions to get lost. A disadvantage with recording to have in mind was that the respondents could have been self-conscious of knowing they were being recorded. However, it was deemed that this negative aspect was exceeded by the benefits of recording. The re-spondents did also not seem to be noticeably influenced as the recording function was relatively discrete (Bryman, 2018, p. 566, 577).

All interviews were transcribed for further processing and analysis. The transcription of the interviews was carried out as a continuous activity alongside the collecting of the data to avoid feeling overwhelmed. As Bryman (2018) emphasises, transcription is a time-consuming process, which results in a lot of written data. Additionally, this approach also gave the opportunity to become aware of dif-ferent themes that disclose themselves during the interviews, which then could be explored in the next coming interviews (p. 577). The parts of relevance to the aim and research questions were transcribed word for word. Other parts of the interviews, such as side-tracks, were not transcribed. Omissions of words and sentences have been made in certain quotations due to its irrelevance, which are marked with square brackets “[...]”. Additionally, in some cases words have been added as clarifications, which are also marked inside square brackets “[...]”.

6.4. Analysis Method: Thematic Analysis

The approach that was applied to analyse the empirical data was thematic analysis, which is the most common approach when it comes to qualitative data. This meant that the empirical data was analysed on the basis of recurring central themes identified in the interviews (Bryman, 2018, p. 702). The method of analysis was chosen because it was considered to be well compatible with the purpose of the study as we are looking for what is recurring regarding young women’s experiences of their participation within the post-conflict society of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

After the data was collected it was prepared for analysis, in which all interviews were tran-scribed. When analysing the material an inductive approach was used in which the identified themes were primarily determined according to the collected data. Secondly, it was also made sure that the themes were connected to the research questions. Further, an iterative process was applied to the coding where the data was analysed to be divided into central themes and sub-themes (Bryman, 2018, p. 49-51). The transcriptions were read through a few times in order to detect if there were similarities in the context. As Bryman (2018) states, repetition is an important step in being able to establish that a pattern in the data can be considered as a theme. Initially, it was not possible to be certain if only eight respond-ents would be enough to reach data saturation (p.705–707). However, during the coding process of the respondents' answers certain themes kept repeating multiple times. Five main themes were detected, including several sub-themes. The transcription of each interview was colour coded based on the main

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themes. The colour coded paragraphs were then divided and collected into six documents, which were based on the main themes. The documents further included the sub-theme in which the paragraphs were structured according to.

One aspect regarding the thematic analysis we had in mind during the data analysis was that this approach does not necessarily explain how to identify themes, meaning that the determined themes and categories could be influenced by us (Bryman, 2018, p. 680). Further, as Bryman (2018) problem-atises, we as researchers had to be aware of our own reflexivity during this process (p. 680). The themes that were detected during the analysis of data were mainly based on repetitions, which meant that they appeared multiple times in the material (p. 707).

6.5. Methodological Concerns

Due to this study being conducted from Sweden, all interviews were held over Zoom, which allowed for both benefits and disadvantages. As Bryman (2018) states, there are certain benefits when conduct-ing interviews online, for instance, it is as easy to create a trustconduct-ing relationship to the respondent as it would be in a direct interview and the respondent might even feel more comfortable. Further, he high-lights that it can also be very time effective. These benefits constituted positive aspects in the study. However, conducting the interviews online came with some disadvantages, such as technical problems which were manifested in mostly poor internet connection. Consequently, it could be hard to hear cer-tain passages when transcribing, which led to cercer-tain words the respondent said to be lost (p. 593). The technical problem was particularly prevalent in one of the interviews as the respondent lost connection several times in the beginning. We are aware that this constituted a disturbing factor, due to the re-spondent's thoughts and reasonings being interrupted. However, this seemed not to discourage her in her participation and answers. The decision of turning off the cameras was later made to prevent the disconnections, which proved to be effective. Unfortunately, the face-to-face interaction was lost, but it was deemed more favourable to have a proper and clear communication. Moreover, the eight inter-views provided a large amount of data, which unfortunately made it impossible to include all of the material in the final product. Therefore, the material that was deemed as most crucial in order to answer the research questions was selected. The rest of the material has been used to understand the context.

Another concern to keep in mind is regarding the thematic analysis of the empirical data. As Bryman (2018) emphasises, in the terms of qualitative data analysis the coding procedure can poten-tially lead to that the context gets lost in what is being said. He further explains this by stating that one can lose the social situation when picking out pieces of text from the context in which they occur (p.701). During the thematic analysis this was kept in mind in order to make sure no major losses in the context occurred. We also made sure to be aware of our own reflexivity in order to minimise that the context we come from influenced the determination of themes too much (p. 680).

Furthermore, due to the use of a purposive sampling process and the sample size, the result of the study will not be possible to generalize to a greater population. This is because purposive sampling is a form of non-probability sampling, which means that the respondents were not selected on a random basis. However, the aim of the study was to explore the experiences and thoughts of young women with tertiary education in a post-conflict society and therefore, it was more favourable to use purposive sam-pling as this method enables individuals to be selected based on the relevance they have when it comes to understanding a social context (Bryman, 2018, p. 496). Furthermore, there are differences of opinion regarding what is to be an appropriate sample size when conducting a qualitative study. However, as Bryman (2018) states the crucial factor for what is considered an appropriate sample size is the moti-vation for the selected quantity. In the case of this study the sample size of eight respondents was de-termined on the scope and time limitation for the study. Based on these factors the sample size was therefore deemed fit in order to achieve as much of a theoretical saturation as possible (p. 506-507). As

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previously mentioned, the findings of this study are not representative. Therefore, we acknowledge that the findings in this study are not representative. However, they can be seen as an insight and example to how some young women with tertiary education experience their participation in Bosnia and Herze-govina, thus being used as a motivation for further research.

A further factor to keep in mind is that the respondents come from different linguistic and cul-tural backgrounds than us and therefore the interviews were characterized by interculcul-tural communica-tion. As Stier (2019) emphasises during such communication it is important to take into account the speaker’s intentions, previous experience, and language proficiency as well as the equivalent of the receiver (p. 58–65). English was not the respondent’s nor our native language. However, this should not have affected the result of the study more than that the responses might not be as nuanced as if the interviews had been conducted in their native language. Despite a few of the respondents having diffi-culties finding certain words, they all were able to express themselves with words that they knew. It was also made sure that the questions were kept relatively simple and coherent so they would be easily understood. Clarification for certain terms was also provided.

Lastly, during one of the interviews an interpreter was present at the request of the respondent. The respondent could understand and speak English but did not feel comfortable answering the ques-tions in English. As the interpreter did not have a lot of experience, some of the answers were not translated word for word and as with all interpreters some meaning could have been lost in the transla-tion. However, the respondent understood English and seemed to be content with the interpreter's trans-lation of her answers, therefore this is not seen as a major source of error.

6.6. Ethical Considerations

Due to the aim of the study and the research design, we acknowledge it encroaches on the privacy of the respondents (Bryman, 2018, p. 170). Therefore, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the respond-ents the study followed the Swedish Research Councils (2017) recommendations on good research practice. The aspects of the guideline that have especially been taken into consideration are the follow-ing: information, the intended use of material, consent and confidentiality.

Initially, an email was sent out to potential respondents regarding their participation. The email also included information regarding the purpose of the study, selected methodology, how the collected material was intended to be used, and how the ethical guidelines were to be followed. Furthermore, it was covered that their participation would be voluntary and that they could withdraw their participation at any given moment. Secondly, upon agreement of the respondents’ participation a written consent form (see Appendix I) was sent via email concerning the respondents’ rights as well as the researchers’ obligations, which included approval of recording the interview and information regarding how the respondents' personal data was intended to be processed according to the confidentiality principle. This meant that the respondents’ participation would be anonymous and that no specific details about them would be included in the study. Their premises of participation were once again included. If the consent form was not signed and submitted before the interview, verbal consent was given from the respondent upon agreement to send it after the interview. To reduce the risk of any misunderstandings it was clar-ified once again verbally before the interview started that it would be recorded. At this time, it was not covered that their participation was voluntary and that they could withdraw their participation at any given time. However, this was not considered as a crucial source of error as it was both covered in the initial email and the consent form. The respondents were also asked if they had any additional questions (Swedish Research Council, 2017).

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6.7. Reflexivity and Positionality

With this section, we want to establish transparency between the researchers' and the reader. To begin with, it is important to know that the researcher’s values can at different times influence the research process. As Bryman (2018) emphasises, a researcher cannot have complete control over their values, which makes the expectation of researchers to be completely value-free and objective in their research not to be credible (p. 64). Since we are women ourselves, in the same age group as the respondents we realise that these factors can come to affect the study due to us sharing the experience of being young women. In addition, we as women ourselves also feel that issues regarding women's rights and women's perspectives should be lifted in all societies and situations, which is one of the main reasons why we decided to conduct this study. We want to highlight young women's stories and experiences of living within the post-conflict society of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as we do not want their voices to get lost in the discussion. As the aim of the study is to highlight young women's experiences and outlooks on their participation in a post-conflict society, the aim in itself is not objective. This is what Bryman (2018) calls having a “conscious bias”. We want to advocate the approach to highlight the commitment of women as positive and that we as women convey the unequal conditions in which we live in a male-dominated society (p. 491).

Furthermore, we want to acknowledge to the reader that our cultural heritage differs from the respondents as we are from Sweden and have grown up in a Western context. Therefore, it is important to cover the aspects of culture as this study is conductive in a context that differs from our native one. As our way of understanding reality is influenced by the cultural context we have grown up in, the respondents’ understanding will too (p. 39). As Stier (2019) states, when culture is viewed from an individual level it can influence the individual's self-perception and identity. Therefore, we as research-ers have been conscious of this to avoid viewing our perception of reality as self-evident and unequiv-ocally correct. However, as the cultural context is very much a part of the investigation to understand the respondents’ point of views this was seen as a positive aspect coming from the respondents.

7. Result

The result is divided into six headlines. Under the first title “Eight young women in Bosnia and Herze-govina” a brief insight into who the young women interviewed are will be provided. The following next five titles represent the main themes discovered from the coding and thematization while analysing the data. The first theme “Living in a shadow of the war” is connected to the experiences of living in a post-conflict society, followed by the second theme “Change is not on the political agenda” which further explores the political context in which the women live in. The third theme “We are more than just housewives” provides a picture of how the women view their own situation concerning gender relations. The fourth theme “Participation in society, but not without boundaries” goes into how the women ex-perience their participation in society. The fifth and last theme “Striving for a better future” highlights the young women's thoughts on their outlook of their future as well as other women’s.

7.1. Eight Young Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina

We had the chance to interview eight young women between the ages 24 and 28 years old. They were from different parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but mostly from areas around Sarajevo and Mostar. During our time talking to them we got the sense of them being eight very driven young women as all of them either studied or had studied at university. Four of the women have studied languages with different specializations (R1, R2, R6, R7). It was noted by Bojana (R2) that language studies interest more females than males and she herself was studying to accomplish her dream to become a university professor. Amina (R1), who graduated over two months ago, wants to work as a teacher. However, she

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brought up the inevitable topic of the pandemic, covid-19, as one of the reasons for her being currently unemployed. Fatima (R6) and Gina (R7) had also chosen to study languages to fulfil their dreams of becoming teachers. Gina (R7) has finished her studies and is now working at an elementary school. Fatima (R6) has studied in Croatia and is now writing her master’s thesis. Further it was explained by her that teaching is considered a ‘women-dominated’ occupation. Emira (R5) and Hana (R8) are both studying at pharmaceutical college and they also explained their profession as ‘women-dominated’. Hana (R8) is finishing her last semester and has already started working in the pharmaceutical industry. Dalila (R8) is currently studying her second year of political science and Camila (R3) has just six months left before graduating from medical school.

All of the young women were currently living with their parents. Hana (R8) explained that this is the most usual thing in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They all emphasised that their parents and families are very supportive. The majority of the women told us that they were privileged because of this and also because their parents had good jobs making them economically stable. Further, they explained that they had parents who gave them opportunities to succeed and allowed them to express themselves and achieve the thing they wanted. (R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R8). For instance, Camila (R3) said, “my family is quite supportive and liberal and they ehm they give me a lot of opportunities” (R7). Emira (R5) also told us about the good relationship she has with her parents and that they would support her at all times. Bojana (R2) explained that she never had experienced any major struggles in her life, how-ever she believes that she is just one of the five per cent that is privileged in that way. Gina (R7) also explained that her family is supportive. However, she mentioned that her parents had not always be-lieved in her dreams of becoming a teacher as they were struggling to see how it would work out. She also told us that since she was little, she had been involved in an NGO that gave both financial and emotional support for children to war veterans as her father participated in the war.

An inevitable topic that some of the young women mentioned was the current situation with covid-19. We understood from them that the pandemic had affected them and their participation in society in a negative way (R1, R5, R6). Fatima (R6) who had taken a gap year to finish her thesis, said that she had planned to work in Croatia during that year, but due to the pandemic she had to move back home to live with her parents. Amina (R1) felt that it was already hard to get a job and plan for her future, but it had become even harder due to the pandemic. We were also told by Emira (R5) that she misses her old social life, when she could go to sports tournaments and make plans with her family and friends.

7.2. Living in a Shadow of the War

Even though the civil war ended over 25 years ago, all of the women expressed that the aftermath of the war is still very prevalent in the society of Bosnia and Herzegovina on both a social, political and economic level. Segregation, division and hostility between the three ethnic groups, Bosniaks, Bosnian-Serbs and Bosnian-Croats, were brought up by several of the women as a social impact from the war (R2, R3, R5, R7, R6, R8). When it came to the political impact many of them reflected upon an ineffi-cient political system, where many of the politicians are more focused on dwelling on the past. These attitudes have led to economic stagnation in the country, which was already set back financially due to the war (R1, R2, R3, R4, R6, R8). Some of the women added that this is negatively affecting the popu-lation, especially the youth and people directly affected by the war, as there is little investment going towards them (R2, R3, R4). Camila (R3) explained that everyone, including herself, are affected by attitudes that still remain from the conflict. She further described how this especially has a big impact on the financial situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which hinders the development of the country.