Conversation led:  Milkica Milojevic

In conversation for Lara online, pre-war president municipality and actual assembly-woman, woman with the longest experience in domestic politics, exposes: why successful woman even today must to do the ironing and make pickled foods, what hasn't change since Tito's time, why are men the first, and women the second or the fifth at the lists of politics' candidate, who will finance safe houses for the victims of the family's violence,

how sons and daughters are being educated, do we have equal possibilities, and did Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) prevent that assembly-man Laza Maric fights for sex equality.

For Ivka Ristic (58) a female economist and politician from Teslic could be said that she is embodiment modesty and she is the true hardworking woman, although, modesty and hard work without doubt rare worthiness among politician. She works hard behind the scene, she is almost invisible in the hall of National Assembly, rare appears in public, she very rare speaks about herself, although, she would have what to say.

She has been chosen the second time successively for assembly-woman. She is the president of the Board of equal possibilities, and she engaged in Board for revision. She is the member of the Main board SNSD, and she is the president of the Executive board of this in municipality Teslic.

She is the only woman politician in RS who was professionally engaged in politics before war, too. She did that very successfully. She was the president of the Parliament municipality Teslic, and she was the president of the board this municipality in the eighties of the last century. She did the duty of the president of Socialist union.

Still, she left without job as a technological surplus in Banja Luka's bank in year 2002, so she in her the first political mandate was the only unemployed assembly-woman.

She is married, she is mother of two children, and she has been grandmother for one year and half. Her rich life's and political experience help her that even today can hold out to the end with numerous obligations of middle-aged woman of the old stamp in the best sense that word, she still successfully swim in men world of politics and government. She does that for the long term marathon persistently.

And this conversation led about ten o'clock in the evening in a break of marathon the last conference of National Assembly before the summer break. While others were preparing for sleep, the end of the working day veteran-woman of domestic politics wasn't showing through.

Are you tired?

- I admit, yes, I am. The conference is hard, agenda is serious, and we adopt the laws which very concern our citizens and voters. We must take care that we proper fill all assembly obligation.

Is it so hard to be an assembly-woman? The conferences in comfortable air-conditioned hall to the citizens don't look as a special hard work?

- The conferences of the Parliament are something what people see, but that is easier part of work. If assembly-man or assembly-woman seriously engaged in politics there are a lot of obligations in boards, in preparations for conferences and in her/his local community. We still haven't assembly office here in Teslic we will get it in September, but I receive citizens in premises of the Party two days in a week on Monday and on Thursday. Of course, those terms aren't only reserved for followers of SNSD, my doors are opened to all citizens of Teslic without matter in which party they are and for who they voted at the election. The citizens the most often ask help for employment, they ask social help, providing of housing. Someone needs roof for the house, someone needs window, someone needs scholarship for education of child, or someone needs help for cure. And I'm trying to help them although I haven't instruments for that. It is very rare situation that someone come to say that something disturb in the law or in some parliament's decision, so, we the least engaged in job for what we elected. But, that is our fate because of social situation which is very difficult.

You were engaged in politics before war, too, what is rarity among women politician. According to your experience when was harder to be politician-woman before 20 years or today?

- I spent half working life in politics and here there is one rule which isn't change. For the women always was hard act in politics because of the woman was and stayed the column of the house. The family obligations are on the woman and whatever important or hard work you do out of the house, don't lie ourselves, when you come home the kitchen and ironing are waiting for you.

How is that, the political system has changed, the state has changed, but the women's obligations stayed the same?

- Nothing important has changed here. The women can be engage in politics only if she has support of the family. And, whatever the success the woman achieved, good part of the work in the house stayed on the woman.

Does it same situation for you, too? You have already come to the years when you probably deserve exemption from those many obligations?

- Yes, the children are grown up, household arranged, but I have old mother now who has 82 and I must take care about her, and my family expect still today that I somehow reach everything. I also have wonderful grandson, his name is Aco and he is 18 months old and old the time runs to the grandma and the others overtakes. All my free time I spend with him and the others adult members of the family that suit.

According to pre-war period, are the women today have bigger influence in politics?

- Yes, they have. The status of the women in politics has changed with bringing                               Election law and Law about sex equality in BiH. But, that happened only thanks to the law and the pressures. We still far from the consciousness that the participation of the women in politics is fundamental need for welfare of the society. The men still are at the leading positions the women are the second, the third, or the fifth not only at the candidate's lists than in political life at all. But, that is success according to pre-war time when the women in politics were really rarity. I was the most often the only women at the conference before the war.

Is it today for the women easier engage in politics because of that improvement?

- No, it isn't. It is generally harder be a politician today, the condition in country is far harder than before the war and acting with politics requires much more energy and engagement and responsibilities, too.

You are the president of the parliamentary Board equal possibilities. Is it that exactly the happiest name for board which should act before all with equalities of men and women?

- The name of the board would be suitable if we have men in the board, but we haven't, we all women. In the last session I also was member of the Board, and we have one colleague Laza Maric who is assembly-man of SDS (Serbian Democratic Party) who is has been chosen in this board on his own require. He told me that he wanted to be in the board in this session, too, but supposedly he didn't get compatibility from the Club assembly-men of SDS. Is the Board of equal possibilities considered as a marginal? So, the parties aren't interested, or it is something else, I don't know, but the fact is that our board is exclusively women's.

So, does the Gender center do that job?

- It works responsibly and seriously.

We have a lot of mechanisms for sex equality from gender centers entities to parliamentary commissions and board and Agency for sex equality BiH. Do the women, female citizens, some concrete benefit from that?

- Perhaps, isn't recognizable in everyday life, perhaps, the things are changed slowly, let's be honest, fast changes of thousands years traditions aren't possible, but still all those mechanisms function and give some results. Look, we have organized public testimony recently about financing safe houses on initiative NGO Joined Women and Helsinki parliament of citizens. About family violence wasn't spoken in public before few years, that was taboo, and today we in institutions do our best that victims of family violence have shelters which will be financing from the budget. Well, the state stands of the victim side! Safe houses have financed from foreign donations till now, but the donations are decreased, and the shelters must function. The shelters must have together with volunteers determined number of employers in order to function, and those people must have salaries when in houses there aren't victims, too. The doors of the safe houses mustn't be closed. It is regulated by the law that safe houses are financed from means local communities, but we have poor municipalities which don't have many for that, especially if we know that all those social providing are a burden to municipalities' budgets. We came to the conclusion at that testimony that safe houses should finance also from local and from budgets RS. We will suggest that kind of solution to the parliament within the Law about preventing violence in family. The Finance Minister supported us in that.

Do you hope that financing of safe houses can be in near future regulated by the law on the way which you suggest?

- I believe that the proposal of the law should be found in front of assembly-men till October because of that it is in interest of victim family violence.

Is there some more regions where is felt concrete influence of the Law about sex equalities and mechanism which is executing it?

- I think that improvement visible in area of work and employment. Let's say, it is regulated by the law that at the employment or at the competition for managerial position if they fill the same conditions, the man can't be in advantage in relation to woman, it was unwritten rule till now. Even, the sanctions are regulated for breaking of this clause.

Did you notice at least one case that those sanctions are implemented?

- I haven't noticed that for now, changes and additions of the Law about work have just come into effect, but we follow the situation and we will react if would be need.

But, how react on the story from the beginning our conversation: that woman can be politician-woman, or, let's say, nuclear physicist-woman, just only after she ironed laundry and prepared pickled food? Why are those stereotypes in spite of numerous laws and gender mechanisms so resistant?

- That is our mentality. Social community must support women in order to change that mentality. That division of the roles will change when woman would be equally paid for her work and when would be all well paid positions and jobs equally available for them like for men. Women need economical safety in order to can fight for true equality. And we women politicians and activists must contribute to women's economical independents with our engagement. The women are still at the work places which less paid, the women rare owners of the capital, almost all material goods belong to the men, and mentality is such that women are called off, and we mustn't allow that, no chance.

A lot of that you counted, but what is for you the key of true equalities between sexes? 

- The change of the consciousness is crucial. Our board is going to organize series round tables with subject more equal participating women in politics and generally in public life. We must men bring in the situation that they accept us as equal partners. We must educate them. That is hard and burdensome work, but we must accept it if we want to be equal.

So, where from should start in that job?

- From the family. We must our sons educate on different way.

 What about daughters?

- And daughters, of course, but that goes easier, they easier accept that new system of the value and roles, as folks would say, on the better is easier to accustom.

So, did you educate your son for that new division of the roles?

- Yes, I am, really. My son even prepared pancakes and washed the dishes for himself in the fourth class (of the primary school). He didn't wash always well, but that is less important, important is that he knew that is that his job and that he mustn't leave the mess behind himself. Today he is married, he has got two sons and a lot of helps his wife, although he is employed and she isn't, they together do the house- work.