Bosnian Women Research Articles

Bitterfelder Bogen: Ein Bericht by Monika Maron, Jonas Maron

Bitterfelder Bogen: Ein Bericht by Monika Maron, Jonas Maron

Adjustment to trauma exposure in refugee, displaced, and non-displaced Bosnian women

The war in Bosnia resulted in the displacement of millions of civilians, most of them women. Ten years after the civil war, many of them are still living as refugees in their country of origin or abroad. Research on different refugee groups has continuously reported persistent levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental-health problems in this population. The present study compared PTSD and self-concept in Bosnian refugee women (n = 29) with women who were internally displaced (IDP; n = 26) and non-displaced women (n = 32). Data were collected using the Bosnian Trauma Questionnaire and four scales assessing self-esteem, perceived incompetence, externality of control attribution, and persistence. IDPs scored significantly higher on PTSD symptoms, externality of control attribution and perceived incompetence, and lower on self-esteem than both refugee and non-displaced women. The level of education most strongly predicted PTSD symptom severity, followed by the type of displacement, and exposure to violence during the war. Associations of self-concept with displacement and psychopathology were inconsistent, with type of displacement predicting control attributions but not other aspects of self-concept and PTSD symptoms being partly related to perceived incompetence and self-esteem. These results support previous findings stating that, in the long run, refugees show better mental health than IDPs, and that witnessing violence is a traumatic experience strongly linked to the development of PTSD symptoms. Results further indicate that education plays an important role in the development of PTSD symptoms. Associations of control attributions and type of displacement were found; these results have not been previously documented in literature.

Bosnian Women and Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is increasingly viewed as a global social problem. Research examining this issue, however, generally has been limited to North America, leaving an extensive gap in the literature. This study aims to narrow this gap by examining IPV among Bosnian women. Specifically, an exploratory analysis will be structured around two important and interrelated areas: prevelance of IPV and attitudes related to IPV. Approximately 70 Bosnian women completed paper-and-pencil surveys that measured experiences and attitudes associated with IPV. Bivariate analyses were used to compare the responses of Bosnian nationals residing in Bosnia-Herzegovina ( n = 49) against the responses of Bosnian refugees residing in the United States ( n = 21). Results and suggestions for future research are presented.

N-Terminal Pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide (Nt-proBNP) Serum Concentrations in Apparently Healthy Bosnian Women

Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a cardiac hormone secreted predominantly from the ventricles. This hormone is produced as pre-prohormone BNP (pro BNP), than cleaved by corine to biologically active 32-aminoacid BNP and non-biologically active N-terminal-pro brain natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP). NTproBNP has been found to be a useful marker for the diagnosis of heart failure and left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Recent studies showed that concentration of BNP and NTproBNP predict cardiovascular disease in apparently healthy individuals but their full screening characteristics are not firmly established. As NTproBNP serum concentration is altered by numerous factors there are also interindividual variations in NTproBNP values. There are no previous results for Bosnian population so the aim of this study was to asses normal range of NTproBNP serum concentrations in apparently healthy women using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay (Elecsys, Roche Diagnostic). A group of 45, healthy females, aged 39.19 (+/-6.62), were enrolled in this study. Mean serum concentration of NTproBNP was 60.32 (+/-36.25) pg/ml, with the range of 112,60 pg/ml (minimum-maximum: 13.6-126.00 pg/ml). We conclude that NTproBNP serum concentration in apparently healthy Bosnian women was not different from the average values of NTproBNP obtained on Europen's population. Thus, we suggest that the NTproBNP serum upper cut off values measured by using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay "ECLIA" (Elecsys 2010, Roche Diagnostic) for Bosnian females, aged < or =50 years, should be 155 pg/ml as reported by Roche Diagnostic.

Mothering During War and Postwar in Bosnia

The study aim was to describe displaced Bosnian mothers' experiences caring for their children during and immediately after the war (1992-1995). Mothers described their progression into war, through war, and into vastly changed lives. Using ethnographic methods, narrative data were collected near Sarajevo, Bosnia, from 14 displaced women who participated in one to three interviews each between 1996 and 1999. Data from the semistructured interviews were analyzed to determine patterns in participants' descriptions of mothering during war. Four common themes of mothering were identified in the data: "on the move," "I have to feed them," "living somewhere in between," and "still living the war inside." As care providers and policy makers develop initiatives to improve the health of women and children during complex humanitarian emergencies, there is much to learn from the narratives of Bosnian women about their extraordinary struggle to protect the lives of their children amid violence and loss.

Vagina Sisters, Crying Men, Soap Opera Stars and Sushi: The Story of theVagina Monologuesin Belgrade

n spring 2006 the Vagina Monologues was staged in Serbia for the first time. Performed by well-known actresses, including a celebrity soap star, the show attracted a wide audience of people beyond those usually interested in the women’s movement. Hundreds of young girls came to see the soap star, but at the same time they heard about pleasure and orgasm, and how to love their bodies, as well as about sexual abuse and domestic violence. Men in the audience cried with emotion. The actresses, some of whom had reacted with embarrassment and disdain when they first saw the script were on a real high by the end of the show. Serbia’s Anti-Trafficking Center organised the event and all proceeds went to KOLO, a Bosnian women’s organisation supporting women who had been raped by Serbian soldiers during the war in former Yugoslavia. The Vagina Monologues created amazing new connections and allies in the struggle for women’s rights.

Empowering women? an assessment of international gender policies in Bosnia

International policy-making promises to empower women in Bosnia through encouraging their participation in the political process, giving them a voice in civil society and providing enhanced opportunities for economic independence. This essay challenges these claims, suggesting that while a narrow echelon of young middle-class urban professionals have benefited from international gender approaches, the prospects for ordinary Bosnian women have not improved. First, the essay considers international attempts to promote the political empowerment of women through quota mechanisms and support for women's organizations operating in civil society. Secondly, it considers international policies intended to further the economic empowerment of women and how these relate to broader neo-liberal prescriptions for the post-war state. It concludes that international policies, in both the political and economic realms, contain fundamental limitations which look likely to frustrate the long-term advancement of women in Bosnia.

This was not our war: Bosnian women reclaiming the peace

Replacing tyranny with justice, healing deep scars, exchanging hatred for hope . . . the women in This Was Not Our War teach us how. —William Jefferson Clinton This Was Not Our War shares amazing first-person accounts of twenty-six Bosnian women who are reconstructing their society following years of devastating warfare. A university student working to resettle refugees, a paramedic who founded a veterans’ aid group, a fashion designer running two nonprofit organizations, a government minister and professor who survived Auschwitz—these women are advocates, politicians, farmers, journalists, students, doctors, businesswomen, engineers, wives, and mothers. They are from all parts of Bosnia and represent the full range of ethnic traditions and mixed heritages. Their ages spread across sixty years, and their wealth ranges from expensive jewels to a few chickens. For all their differences, they have this much in common: all survived the war with enough emotional strength to work toward rebuilding their country. Swanee Hunt met these women through her diplomatic and humanitarian work in the 1990s. Over the course of seven years, she conducted multiple interviews with each one. In presenting those interviews here, Hunt provides a narrative framework that connects the women’s stories, allowing them to speak to one another. The women describe what it was like living in a vibrant multicultural community that suddenly imploded in an onslaught of violence. They relate the chaos; the atrocities, including the rapes of many neighbors and friends; the hurried decisions whether to stay or flee; the extraordinary efforts to care for children and elderly parents and to find food and clean drinking water. Reflecting on the causes of the war, they vehemently reject the idea that age-old ethnic hatreds made the war inevitable. The women share their reactions to the Dayton Accords, the end of hostilities, and international relief efforts. While they are candid about the difficulties they face, they are committed to rebuilding Bosnia based on ideals of truth, justice, and a common humanity encompassing those of all faiths and ethnicities. Their wisdom is instructive, their courage and fortitude inspirational.

Body dissatisfaction: how is it related to stress and one's perception of individual and cultural ideal body? A comparison of Bosnian and American university students

Cultural differences in body dissatisfaction, the relationship of stress to body dissatisfaction and individual and cultural body ideals were investigated. Forty-eight United States women and 48 Bosnian women completed the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), the Impact of Event Scale (IES), and a Body Figure Rating Scale. When Body Mass Index was controlled, United States women demonstrated more body dissatisfaction and chose smaller cultural ideal body sizes than Bosnian women, but did not differ on personal ideal body size ratings. Furthermore, stress was only related to body dissatisfaction for Bosnian women. Additional research is needed to further elaborate the body dissatisfaction differences as they relate to cultural values.

Posttraumatic stress disorder and psychiatric co-morbidity: symptoms in a random sample of female Bosnian refugees

Objectives. – This study investigated psychological symptoms in Bosnian women 3–4 years after their arrival in Sweden. Subjects and methods. – A simple random sample of 163 Bosnian women aged 19–59 was drawn from the Swedish populations register in 1996. The control group consisted of 392 Swedish-born women. Data were collected in face-to-face interviews. The Hopkins Symptom Checklist 25 (HSCL-25) and the Posttraumatic Symptom Scale (PTSS-10) were used to measure psychological symptoms of depression, anxiety, psychological distress, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) for psychological symptoms after adjustment for age, country of birth, education, marital status, economic difficulties, social network, and feeling secure. Results. – The prevalence of symptoms of PTSD was 28.3% among the Bosnian women. Bosnian women had significantly higher risks of symptoms of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress than Swedish-born women. For depression the odds ratio was 9.50 among Bosnian women. Conclusion. – Psychiatric community interventions need to target Bosnian refugee women. Awareness among health-care workers who encounter these women in a clinical setting should be improved.

Muslim Women in the Bosnian Crucible

Exotic tales and dramatic details about Muslim women's views of Bosnian society are uncommon. In fact, few Muslim women in Bosnia are overtly Islamic in appearance or action. Rather, they blend into a secularized society in which Islamic heritage provides traditions and values, not dogma. Despite this assimilation, 12 Bosnian women relate 3 different but connected features of their lives: the effect on sex roles of the political turmoil of the past century, the particular perspective women bring to questions of war and peace, and the rich prewar multiculturalism. Their overarching consensus is that women in Bosnia are equipped for leadership but stifled by an erosion of their status in society. During the communist period, women gained a greater level of freedom and became independent thinkers, even though the communists didn't allow them to exercise the leadership they'd assumed during World War II. With the demise of communism in the late 1980s and the chaos of all-out war in the early 1990s, women were preoccupied with survival. Cultural tolerance emerged as a unifying factor for Bosnian women of different tradition, education, and socioeconomic status, although this was obscured by the outside misconception that the war was caused by ‘age-old hatreds’. On the contrary, religion not only was far from a central identity, but, according to many Bosnian women, it simply did not matter. Yes, they were victims of a ruthless genocide; but Muslim women in Bosnia are also energetic, determined, smart, and savvy.

Transplanted or Uprooted?

During their settlement in Vienna and New York City, Bosnian refugees experienced class and ethnic conflicts. While the integration mechanisms of the two host societies differed substantially, Bosnian men and women have developed quite different networks. Bosnian women in the Vienna sample developed often lasting relationships with natives or other non-refugees that eventually led to permanent jobs and rather substantial networks. They integrated particularly into wider majority societal circles. However, even though women in Vienna developed substantial networks, clashes based on different social classes often resulted in conflicts in the women's work environment. Bosnian women and men in New York City only rarely established similar networks with US residents and other long-term residents. Their integration occurred more along ethnic boundaries. Bosnian men in Vienna and the Bosnian refugee population in general in New York City integrated predominantly into the newly formed Bosnian communities in those locales.

Bosnian Refugee Women in (Re)settlement: Gender Relations and Social Mobility

Bosnian refugee women adapted more quickly than their male partners to their host environments in Vienna and New York City because of their self-understanding and their traditional roles and social positions in the former Yugoslavia. Refugee women's integration into host societies has to be understood through their specific historical experiences. Bosnian women in exile today continue to be influenced by traditional role models that were prevalent in the former Yugoslavia's 20th-century patriarchal society. Family, rather than self-fulfillment through wage labor and emancipation, is the center of life for Bosnian women. In their new environment, Bosnian refugee women are pushed into the labor market and work in low-skill and low-paying jobs. Their participation in the labor market, however, is not increasing their emancipation in part because they maintain their traditional understanding of zena (women) in the patriarchal culture. While Bosnian women's participation in low-skill labor appeared to be individual families’ decisions more in New York City than in Vienna, in the latter almost all Bosnian refugee women in my sample began to work in the black labor market because of restrictive employment policies. In contrast to men, women were relatively nonselective and willing to take any available job. Men, it seems, did not adapt as quickly as women to restrictions in the labor market and their loss of social status in both host societies. Despite their efforts, middle-class families in New York City and Vienna experienced substantial downward mobility in their new settings. Women's economic and social downward mobility in (re)settlement, however, did not significantly change the self-understanding of Bosnian women. Their families’ future and advancements socially and economically, rather than the women's own independence and emancipation remained the most important aspect of their being.

Gender Constructions and Violence—Ambivalences of Modernity in the Process of Globalization: Toward an Interdisciplinary and International Research Network

Previous articleNext article No AccessGender and September 11: A RoundtableGender Constructions and Violence—Ambivalences of Modernity in the Process of Globalization: Toward an Interdisciplinary and International Research NetworkLydia Potts Silke Wenk Lydia PottsDepartment of Political Science Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Women and Gender Carl von Ossietzky University (Potts) Search for more articles by this author Silke WenkCultural Gender Studies Department of Art and Media Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Women and Gender Carl von Ossietzky University (Wenk) Search for more articles by this author Department of Political Science Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Women and Gender Carl von Ossietzky University (Potts)Cultural Gender Studies Department of Art and Media Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Women and Gender Carl von Ossietzky University (Wenk)PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Signs Volume 28, Number 1Autumn 2002Gender and Cultural Memory. Special Issue Editors Marianne Hirsch and Valerie Smith Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/340878 Views: 39Total views on this site Citations: 3Citations are reported from Crossref © 2002 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Lisa R Muftić, Susan Hoppe, Jonathan A Grubb The use of help seeking and coping strategies among Bosnian women in domestic violence shelters, Journal of Gender-Based Violence 3, no.22 (Jun 2019): 199–214.https://doi.org/10.1332/239868019X15567219568874Lisa R. Muftić, Leana Allen Bouffard Bosnian Women and Intimate Partner Violence, Feminist Criminology 3, no.33 (Jul 2008): 173–190.https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085108318631Amy Novak Gendering Trauma: Ariel Dorfman's Narratives of Crisis and Reconciliation, Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction 48, no.33 (Apr 2007): 295–317.https://doi.org/10.3200/CRIT.48.3.295-317

Crossing the River Drina: Bosnian Rape Camps, Turkish Impalement, and Serb Cultural Memory

On February 22 2001 at the trial of three indicted war criminals from Foca the Hague International War Crimes Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY) concluded for the first time that rape and sexual enslavement were violations of sufficient gravity to be considered as against humanity under international law. This overdue move to place sexual crimes on the list of most serious crimes for prosecution came in the wake of the international outrage generated by the Bosnian war where the mass rape and forced incarceration of women in so-called rape camps had been one of the chief strategies used by Serbian forces primarily against the Muslim populations of both Bosnia and Kosovo. Thus in what the Associated Press described as wrenching horrific testimony (Associated Press quoted in Gartenberg 2000) those Bosnian women courageous enough to testify became symbolic speakers for the many thousands of women who did not appear either because they had been killed after being raped or because their rapists remained unapprehended or because they remained silent for fear of being ostracized within their own culture. (excerpt)

The plural “self”: Group therapy with Bosnian women survivors of war

This theoretical exploration of forms of female self‐representation is based on a qualitative study of group therapy with Bosnian women survivors of war. It critiques the “self‐in‐relation” theories of female development for their reliance on a Western conception of selfhood. Borrowing the notion of the plural female subject from women's theory of autobiography, it provides an account of the Bosnian women survivors' efforts to heal from trauma that preserves their cultural integrity ("otherness"). The empirical part of the article analyzes group process in light of forms of female self‐representation. I argue that the Bosnian women's experience of healing can only be understood from the perspective of a collective experience that incorporates the representations of both “self and other. Although early in the stages of recover, the Bosnian women function at the level of an integrated and developed “communal (group) self.” Such a plural conception of self requires appropriate forms of treatment that question some underlying assumptions of Western forms of clinical intervention.

Body mass index and distribution of body fat in female Bosnian refugees—a study in primary health care

Between 1992 and 1996 more than one million refugees, mostly women, received asylum in the USA, Canada and Germany and about 47 000 of them sought refuge in Sweden. Little is known about their cardiovascular health. Using data from a cross-sectional study of a simple random sample of non-patients, female Bosnian refugees (n = 98) aged 18–59 and Swedish-born controls (n = 95) we examined six primary diet cardiovascular risk factors: S-triglycerides, S-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and sagittal diameter of the abdomen. Bosnian women aged 42–59 y had substantially higher levels of BMI, larger waist and sagittal diameter of the abdomen measurements, higher levels of S-triglycerides, and lower HDL cholesterol indicating a more disadvantaged diet (CVD risk profile) than Swedish women. Younger Bosnian women aged 18–41 y had a higher sagittal diameter of the abdomen and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol than Swedish women. In conclusion this is the first study to report large differences in blood lipids, obesity and abdominal obesity after adjustment for socioeconomic status between Bosnian and Swedish women. These findings underscore the critical need to improve early detection obesity-related conditions in Bosnian women in exile.

Body mass index and distribution of body fat in female Bosnian refugees—a study in primary health care

Between 1992 and 1996 more than one million refugees, mostly women, received asylum in the USA, Canada and Germany and about 47 000 of them sought refuge in Sweden. Little is known about their cardiovascular health. Using data from a cross-sectional study of a simple random sample of non-patients, female Bosnian refugees ( n = 98) aged 18–59 and Swedish-born controls ( n = 95) we examined six primary diet cardiovascular risk factors: S-triglycerides, S-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and sagittal diameter of the abdomen. Bosnian women aged 42–59 y had substantially higher levels of BMI, larger waist and sagittal diameter of the abdomen measurements, higher levels of S-triglycerides, and lower HDL cholesterol indicating a more disadvantaged diet (CVD risk profile) than Swedish women. Younger Bosnian women aged 18–41 y had a higher sagittal diameter of the abdomen and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol than Swedish women. In conclusion this is the first study to report large differences in blood lipids, obesity and abdominal obesity after adjustment for socioeconomic status between Bosnian and Swedish women. These findings underscore the critical need to improve early detection obesity-related conditions in Bosnian women in exile.

Poor quality of life and health in young to middle aged Bosnian female war refugees: a population-based study

Objective: To evaluate whether female Bosnian refugees have a poorer quality of life than Swedish women. Design: A cross-sectional study of quality of life using a slightly modified ‘Göteborg Quality of Life’ instrument. The women rated their global well-being (19 items) on a 7-degree scale ranging from ‘very bad’ (1) ‘to excellent, could not be better’. The second part of the questionnaire consisted of 29 yes/no items about somatic and psychological symptoms which should take less than 5 min to complete. Factor analysis was performed in order to reduce the number of variables. Differences between mean ranks were tested by the Kruskal–Wallis test. Differences in distributions of the yes/no-questions in the different groups were tested with a likelihood ratio χ 2 test. Setting: Malmö and Lund, two cities in Southern Sweden. Subjects: A simple random sample of 120 women aged 18–59, born in Bosnia-Hercegovina with accepted refugee status, and registered in Lund and Malmö, was interviewed. The control group for this was 292 Swedish women of the same age, registered in Dalby (Lund). The response rate for Bosnian women was 74% and for Swedish women 75%. Main outcome measures: The factor analysis resulted in one factor, ‘global health’, to which all the well-being variables were related. Results: 38% of the Bosnian and 23% of the Swedes had bad global health. Bosnian women with bad global health had lower mean rankings than Swedish women, namely low quality of life in ‘appetite’, ‘memory’, ‘leisure time’, and aspects of mental well-being such as ‘energy’, ‘patience’, ‘sleep’, ‘mood’, and ‘health’. They also had larger proportions of symptoms than Swedish women. Conclusions: Bosnian women irrespective of health status had a poorer quality of life in most variables and more symptoms than Swedish women with good global health.

Poor quality of life and health in young to middle aged Bosnian female war refugees a population-based study

Objective : To evaluate whether female Bosnian refugees have a poorer quality of life than Swedish women. Design : A cross-sectional study of quality of life using a slightly modified ‘Göteborg Quality of Life’ instrument. The women rated their global well-being (19 items) on a 7-degree scale ranging from ‘very bad’ (1) ‘to excellent, could not be better’. The second part of the questionnaire consisted of 29 yes/no items about somatic and psychological symptoms which should take less than 5 min to complete. Factor analysis was performed in order to reduce the number of variables. Differences between mean ranks were tested by the Kruskal–Wallis test. Differences in distributions of the yes/no-questions in the different groups were tested with a likelihood ratio χ 2 test. Setting : Malmö and Lund, two cities in Southern Sweden. Subjects : A simple random sample of 120 women aged 18–59, born in Bosnia-Hercegovina with accepted refugee status, and registered in Lund and Malmö, was interviewed. The control group for this was 292 Swedish women of the same age, registered in Dalby (Lund). The response rate for Bosnian women was 74% and for Swedish women 75%. Main outcome measures : The factor analysis resulted in one factor, ‘global health’, to which all the well-being variables were related. Results : 38% of the Bosnian and 23% of the Swedes had bad global health. Bosnian women with bad global health had lower mean rankings than Swedish women, namely low quality of life in ‘appetite’, ‘memory’, ‘leisure time’, and aspects of mental well-being such as ‘energy’, ‘patience’, ‘sleep’, ‘mood’, and ‘health’. They also had larger proportions of symptoms than Swedish women. Conclusions : Bosnian women irrespective of health status had a poorer quality of life in most variables and more symptoms than Swedish women with good global health.