Serbia gets s first female – and gay – prime mister | Serbia | The Guardian

Contents:

• SERBIA GETS S FIRST FEMALE – AND GAY – PRIME MISTER
• SERBIA PRI: GAY PM BRNABIC 'NOT WANTED' AT PARA
• HOMOPHOBIA SERBIA: 'I WAS ABED FOR BEG GAY'
• SERBIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRIME MISTER ATTENDS BELGRA PRI MARCH
• SERBIA'S OPENLY GAY PRIME MISTER, PARTNER WELE BABY BOY
• SERBIA'S GAY PRIME MISTER JOS PRI PARA IN BELGRA
• SERBIA’S FIRST GAY PREMIER GETS SEND TERM AFTER LANDSLI W
• SERBIA APPOTS FIRST GAY AND FEMALE PRIME MISTER
• SERBIA'S FIRST OPENLY-GAY PRIME MISTER ANA BRNABIC JOS HUNDREDS OF MARCHERS AT LGBT PRI EVENT

SERBIA GETS S FIRST FEMALE – AND GAY – PRIME MISTER

Image source, RtersImage ptn, Ms Brnabic prevly served as public admistratn and lol ernment misterThe print of Serbia has nomated a gay woman to be his prime mister a double first for the eply nservative Balkan state.Ana Brnabic was chosen by the new Print, Aleksandar Vucic. Ms Brnabic is not only Serbia's first openly gay PM, but also the first woman that post."I believe that Brnabic has profsnal and personal quali to be prime mister," Mr Vucic told reporters.He ma no mentn of her sexualy.Is this evince of a profound change attus to homosexualy?The symbolism of the appotment is real, but agast a backdrop of graed and staed antipathy towards homosexualy.

SERBIA PRI: GAY PM BRNABIC 'NOT WANTED' AT PARA

It may be more of a harbger of change than evince that change has already occurred.Police rearch 2015 found that almost half s officers agreed wh the statement "homosexualy is an illns that should be treated", reports the BBC's Guy De Lney Belgra. Even the lear of one of the smaller parti the print's aln, Dragan Markovic Palma of Unified Serbia, said Ms Brnabic was "not my prime mister".He was recently quoted as sayg that the new prime mister "should be a fay man who knows what children are".So what do the hostile attus mean practice?They mean gay people face discrimatn and threats to their physil safety. Belgra's Gay Pri march was banned for three years succsn on grounds of public safety after far-right protters attacked the event 2010.It was revived 2014 amid huge secury, cludg special forc and armoured rs.But sce then, civil society anisatns have reported that some dividuals takg part have lost jobs as a rult.Image source, AFPImage ptn, Hostily to the 2010 gay pri march Belgra led to vlence, after which the event was ncelled for several yearsImage source, AFPImage ptn, Advanc have been ma to protect gay people unr Serbian law, but homophobia remas rifeWhy is Serbia socially nservative?Social nservatism domat the regn as a whole, and then there is the fluence of the Church - whether Orthodox Serbia or Catholic Croatia, our rrponnt explas.Church-affiliated mpaigners Croatia forced a referendum 2013 which rejected same-sex marriage.

What do Ms Brnabic say?Sce jog the ernment last year, Ms Brnabic has tried to place the foc on her qualifitns rather than her sexual orientatn, askg: "Why do matter?"On acceptg the nomatn to bee prime mister, she said she would be workg on goals "that are bigger and more important than all of dividually".Ms Brnabic will jo a small number of gay prime misters to lead ernments Europe, cludg Leo Varadkar the Republic of Ireland and Xavier Bettel Luxembourg.Iceland had an openly gay prime mister, Johanna Sigurdardottir, 2009-2013. A gay woman has been appoted prime mister of Serbia a double first for the EU-ndidate Brnabić, 41, a graduate of the Universy of Hull England, is the Balkan natn’s first gay PM and first female PM. Brnabić’s appotment, which the same week that Leo Varadkar was formally elected as Ireland’s first gay PM, is all the more remarkable given that vilent homophobia is still wispread the Serbian print, Aleksandar Vučić, announced on Thursday eveng that he was givg Brnabić, a non-party technocrat, the mandate to form a new ernment, scribg her as “hard-workg, [wh] profsnal and personal quali”, the Serbian news agency B92 reported.

HOMOPHOBIA SERBIA: 'I WAS ABED FOR BEG GAY'

Brnabić entered polics jt last year when she beme Serbia’s first openly gay mister, headg the mistry for public admistratn and lol self-ernment. She studied the US and graduated Hull wh a marketg MBA 2001, before returng to Serbia to work the wd power dtry and then for US-fund velopment Miletić, a civil rights activist and Belgra Pri aniser, said: “Even some wtern untri would be big news and a posive signal if a gay or lbian person beme prime mister or mister. It is even more important for a untry where 65% believe that homosexualy is an illns and 78% thk that homosexualy should not be exprsed outsi hom.

Vlence and discrimatn are wispread and reurse to jtice after homophobic attacks limed by social stigma. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Ana Brnabic is the first gay head of ernment a Balkan untryIt's the only Balkan untry to have an openly gay prime mister - so why are some of Serbia's LGBT activists termed to keep PM Ana Brnabic away om Gay Pri?

SERBIA'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PRIME MISTER ATTENDS BELGRA PRI MARCH

But one year on, progrs is snt: LGBT rights have not improved, new laws are still far om beg adopted and there has been no fall the number of attacks on gay largely nservative Orthodox Christian Serbia, a ndidate for EU membership, discrimatn and vlence agast the LGBT muny are wispread. Two gay Pris, one gay PM and no end to problemsAhead of 2018 Pri, a group of activists disappoted wh the slow pace of reforms lnched a mpaign lled "Say no".

Ms Brnabic is the ma foc of their mpaign, bee her "work on strengtheng LGBT rights has been disappotg, " said a statement om the anisatn behd the mpaign, source, Getty ImagImage ptn, The first peaceful Belgra Pri happened 2014, but anti-gay protters also took to the streetsSpeakg at the 2017 para, Ms Brnabic said that LGBT rights would be addrsed only after important problems such as flatn, pensns and the standard of livg had been rolved. Unhappy wh the efforts of other gay activists, Mr Azjkovic started another para June. Its goal is to "brg the gay march back to ordary people and away om policians".

SERBIA'S OPENLY GAY PRIME MISTER, PARTNER WELE BABY BOY

For Serbia's LGBT muny, everyday life is still marred by wispread homophobia: a survey by the regnal ERA anisatn showed that every fifth gay uple Belgra gets rejected when tryg to rent a suatn is even gloomier outsi the pal, activists ernment has adopted the Law agast Discrimatn but s rarely e to jtice. Another survey done by ERA showed that 90% of people Serbia are agast givg LGBT upl the right to adopt, while about 70% are agast gay upl herg a partner's belonggs after ath. Same-sex marriage is still illegal historyImage source, AFPImage ptn, Around 100 people were jured when anti-gay protters clashed wh police durg Belgra Pri 2010Serbia's first Pri para 2001 end vlence when hundreds of hooligans and extremists attacked a peaceful march spe a heavy police 2010, about 100 people were jured when that year's march was also attacked central Belgra.

"Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, For Serbia's LGBT muny, everyday life is still marred by wi-spread homophobiaTalkg to Belgra's Pri magaze, Ms Brnabic said that not supportg the gay march would be hypocril. "Policians have to be part of the para and send the msage that 'gay is ok', " Mr Miletic told the BBC. One month ago, Ana Brnabić was appoted Serbia's first openly gay prime mister.

SERBIA'S GAY PRIME MISTER JOS PRI PARA IN BELGRA

Serbia's first-ever openly gay prime mister joed gay activists Sunday at a pri march held amid tight secury the nservative Balkan 's Prime Mister, Ana Brnabic, center, attends a gay pri march Belgra, Serbia, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2017, 2:28 PM UTC / Source: RtersBELGRADE, Serbia — Serbia's first openly gay prime mister joed several hundred gay activists Sunday at a gay pri march that was held amid tight secury the nservative Balkan untry.

Gay activists Serbia have hailed Brnabic's electn as an important step their stggle for gay rights, but say much more still needs to be done. "Today we walk together and together we will strs that problems still exist and that we want to work together to solve them, " said activist Goran rry signs and rabow flags durg the Gay Pri para on September 17, 2017 Isakovic / AFP - Getty ImagSerbia's embattled gays have faced wispread harassment and vlence om extremists. The first pri march 2001 was marred wh vlence, and more than 100 people were jured durg a gay pri event 2010 when police clashed wh right-wg groups and soccer hooligans.

The office of Serbia's openly gay premier Ana Brnabic says her partner has given birth to a baby boy. Brnabic, 43, beme Serbia’s first-ever female and openly gay prime mister 2017, a surprise move the nservative Balkan untry, where same-sex marriage is not regnized and LGBT people often face harassment and attacks. CROATIAN WOMAN DETAINED AFTER MISSING SISTER'S BODY DISCOVERED IN FREEZER: REPORTAcrdg to the BBC, Brnabic and Djurdjic met at a gay club the pal, Belgra.

SERBIA’S FIRST GAY PREMIER GETS SEND TERM AFTER LANDSLI W

Djurdjic beme pregnant through artificial has not legalized gay marriag but reportedly uld soon troduce same-sex partnership as part of chang aimed at brgg the untry closer to European Unn membership. Crics have spoken out agast her, argug she has not done enough to bolster LGBT rights the a gay pri para Belgra 2017, Brnabic refed to say if she would like to see same-sex marriage legalized Serbia. Serbia’s first female, gay prime mister to beg third nsecutive term as natn ncels EuroPri para.

But the uple is now planng their weddg at home their Balkan untry, wh the promise of a new law that will regnise same-sex partnerships markg an important victory for the LGBT muny that fac wispread homophobia. Dpe beg one of few natns to have an openly gay prime mister, Serbia's machismo-heavy culture leav many LGBT people livg fear. Yet even among the new generatn of high schoolers, only 24 percent of those surveyed exprsed support for LGBT rights such as adoptn, acrdg to a study by the Helski, a 17-year-old high school stunt who cled to give her surname, told AFP that she don't know anyone her age who is openly gay, while those who show support for LGBT rights get "ridiculed or attacked".

SERBIA APPOTS FIRST GAY AND FEMALE PRIME MISTER

"Most of my class believ 's fashnable to hate gay people, pecially boys", she lamented. "I n unrstand people wh that kd of sexual orientatn, their untls admistrative problems, challeng and prsur, and their need to regulate their stat", Porfirije recently told public broadster an openly gay Prime Mister for the past four years may have also ma an impact, although Ana Brnabic has been cricised for failg to be a more vol advote of expandg LGBT rights. Brnabic has prevly unrled that her missn is not to be a "gay prime mister", but a lear of a some acce the 45-year-old of failg to e her posn of power to help the rt of the the prime mister's female partner gave birth to a baby boy 2019, months later artificial sematn was banned Serbia for upl who have "recent history of homosexual relatns".

SERBIA'S FIRST OPENLY-GAY PRIME MISTER ANA BRNABIC JOS HUNDREDS OF MARCHERS AT LGBT PRI EVENT

- Pkwashg -Some gay activists also see the new law as the ernment's latt form of "pkwashg" -- the practice of promotg some progrsive ias orr to overshadow other illiberal on. Far om markg the dawn of a new era, the electn of Ana Brnabič as prime mister has triggered a discsn about Serbia's ep-seated homophobia and the role she plays perpetuatg this. I got to know Ivan through another man I met on a Serbian gay chatroom, (not his real name) was the first person I met on the chatroom.