Particular and Universal Women’s Experiences – Gender Roles in the Bosniac and the Islamic Community in Sisak

Polazeći od činjenice da su žene u društvenom smislu heterogena kategorija, u radu se afirmira višeglasje kao pristup ženskim iskustvima. Prezentirani su i analizirani podatci istraživanja provedenog u udrugama bošnjačke nacionalne zajednice (Vijeće bošnjačke nacionalne manjine, Aktiv »Bošnjačka žena«) te Islamskoj zajednici u Sisku. Istraživanje se temelji na kvalitativnoj metodologiji, a u tekstu se prezentira materijal dobiven u fokusnim skupinama. Potvrđena je početna hipoteza o opstojnosti tradicionalnog poimanja rodnih predodžbi, rodnih uloga i njihovih izvedbi. Ispitanici legitimaciju rodnih uloga temelje na spolu, kulturi i religiji. Tradicionalne rodne uloge reflektiraju se i u privatnoj sferi (podjela poslova u obitelji, roditeljstvo) i u javnoj sferi (manjinskoj zajednici, tržištu rada). Iako su granice rodnih uloga poimane čvrstim i nepromjenjivim, zabilježena je težnja k fleksibilnijoj i egalitarnijoj podjeli uloga i poslova u obitelji među ispitanicama mlađe dobi. Unatoč specifičnosti iskustava, detektirana su i univerzalna iskustva koja Bošnjakinje/Muslimanke dijele s ostalim građankama (nezaposlenost, manje plaće, mobbing…), čime se ne samo naglašava dijalektički odnos univerzalnih i partikularnih ženskih iskustava, nego se utire put daljnjim propitivanjima odnosa roda, etničnosti i religije.Starting with the fact that women are, socially speaking, a heterogeneous category, this paper re-affirms multi-vocality as the approach to women\u27s experiences. The paper presents and analyses the results of a research project focusing on the Bosniac national minority associations (The Council of the Bosniac Minority and the Association of Bosniac Women) as well as on the Islamic Community in Sisak. The research draws from qualitative methodology, specifically, from focus groups. The starting hypothesis on the continuation of the traditional perception of gender concepts, gender roles and the way they are practiced has been confirmed. The interviewees legitimise their roles as women based on gender, culture and religion. The traditional gender roles are reflected in both the private (division of household labour, parenting) and the public sphere (minority community, labour market). Although the boundaries of the gender roles are perceived as solid and unchangeable, the tendency towards a more flexible and more egalitarian division of roles and responsibilities in the family is visible among the younger interviewees. In spite of the existence of specific experiences, it has been possible to identify more universal experiences that Bosniac/Muslim women share with the rest of the women in Croatia (unemployment, gender income gaps, mobbing...), thus not only emphasising the dialectic relationship between universal and particular women\u27s experiences but also paving the way for further examination of gender-ethnicity-religion relationships