![Zbor AFŽ-a u Drvaru, 1942](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Zbor_AF%C5%BD-a_u_Drvaru%2C_1942.jpg)
The Women's Antifascist Front ( sh, Antifašistička fronta žena, Антифашистички фронт жена,
abbreviated
An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...
AFŽ/AФЖ; sl, Protifašistična fronta žensk; mk, Антифашистички фронт на жените), was a
Yugoslav feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
and
anti-fascist mass organisation
A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...
. The predecessor to several feminist front groups in the former Yugoslavia, and present-day organisations in the region, the AFŽ was heavily involved in organising and participating in the
Partisans, the
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
and multi-ethnic resistance to
Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
It was formed by volunteers on 6 December 1942 in
Bosanski Petrovac
Bosanski Petrovac ( sr-cyrl, Босански Петровац) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, the municipality has a p ...
at the First National Conference of Women.
Name
In its early days, the organization was called ''Antifascist Organization of Women'' (AOZ). In Croatia, the organization was named the ''Antifascist front of women of Croatia''. In Slovenia there were a number of titles: ''Antifascist women association'', ''Antifascist Front Women'', ''Antifascist Front of Women''. It was founded under the name of ''Slovenian Antifascist Women Association''. There was also a Slovenian ''Anti-Italian Women's Union''. In Macedonia, it was called ''Antifascist front of women of Macedonia'' (Antifašistički front na ženite na Makedonija). In Serbia there was the Antifascist Front of Women of Serbia, including the Antifascist Front of Women of Vojvodina (based in Subotica).
Establishment and reasons for establishing
Before World War II, many women organizations advocated for peace, fighting against the different totalitarian forces that were growing across Europe. During the war however, many women organized themselves within the antifascist movement, and strengthened its position. This is confirmed by the first document of the Supreme Headquarters and the National Liberation Army volunteer Yugoslavia, which at that time was the supreme authority in the liberated territories. In various documents it confirmed women's active and passive voting rights, which they already possessed prior to 1941, as outlined in the Constitution, but were not allowed to exercise.
years Rabia during elections for national liberation committees as the new authorities. Women began to massively involve the NOP as soldiers, medical staff, politicians and MPs.
Different female structures, which were established in 1941 under various names, have been associated in the wider areas, and as of 6 December 1942, held the first National Conference of Women. At the conference attended by 166 delegates from all over
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
, except for
Macedonia, because they did not occur because of both distance and security concerns. Then the Conference founded Antifascist Front of Women with the aim of mobilizing women for assisting new units, helping partisan government bodies, participation in armed and sabotage actions, and for the development of
'Brotherhood and Unity' among women.
These groups were decentralized into what would later become the constituent republics of the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
:
![Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-049-1553-19, Jugoslawien, Split, Haus mit Aufschrift](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-049-1553-19%2C_Jugoslawien%2C_Split%2C_Haus_mit_Aufschrift.jpg)
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Women's Antifascist Front of Croatia
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Women's Antifascist Front of Kosovo
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...
*
Women's Antifascist Front of Macedonia
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Women's Antifascist Front of Montenegro
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...
*
Women's Antifascist Front of Serbia
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Women's Antifascist Front of Slovenia
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Women's Antifascist Front of Vojvodina
World War II
AFŽ played an influential role in the Second World War, after the
Invasion of Yugoslavia. The NLA attracted about two million women. In military units, there were 110 000 women. During the war, 2,000 women became officers. AFŽ Committees were also responsible were collecting clothes for the NOV, cared about children, wounded soldiers, worked as front line nurses and perform agricultural tasks.
Losses
Of the 305,000 fallen soldiers between 1941-1945, 25,000 were women, and of the 405,000 injured 40,000 were women.
After the War
The issue of legal equality did not arise, because the women through their participation in the national liberation movement had arguably already achieved certain rights. All that after FOCA regulations on the principles of equality enshrined in the later constitutions
"new" Yugoslavia, and various laws, the result of the struggle of women themselves in the feminist and anti-fascist women's organizations before the war, as well as their struggle during the war. AFŽ acted to eliminate the consequences of the war, the promotion of education, the construction of new residential buildings, cultural work and others. In particular, it was the education of the girls, and opposition to discrimination and segregation of women.
Abolition
Antifascist Front of Women was abolished at its
Fourth Congress (26 - 28 September 1953) in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
, when the decision on the name WAS changed to
The Women's societies of Yugoslavia, and access to the
Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia. Front was upbraided "superfluous political activities". Instead AFŽ in the
Socialist Republic of Croatia
The Socialist Republic of Croatia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Hrvatska, Социјалистичка Република Хрватска), or SR Croatia, was a constituent republic and federated state of the Socia ...
acted
Croatian Union of Women Societies (Union of Women Croatian), later conference for social position of women and the family within the Republican conference SSRNH (Conference for Social Activity of Women Croatian). There was a Committee for social position of women and the family which actually keeps. In her work
The Yugoslav Antifascist Front of Women (AFŽ): Legacy, Lessons and Some Insights,
Andrea Jovanović
Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrey, Andrej and Andrew.
Origin of the name
The name derives from the Greek language, Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός ...
explores the question of the legacy of the AFŽ and attempts to explain how and why the AFŽ legacy disappeared in the
post-Yugoslav period.
[ ]
External links
AFŽ Arhiv - Archive of antifascist struggle of women of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Yugoslavia
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Partisan (Military)
Paramilitary organizations based in Yugoslavia