doiSerbia

Social status of motherhood with special reference to Serbia today

Sekulić Nada (Filozofski fakultet, Beograd)

The paper deals with the problem of the theoretical exploration of maternity and motherhood as a feminist political idea and includes the overview of the social practices and methods aimed at strengthening maternity and parenting in modern states, emphasizing the issue of the political support and social status of motherhood in Serbia today. The general trend in current changes is the separation of the population policy from the social policy of family planning, and deterioration of the social status of parenthood and motherhood, while the formal legal framework and ideas for improving the gender equality has been nominally improved, which contributes to their impracticability. Recent changes and adoption of new laws dealing with family and parenthood are fully adapted to the neoliberal transformation of Serbia, within which the social position of women is getting worse. In response, nationalist and patriarchal family policy are reinforced in the broader society. The article highlights the importance of examining women’s experiences and needs of women related to their reproduction and maternity, as a necessary starting point for developing appropriate policies in the wider society.

Keywords: maternity and motherhood as a feminist political idea

Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179035: Izazovi nove društvene integracije u Srbiji - koncepti i akteri