Women’s Organizations in Belgrade from the Last Quarter of the Nineteenth to the Early Twentieth Centuries

Abstract

This article considers the emergence and activities of women’s organizations in Belgrade from the last quarter of the nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. An attempt is made to show that their features, circumstances of formation, and activity are connected with the history of Serbian society from the second half of the nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Special attention is paid to the position and particular aspects of the life of Serbian women at that time, as well as the history of women’s education, in the context of which the Women’s Higher School in Belgrade is mentioned. This paper considers the foundation and work of several charitable and charitable patriotic societies and briefly presents the activities of the Serbian National Women’s Union, the Working Women’s Society (Consciousness), and the Secretariat of the Women of the Social Democrats. Attention is drawn to the great role of educated women in the foundation and work of such organizations, who were undoubtedly of outstanding personal qualities, and had the desire and opportunity to work for the benefit of society and the country. The attitude of Belgrade society and the state to their activities is also examined. It is emphasised that the “collective”, patriotic, and heroic principles characteristic of the Serbian worldview manifested in the nature and activities of a number of organizations. This occurred at a time when there were no real internal or external conditions for the development of a movement in favour of changes in the position of women in Serbian society or broadening their rights. The research is based, in particular, on the testimonies of some Russian observers (scholars-Slavists, travellers etc.) who visited or lived in Serbia in the second half of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which complement the idea of the overall picture of Serbian and Belgradian life at that time.