Groups of women in several cities across Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in neighbouring countries joined the protest against violence against women, symbolically called 'Stop for 15 minutes'. The rally comes days after the brutal murder of a woman in the town of Gradacac as well as the latest one in the town of Zivinice, which shocked BiH and the region.

The Ostra Nula association issued a call via social networks, specifying the time and locations in several cities, inviting women to chose their own location anywhere, to raise the voice against violence.

“If women stop, the whole world stops,” the call said.

Another femicide and suicide shocks Bosnia

The traffic in the capital city of Sarajevo was briefly stopped at 4 p.m., when a group of women lined up across the main street, carrying a banner that says ‘You are never alone, in no single battle!’.

Sarajevo was accompanied by other cities, where women spontaneously gathered in a peaceful protest.

The groups rallied at 4 p.m. in Tuzla, Mostar, Banja Luka, … but also in the neighbouring countries.

Activists and citizens of the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad gathered at the central square holding a large banner that says ‘Women of Novi Sad stand with women of BiH’.

In Zagreb, activists also expressed solidarity with the women in Bosnia and Herzegovina, calling the authorities of their own country to treat femicide as a specific crime in the Criminal Code.