The recent election of Gordana Siljanovska as the first female President of Macedonia arguably marks a huge step towards the full emancipation of women in Balkan politics. Just a generation ago, such a thing seemed unimaginable, that even the male population would vote for a woman as their leader on popular elections. Therefore, this seems like a good moment to make a step back and consider the path that woman’s movement made in the past, that made such situation possible. In this article, I will mention three key historical events that contributed to the emancipation of women today.    

If we go back several centuries, we can conclude that women had a significant role in raising awareness of their position in society and obtaining their basic rights. The first key event was called the Seneca Women’s Rights Convention. Held in New York in 1848 and led by notable American feminists who played a significant role in the fight for full equality with men, including the right to vote and the right to work. So we can conclude that female evolution has begun. In fact, on July 19, the first convention was held led by 5 strong women whose aim was to approve and accept women’s rights such as social, religious, and basic civil rights from the government of the day and to change the society’s opinion that women should are treated as beings who exist without any rights and unequal status. We can conclude that women did not have the right to vote, were denied the right to education, and had an inferior role in the church. In addition, women were required to obey their husbands and were prevented from owning property, including the wages they earned belonging to their husbands. And they had unequal rights during the divorce. After 72 years of organized struggle, American women finally achieved the same rights as men. In November 1920, more than 8 million American women cast their vote in the presidential election.

The second key event in my discussion is the March 8 fight. As International Women’s Day, it was founded by Clara Zetkin, a communist activist and advocate for women’s rights, in 1910. Its key goal was to hold the International Day every year on March 8 in honor of women, that is, a celebration of women’s struggle and their freedom. To which followed the consent of women all over the world. Today, after a long struggle, women have their own.An international day that is celebrated in many countries of the world as a day when women are recognized for their achievements. So, with that, it can be said that women may have succeeded to some extent in their struggle. Every eighth of March, the world pauses to honor the courage and determination of women who bravely walked the paths of struggle for rights, equality and dignity.

International Women’s Day is not just a date on the calendar, but a time to delve deep into a history of bravery and hope, where the past intertwines with the present, creating a mosaic of inspiration and resistance.

The third thing that deserves a mention here is the position of women in the Balkans, with the main focus on Macedonia. Most sovereign states introduced the right to vote for women during the 20th century. In the Balkans, women for the first time received equal status with men and received the right to vote after the end of the Second World War in 1945. In Macedonia, the situation was no different from other countries. Macedonian women encountered initial problems in obtaining the right to vote, just like women from other countries. In 1946, they voted for the first time. Macedonia was traditionally patriarchal, poor position of women, then communism that proclaimed equality, brought voting rights, property, inheritance, equal wages for equal work. The path that women in Macedonia had to follow to advance in the political career of the state began after the end of the 20th century. The beginning of 2008 was a key moment for women, thus, the proposal for candidate prime minister of the state goes to a woman, which gradually gives women a leading role in the political life of the state. In 2009, in the presidential elections, a woman was proposed as a candidate for the president of the Republic of Macedonia. The two ladies were not voted, but they proved that the modern woman in Macedonia is not afraid anymore. They proved that in the 21st century, Macedonian women are opponents and that they will not easily give up their changed positions. Still, some patriarchal habits persisted, but more women were active in politics after independence, resulting in the later female president. After many years of male rule in Macedonia, finally in 2024, on May 8, the throne passed into the hands of a female president, for the first time in the history of Macedonia. Gordana Siljanovska was declared the president of the Republic of Macedonia, elected by the people of Macedonia. The first crucial day for the people of Macedonia was April 24, when the seventh consecutive presidential election was held, the first round was decisive for 7 candidates, of which 5 men and two women. The first round ended in favor of two candidates Gordana Siljanovska and Stevo Pendarovski. After two weeks, on May 8th, the second presidential round was held in which the first female president of Macedonia won a historic victory with 561,000 votes. The people of Macedonia recognized the woman’s struggle and her sacrifice. After centuries back woman is slowly but surely reaching the peak of her existence and the struggle started centuries back. The election of a female president has not met with any condemnation from the male population of the country. On the contrary, Gordana was supported by a large number of men, which indicates that the position of women is slowly gaining  equality. The opinion of the male population when electing a female president is that women can also be good politicians, analysts and that it is always better to hand such a leading role into the hands of a person who has the potential, knowledge and skill to deal with problems, and they are against handing over the presidential post to a man in order to maintain the patriarchy in the country, which we can see in these presidential elections, where out of 5 men, the people made their choice for a woman, because they recognized her quality and fighting spirit. This is a big step for women for the support they get from the male world unlike a century ago when women were subservient to their men.The people of Macedonia gave absolute support to the new president in her struggle to preserve the stability of the country and fight for their rights. The election of the president is an important moment and an incentive for young girls and women in the country and beyond the borders to fight. for their ideas, never stop at obstacles and never see competition in anyone. With the election of a female president, the revolution for women’s rights is not over, this is just one beginning of a new era, the struggle continues, until the main goal is safely reached.

In society, people usually associate their first thoughts of women with their gentle, sweet, graceful, and peaceful side, also women are often considered the weaker sex in the sense that they cannot be strong on their own. But is the woman the gentler sex, we will ask ourselves? the answer is that woman is a gentler sex. The essence of her tenderness is that women as such, peaceful and caring beings, needed great strength centuries ago, to start their revolution to get their rights and equalize their position with the men.Тhe question we should ask ourselves today is, is the fight over? did the woman manage to stand out after years of struggle and revolution, is there equality ? That’s why women and girls should be grateful to their great-grandmothers, grandmothers, mothers and all the women who led the women’s revolution. Thanks to their struggle, today we have the right to vote, the right to education.We must remember the brave women who came before us and our progress together. But we still need much work to be done. We still need to continue to fight for equal rights and opportunities for women and work together to create a world where all women can live free from discrimination, violence, and oppression.