The family background of Vera Yotsikj is part of the mosaic that testifies to the tumultuous ideological and political upheavals at the time between the two world wars in the Balkans. Her father, Mladen Yotsikj, originally came from Novi Sad, Serbia, but after the Balkan Wars and the retreat of the Turkish population from the… Continue reading Olivera Jotsikj-Vera
Woman category: individual
Olga Papesh
Olga Papesh, born in Veles in 1933, was an engineer-architect, the recipient of the award “Andreya Damyanov” for her life’s work. She lived and worked until 2011. Her diverse output, ranging from design to the construction of the most important buildings in Skopje during its reconstruction, especially the remarkable buildings from the sphere of housing,… Continue reading Olga Papesh
Mimoza Nestorova-Tomikj
Mimoza Nestorova-Tomikj is an architect, urban developer, and planner born in Struga in 1929. Demonstrating stellar academic success as early as high school, throughout all of her student days, professional development, and professional career, Nestorova-Tomikj showcased professionalism, philosophical development, and perfectionism in everything she tackled. She participated in the design, planning, and conceptualization of many… Continue reading Mimoza Nestorova-Tomikj
Mara Natseva Milanova-Anka
The partisan Mara Natseva was born in Kumanovo on September 28, 1920. In her native town, she worked as a textile worker. At the age of 16, she joined the LCYY and through them participated in the activities of the workers’ movement. At that time, 1936, the textile workers organized strikes to improve their working… Continue reading Mara Natseva Milanova-Anka
Lila Milikj
Lila Milikj was born in 1984 in Skopje. Since 2009, she has been actively engaged in raising the awareness of the audience at large about the sex industry and sex workers in North Macedonia and later on in solving the needs and problems of the transgender people in the country through the system. In 2019,… Continue reading Lila Milikj
Ibe Palikukja
1927 – 22.09.1944
Fanula Papazoglu
03.02.1917 – 26.01.2001
Fana Kochovska-Tsvetkovikj Petra
The village Lavtsi, the birthplace of Fani Kochovska, was a traditional village in the vicinity of the city of Bitola, many of whose residents worked abroad. The economic migrations of the locals, who worked in the western and transatlantic countries, brought back progressive ideas from the world’s latest movements. Soon after the birth of Fana,… Continue reading Fana Kochovska-Tsvetkovikj Petra
Estreya Haim Ovadiya-Mara
25.12.1922 – 26.08.1944
Elpida Karamandi-Bisera
1.1.1920 – 3.5.1942
Bilyana Garvanlieva
1973 – 10.09.2016
Atina Boyadzi
13.03.1944 – 28.12.2010
Anitsa Savikj-Rebats
Anitsa Savikj-Rebats was born on October 4, 1982 in Novi Sad. Through her work promoting the emancipation of women in the Balkans, she succeeded in connecting the local with the global narratives in the first half of the 20th century. She is one of the most notable Serbian writers in the female cannon of Serbia… Continue reading Anitsa Savikj-Rebats
Gusti Jirku Stridsberg
Born in 1902 in Ukraine as Augustina Franziska Mayer; died in 1978 in Sweden. Writer, translator, journalist, war correspondent, and alleged secret agent. Not many lives bear as compelling a testament to the turbulent 20th century as the fate of Gusti Jirku Stridsberg. She was born on the fringe of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and spent… Continue reading Gusti Jirku Stridsberg
Zofka Kveder
Born in 1878 in Ljubljana; died in 1926 in Zagreb. First Slovenian professional female writer. Zofka Kveder came from a difficult family background as the daughter of an alcoholic father and an emotionally absent mother. Her growing up was filled with destitution and violence and she could hardly wait to become emancipated and live an… Continue reading Zofka Kveder
Angela Piskernik
Born in 1886 in Lobnik pri Železni Kapli (Carinthia); died in 1967 in Ljubljana. Botanist, museologist, and pedagogue, the first* Slovenian woman PhD holder and environmentalist. Angela Piskernik received her education at the Ursuline Convent in Klagenfurt, then attended the 1st State Grammar School in Graz before continuing her studies at the University of Vienna,… Continue reading Angela Piskernik
Ljuba Prenner
Born in 1906 in Fara near Prevalje; died in 1977 in Ljubljana. Barrister, writer, activist. Already in his youth, Amalija Marija Prenner changed his name to Ljuba, identifying himself as a man. His life was hard and marked by transitions between genders, places, ideologies, and occupations. Despite his clear ambitions, he spent a long time… Continue reading Ljuba Prenner
Josipina Urbančič Turnograjska
Born in 1833 at Turn Castle in Preddvor; died in 1854 in Graz. She was the first Slovenian woman writer, poet, storyteller, and composer. The mid-19th century marks the beginning of the cultural battle for Slovenian language use on the Slovenian territory among the intellectuals who were mainly using German. Inspired by the pan-Slavic movement,… Continue reading Josipina Urbančič Turnograjska
Architects and Designers
Women and men still have different statuses in architecture and design, as gender stereotypes in the two fields have barely loosened in the last century. Architecture is one of the many fields that was closed to women for a very long time. Even when they could finally receive education (the first woman architect in Ljubljana… Continue reading Architects and Designers
Berta Bojetu Boeta
Born in 1946 in Maribor, died in 1997 in Ljubljana. Actress and one of the most prominent post-war literary figures. When she was young, Berta Bojetu Boeta expressed her love of poetry by authoring the first known graffiti in Maribor on the walls of the Slavija underpass. The verse “Green, how I want you green”… Continue reading Berta Bojetu Boeta
Alojzija Štebi
Born in 1883 in Ljubljana, where she died in 1956. Educator, activist, editor, journalist and among the first Slovenian women politicians. Alojzija Štebi was one of the first politicians among Slovenian women, and one of the most prominent Slovenian and Yugoslavian feminists. She began her career as a teacher which was one of the few… Continue reading Alojzija Štebi
Ivana Kobilca
Born in 1861 in Ljubljana, where she died in 1926. Considered to be the most important Slovenian female painter. Ivana Kobilca was the first Slovenian female painter who made a living with her work. From an early age, she wanted to push boundaries: both socially, refusing to submit to the role of woman expected of… Continue reading Ivana Kobilca
Branka Jurca
Born in 1914 in Kopriva; died on 6 March 1999 in Ljubljana. Author of much-loved children’s and young-adult books, editor of children’s journal Ciciban, and writer of – until recently – significantly underappreciated adult literature. Branka Jurca was a prolific writer, publicist, and author of children’s and young-adult fiction. She lived and worked in Maribor… Continue reading Branka Jurca
Marina Melhiorca
The first peddler and smuggler known by name from the Idrija-Cerkno Hills. Born in the village of Šebrelje at the end of the 17th century; place and date of death unknown. Marina (Marija) Melhiorca was a subject of the Tolmin manor from the village of Šebrelje. Court records from her trial, held in Idrija from… Continue reading Marina Melhiorca
Ita Rina
Born as Ida Kravanja in Divača in 1907; died as Tamara Đorđević in Budva, Montenegro, in 1979. The first and only Slovenian big film star. Ida Kravanja spent her early childhood in Divača. She was said to be a lively, unconventional child who liked to wander around and dance. When Ida was 7 and… Continue reading Ita Rina
Vida Tomšič
Born in 1913 in Ljubljana, where she died in 1998. Lawyer, partisan, politician and the first Slovenian female Minister in the first Slovenian government in Yugoslavia. Vida Bernot enrolled in the Ljubljana Faculty of Law in the 1930s, when more and more women opted for university studies. Her general disappointment over the political conditions in… Continue reading Vida Tomšič