Monumental Women

Topic: Discrimination, Women's rights, Freedom of expression, Access to information

01.03.2017 - 31.03.2017г.

On March 8, International Women's Day, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) and the Bulgarian Association of University Women (BAUW) conducted the "Monumental Women" campaign, which aimed to celebrate the achievements of great women in Bulgarian history.

Throughout March, the BHC and the BAUW, with the support of the Bulgarian Wikipedia, Goethe-Institut Bulgaria, Polish Institute in Sofia, Fine Acts and Tribal Worldwide Bulgaria organized lectures and discussions, film screenings, a Wikipedia edit-a-thon, as well as an artistic action in an urban environment. We have turned March into women's month in order to honour the achievements of women who fought for the promotion of civil and political rights of women in Bulgaria, as well as those who paved the way for other women in education, law, architecture, arts, science, etc.

Despite the great contribution that these women have made to the progress of Bulgarian society, science, and culture, for the most part, it has been erased from the pages of history. This is also reflected in the urban space. In Sofia, there is not a single monument dedicated to a real historical woman, according to official data of the Municipal Cultural Institute "Sofia History Museum." In addition, according to the same data, less than 6% of all memorial sites (most of which are memorial plaques) in the city are dedicated to specific female historical figures. With this campaign, we urged Sofia Municipality to develop a clear concept for erecting monuments dedicated to women in our history, and we insisted that the first monument in Sofia, dedicated to a female historical figure, should be erected in 2018.

There should be a place for the great women of our history online, in textbooks, in the urban environment, and everywhere where they will inspire a new generation of women in science, politics, architecture, art, and every other field. Let us celebrate the achievements of the Bulgarian monumental women every March.

Monuments of Women in Sofia

The "Monumental Women" project started with a very short letter addressed to Sofia Municipality. In it, we asked how many monuments and memorial sites exist in the city, as well as how many of them are dedicated to female historical figures.

After almost three months we received a detailed answer from the Municipal Cultural Institute of Sofia Municipality. In it, they informed us that the total number of memorials (or memorial sites) in the municipality is between 600 and 700. Apart from them, there are 140 military monuments and 20 soldiers' monuments dedicated to foreign troops.

The Cultural Institute notes that they are not aware of works of art dedicated to specific female historical figures. They also enclose a list of memorial plaques dedicated to women. There are a total of 38 and in most cases, they mark the homes of famous writers and poets, artists, actresses, and public figures. Some of them are Gena Dimitrova, Dora Gabe, Ekaterina Karavelova, Elisaveta Bagryana, Prof. Katya Zahireva, Mimi Balkanska, Yana Yazova, and others.

Most people will be surprised to learn that there are no monuments dedicated to specific women in our history in Sofia. This is probably because there are female images in the urban space, but they are always anonymous - the woman as a mother or as a worker who is always deprived of a name, of her own history and contribution.

The lack of women in history textbooks and in the urban space creates the false impression that women have not contributed to the development of Bulgarian society. If we address this imbalance together, we can inspire a whole new generation of women in science, architecture, art, literature, as well as in any other area of public life.

From the archives: Sofia woke up with seven new monuments dedicated to women

Activists organised an artistic action to protest about the lack of monuments in Sofia dedicated to women from our history

Sofia, 22 March, 2017

On Wednesday, Sofia woke up to seven new monuments of women as part of an artistic action protesting on the lack of monuments dedicated to women in our history.

The series of sculptures by the artist and designer Irina Tomova / ERKA - MONUMENT # 1 - aims to draw public attention to the fact that in Sofia there isn’t a single monument dedicated to a female historical figure.

The sculptures (portrait of the artist), painted in bright colors, were placed in central Sofia locations during a secret artistic action early Wednesday morning, March 22nd.

"The main purpose of the artistic action is to make a claim on the public space. It belongs to women just like history does and that’s why we are claiming it. Our past is full of great and inspiring women, but their achievements have in fact been erased. In these sculptures I am every woman. With this campaign I want to give women something that is owed to them, and that has been denied to them for decades - a place and recognition, "says Erka.

She also draws attention to the fact that beyond the total lack of monuments of female historical figures, according to official data of the Sofia Municipal Cultural Institute, less than 6% of all memorial sites (most of which are memorial plaques) in the city are dedicated to women.

The MONUMENT#1 artistic action is to support the "Monumental Women" campaign, which aims to promote the achievements of women in our history who fought for the civil and political rights of women in Bulgaria, and of women who paved the way for other women in education, law, architecture, art, science, etc.

The "Monumental Women" campaign is mainly organized by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) with the support of the Bulgarian Association of University Women, and the artistic action takes place in partnership with the international organization for socially engaged art Fine Acts and Tribal Worldwide Sofia advertising agency.

The organizers of the campaign are urging Sofia Municipality to develop a clear concept for the construction of monuments dedicated to women from our history, and insist that the first monument in Sofia, dedicated to a female historical figure, should be built in 2018.

"The lack of monuments dedicated to real women reinforces the misconception that women have no significant achievements or have not contributed to the development of a democratic society," said Svetla Baeva, director of the Campaigns and Communications Program at the BHC. Until the end of March, everyone can support the declaration to the Sofia Municipality and vote in the survey on whom we should dedicated the first monument, at www.womensmonth.org.

Immediately after the artistic action, the sculptures were "adopted" by key institutions and galleries, including Sofia University, Sofia Library, the National Library, Peroto Literary Club, CredoBonum Gallery, Bulgarian National Television and the Red House Center for Culture and Debate. Until April 5, everyone will be able to see the sculptures at the above-mentioned locations.

At the end of the campaign, the seven sculptures will be exhibited at the CredoBonum Gallery in April, where they will be sold at auction to raise funds for the construction of the first monument dedicated to a female historical figure in Sofia.

"The main purpose of the artistic action is to make a claim on the public space. It belongs to women just like history does and that’s why we are claiming it. Our past is full of great and inspiring women, but their achievements have in fact been erased. In these sculptures I am every woman. With this campaign I want to give women something that is owed to them, and that has been denied to them for decades - a place and recognition" Irina Tomova / Erka, artist and designer of the series of sculptures of women MONUMENT # 1

Footage from the "Monumental Women" artistic action on 22 March 2017

Petition

According to official data received from the Municipal Cultural Institute "Sofia History Museum" in March 2017, Sofia doesn't have a single monument dedicated to a real woman from our history. Less than 6% of all memorial sites (most of which are memorial plaques) in the city are dedicated to specific female historical figures. As part of the campaign, we created a petition urging Sofia Municipality to develop a clear concept for the construction of monuments dedicated to women from our history, which was supported by 406 people.

Join

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED WOMEN AND MEN, ADVOCATE FOR THE FIRST MONUMENT IN SOFIA DEDICATED TO A FEMALE HISTORICAL FIGUREЕ.

At present, female figures are rarely present in the Sofia urban space, or in other towns in Bulgaria. If there are any, they are mostly symbolic female images (the woman as protectress, the woman as mother, etc.) or relatives (mothers, wives, daughters) of male figures from the Revivial period in Bulgarian history...

To see the full text of the declaration and the list of supporters click here.

The Women Whose Stories We Remembered

The "Monumental Women" campaign started on the eve of March 8, International Women's Day, and aims to promote the achievements of women who fought for the civil and political rights of women in Bulgaria, as well as of women who paved the way for other women in the field of education, law, architecture, art, science, etc. Through a survey in which hundreds of people took part, together we chose the historical figure to whom the first monument to a woman in Sofia will be dedicated - Ekaterina Karavelova. Here you will find her story and the stories of other women included in the survey and the "Monumental Women" campaign.

Initiative for a monument dedicated to Ekaterina Karavelova in Sofia

The "Monumental Women" survey as part of the campaign allowed citizens to nominate and vote for the first woman to whom a monument in Sofia should be dedicated. Ekaterina Karavelova's nomination received the undisputed support of the public and the votes of hundreds of citizens. In 2018, the BHC continued its initiative to ensure the deserved place of women in history and in the urban space, announcing the results and urging Sofia Municipality, businesses, organizations, and citizens to get involved in erecting the first monument dedicated to a female historical figure in Sofia.

Ekaterina Karavelova was a teacher, translator, publicist and prominent public figure, and women's rights activist, in her capacity as vice-president of the Bulgarian Women's Union and chair of the Bulgarian branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Karavelova made a huge contribution to important public issues, including the rescue of Bulgarian Jews during World War II.
Read more about Ekaterina Karavelova at "The Women Whose Stories We Remembered"

More from the archives: Let's honor the great women from our history in Wikipedia

As part of the "Monumental Women" campaign, the first for Bulgaria Wikipedia edit-a-thon was held, in which about 30 volunteers took part. The event was supported by Wikipedia Bulgaria, with partners the Goethe-Institut Bulgaria and MOVE.BG.

read

Media Partners

The media partners of the "Monumental Women" campaign, together with the BHC, told their readers and viewers the stories of women who fought for women's rights and paved the way for other women in education, law, architecture, art, and science in Bulgarian society. The main media partners of the campaign were the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) and the Dnevnik.bg website.

Take the "Monumental Women" home! In the "Shop" section of our website, you can still find pieces from the limited series of the "Monumental Women" handmade ceramic cups. The cups are made by Studio Art.E in series of 10 pieces with the images of Victoria Angelova – architect, Anna Karima, Ekaterina Karavelova, Vera Zlateva – lawyer, Elisaveta Karamihailova, who fought for women's equal rights in the first half of the 20th century.