Deputy PM denounces ministry's slogans as offensive to women

They are also offensive to women, Mihajlovic, who is a member of the Coordinating Body for Gender Equality, and of the Government's Council for Population Policy, said on Wednesday.

These slogans "publicly shame women" and show a lack of understanding of their role in Serbia, but also of the demographic circumstances, she said.

"Most of the slogans picked in this campaign simply obligate women, more precisely, place an imperative on them to give birth to children, which, I'm certain, can only have a counter-effect," Mihajlovic said.

The minister stressed that nobody has the right to order women to have children, nor to blame them for the birth rate - or see them as some kind of machines for giving birth.

"Any campaign aimed at increasing the birth rate must have the goal of awakening the citizens to why it's important that there are more of us, why it's good that each child has a brother or a sister, why it's good to have a family with more children," Mihajlovic said, adding:

"Beside concrete incentives, having children is interwoven with the conditions in our health care, education, media, but also with our country's cultural life. Therefore I think the commission that picked these slogans has failed to see the big picture about the birth rare problem in Serbia."

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Culture and the Council for Population Policy announced the slogans they chose for a campaign to boost the birth rate in the country.

Instead of three, the ministry picked six. In Serbian, most of these slogans are written in rhyme, while some use the imperative mood.

There are two winning slogans: "Love and baby - the first thing we need!," and, "Give birth, don't delay!"

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