Montenegro Hijacks Eurovision Competition to Fight Selective Abortions Of Girls

#unwanted girls? More often than not, women in Montenegro decide to have an abortion if the early prenatal test reveals that they carry a girl. That’s because, in a fiercely patriarchal system of values, the “male heir" is preferred over girls.

Montenegro Women’s Rights Centre, McCann Podgorica and McCann Belgrade launched a fierce guerrilla campaign called #UNWANTED, set to prevent those abuses.

“Unwanted” song was created. The song became the anthem, the voice of #unwanted girls and their rights to be born competed in the local Eurovision competition. Despite huge public support, the song itself was #unwanted and lost (ironically) to a male singer who sang about love.

The selective abortions practice has changed the demographic of this country, already one of the least populated country in Europe. According to Monstat (Montenegrin Statistical Bureau), if this practice continues, Montenegro, which now has a population of just over 620.000 people, will have up to 10.000 more men than women by 2025. Also, a UN report states that Montenegro is in the top list of countries with the biggest imbalance between males and females.

"As a doctor and a geneticist, I can say that a selective abortion that happens after a genetic test is carried out is one of the most unacceptable medical deeds, but it’s also an ethical and moral issue. It is a violation of the Montenegrin law. And the blunt truth is that Montenegro is short of 3000 women in reproductive age at the moment”, stated Olivera Miljanovic, Doctor at Clinical Center.

Riding a huge wave of sympathy from the media and public, the campaign brought forward a petition aiming to make changes to the current legislation in order to prevent the abuse of prenatal tests whose consequences are selective abortions. The petition is now in the Government, with the Vice President of the Montenegrin Government Mr. Pažin stating: “The success of this campaigns means a step forward in the emancipation of Montenegrin society”

“The more people know and are outraged by this practice in Montenegro, the more pressure we create for the authorities to change the law and prevent this from happening in the future”, stated Jana Savic Rastovac, ECD McCann Beograd.

More information on: http://womensrightscenter.org/en/