Women in Bulgarian Society: History and recent changes

Roumen L. Genov
Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski

Women in Bulgarian society

Politics and Power

83

Roumen Genov was born in Yambol (Bulgaria) in 1948. He graduated from the Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski in 1972 and completed his Ph. D. dissertation at the same institution in 1979. From 1980 onwards Dr. Genov has taught Modern and Contemporary History at Sofia University, and as visiting professor at the New Bulgarian University (Sofia), the National Academy of Art, and the South-Western University (Blagoevgrad). His scholarly interests are in the field of European, British and American history. He is author of books and scholarly articles on British and American political and social history, and of biographies of political figures (W. E. Gladstone).

84

Roumen L. Genov

Bulgarian women, as the title of a recently published book suggests, are coming out of the shadow of history. It is a slow, gradual and painful process. Still, historically speaking, there is advancement from the state of complete anonymity and subjection towards recognition of the rights of women, and their full participation in different spheres of public life. To understand the present position of women in Bulgarian society, their status and the problems they are confronted with, we have to examine briefly the historical legacy. For centuries Bulgarian women were, if not excluded from history, present in it as a faceless and voiceless mass. There are drawings of women on the walls of caves in Bulgarian lands (late Paleolithic to the late Bronze periods), clay figurines from mounds of the Neolithic, Eneolithic and Bronze ages that show that the population had a cult of the mother-goddess. We know too little of the status of women in the ancient Thracian society, 1 but we can make a guess that they had few rights from the fact that kings and aristocrats had their wives and concubines buried with them, along with their favorite horses. For the entire medieval period the First (681-1018) and Second Bulgarian Kingdom (1186-1396) we know the only the names of few czarinas, and a couple of names of wives of feudal lords, who happened to be donors for building churches and had their portraits painted in them (as in the Boyana church, near Sofia, or the church of Zemen, near Kyustendil, in south-west Bulgaria). We know only some details about the life of few czarinas, for instance about Theodora, wife of Ivan Alexander (1331-1371), mostly because of the great love story of the couple which reads like a folk tale. The czar fell hopelessly in love with Sarah, daughter of a Jewish goldsmith from Turnoff (the ancient capital of the Second Kingdom), he divorced his first wife, daughter of a Walachian voivode (prince), and married the beautiful Jewess (converted to Christianity with the name Theodora). She became mother of the last czar of Bulgaria, Ivan Shishman. But these are only a few exceptions in a long history. The Bulgarian nation was formed as a result of the assimilation of three ethnic elements, the Slavs who invaded and settled in the Balkan Peninsula in the 6th and 7th century A. D., the Bulgarians or Proto-Bulgarians 2, who came in the mid 7th century, and the Romanised Thracians who survived the ravages of the Great Migration of Peoples. It seems that women in their otherwise patriarchal society enjoyed certain traditional freedoms at least before marriage, unlike their sisters in the Mediterranean countries in classical antiquity. The traditional culture did not emphasize sexual differences and it seems both sexes were regarded as more or less equal. At the beginning of the 9th century Bulgaria was already one largest mediaeval states in Europe matching in territorial extension the Byzantine Empire and the empire of Charlemagne. In 864 A.D. Bulgarians were converted to Christianity in the Eastern Orthodox rite and thus became involved in the cultural perimeter of Byzantine culture. Christianisation did not change the structures of social life and roles deeply, despite the fact that blame for original sin was now placed on womankind. The legal status of women in mediaeval Bulgaria was determined by the political system of Caesaro-Papism characteristic of Byzantium, the predominance of strong lay power over the churchs authority. Through its laws the state put women in a subject and inferior position (they were not able to testify before courts, or to engage in any form of economic

Women in Bulgarian society

Politics and Power

85

activity in trade or crafts guilds). At the same time the state upheld the position of women as mothers (they could dispose of their dowry, inherit from their deceased husbands especially if they had children , widows paid lower taxes, etc.) The church, of course, played a major role in the regulation of social functions and the gender stereotype of women. Abortion was regarded as a sin equal to infanticide; divorce was obtained only with great difficulty from the church courts. The situation of Bulgarian women grew worse under the long period of Ottoman domination (1396-1878), as they belonged to a community which was contemptuously treated as rayah (literally flock general name of the tax paying non-Moslem population), and discriminated as giaours (infidels) for the most part of the period, despite of the relative religious tolerance of their Ottoman masters. After the Ottoman conquest in the late 14th century, the new religion, though adopted by a relatively small minority of Bulgarians, influenced deeply gender roles and relations. Women were regarded by Islam as inferior, were subject to numerous restrictions and were confined to the family house. Women did not dare leave the neighbourhood unattended; the only public place they were permitted to visit was church but even there sexes were rigidly separated. The life and activities of peasant women were, of course, less restricted because the agricultural economy largely depended on them. As the Bulgarian pioneersociologist Ivan Hadjiyski claims, women could play a crucial role within the family circle, even in business matters, however, this was not to be shown out of the home. There were exceptions to the rule, like womens involvement in the bands of the haiduts, the Balkan Robin Hoods, avengers and heroes of the oppressed people 3. There were cases when women became even band leaders or voivode, but they had to give up their identity, dressing like men and acting like men. The period of National Revival (from the late 18th century to the 1870s) was marked by certain changes and new attitudes towards women, greater openness towards new trends and ideas. A wealthy Bulgarian bourgeoisie appeared, enriched through trade, large scale stockbreeding and import-export operations, together with considerable stratum of town craftsmen and traders. They aspired to a new social position, to European culture and education, and to political freedoms. Modern schools were established; a long campaign for religious independence which was tantamount to asserting national autonomy began 4. European culture was accepted axiomatically as higher and more advanced; western European societies were regarded as models for development and reform in Bulgaria. Of course, there was a critical reaction against superficial or apish copying of European (or frank) dress and ways, and false Europeanization. Advanced political leaders and writers, like Konstantin Fotinov (a teacher, merchant and the first Bulgarian journalist) and Petko Slaveikov (an educator, journalist, poet and politician) began to speak of the equality of women, of the necessity of womens education and of the womens question. Primary education was comparatively widespread, and in the mid 19th century establishment of girls schools began. Women were admitted to certain public institutions, reading rooms (a peculiar cultural institution with various functions), womens cultural and philanthropic associations. Yet women were not admitted to the board of any public or governing body. Expressions of opinion, public appearances and activities of women were regarded as inappropriate. The few professional women and schoolmistresses were to quit their occupation upon marriage.
86 Roumen L. Genov

The Liberation of Bulgaria (or rather part of it) from Ottoman domination in 1878 resulted in changes not only in political structure, but also in social life and culture. The influx of Western ideas became unhampered; primary education for both sexes was free and compulsory; many young Bulgarians, including women, were getting higher education in the universities of central and western Europe. Industrialization and urbanization had changed considerably the structure of Bulgarian society, although it retained its predominantly agricultural and patriarchal character. Women's societies established before the Liberation continued their activities to promote self-improvement and self-help of women. The forms of modern feminist thought and organization in Bulgaria were, however, rather moderate and timid. They did not offer a breakthrough in the traditional role of women, and were confined to the thin layer of educated professional women and intellectuals. Women were confronted with traditional views of their gender role and with male chauvinism. (For instance, male students of the University of Sofia, established at the end of the 19th century, vigorously protested against admission of female students). The number of employed women (schoolteachers, clerical employees, nurses), especially after World War I, increased considerably, but still the great majority were housewives. There was at the same time a certain presence of women in the Social-Democratic party formed in the 1890s, whose ideology promised them, and the other oppressed and exploited workers, liberation from the chains of capitalism. But even this form of radical socialist feminism did not uphold the demand for immediate political rights. Women in Bulgaria were admitted to the ballot box in municipal elections only in 1936, and could cast their vote in general elections after 1945. The latter date coincided with the beginning of the socialist revolution and establishment of Communist dictatorship, though during the first years non-Communist parties were tolerated. By the end of the 1940s Communist hold over every aspect of economic, political and cultural life was complete, and construction of new socialist society began in earnest. The Communist project included not only complete control of economy and society, but their radical change and modernization. The Soviet model of centralized bureaucratic planning, of rapid industrialization, with an emphasis on heavy industry and gigantic projects, of collectivisation of agriculture, that is, taking the land from the peasants and turning them into wage workers, of migration of great masses of people, of regimentation of every form of cultural life, was faithfully followed. As a result there was a great increase in the number of women in state owned industrial plants and agricultural farms. Formally, both sexes were getting equal pay for equal work and were enjoying equal job opportunity. In practice, however, women were rarely admitted to higher and betterpaid administrative posts, and were largely discriminated in terms of promotion and career. The ruling party had set up quotas of womens representation in parliament and in local government of 18-20% of their members. By the 1980s under 2% of women were engaged in management, administrative and decision-making spheres. This system could hardly conceal the fact of institutionalised inequality. In fact, the promise of womens liberation in communist society was betrayed. In a society of low living standards, of planned deficits of essential goods and labour saving appliances, emancipated women were trapped in a double slavery of both their traditional role as wives and mothers, and the new one as members of the labour force. It is true that under socialism there was full employment and
Women in Bulgarian society Politics and Power 87

even a deficit of labour force in certain sections of the economy. Up to 90% of women worked outside the family, but most of them had to do it out of necessity, for low paid men could not earn enough money to support family. Nine-tenths of employed women were manual workers, sales attendants, and clerical staff, nurses, primary and day care school teachers 5. Despite of the firm control of the ruling party over the society as a whole, and dead calm on the surface, the system was affected by a number of moral crises, following deStalinization, the events in 1957 and 1968, re-Stalinization and finally, Gorbachevs perestroika. For over thirty years the country was autocratically ruled by Todor Zhivkov, a shrewd politician of little formal education, who depended entirely on personal loyalty to Soviet leaders (and managed to survive four General Secretaries of the CPSU). At the end of the 1950s he proclaimed the complete victory of socialism, and in the 1970s he followed the ideological instructions from Moscow to start building mature or real socialism and an all-people state. By the mid 1980s the country, as well as the Soviet block, was in state of economic and moral crisis. The final collapse of Communist regimes in Europe was as unexpected as inevitable. The political change in Bulgaria, however, differed from the velvet revolution in centraleastern Europe. By that time the octogenarian Zhivkov had become a mock figure, but his party colleagues decided to depose him, in November 1989, only after indications appeared that he had lost the favour of Moscow. Anyway, the palace coup of November 11 marked the beginning of rapid political and economic changes, of democratisation and transition to a liberal market system. These changes were not so much a return to history, as seen by some Western observers, but a new and unparalleled phenomenon in European history. The surge to freedom and complete restructuring of economy through massive privatisation, were, however, most fully exploited by the former new class of Djilas, the members of the nomenklatura who used the opportunity to turn their collective ownership of the economy into individual ownership, and to maintain their grip on society. In terms of political life the country passed to a multiparty system, free elections, freedom of media, and all other attributes of modern democracy. The reformist drive during the last decade has achieved a certain success: most of the industrial enterprises were privatised, land was given back to peasants, the larger part of the [GDP] is now produced in the private sector; the export directed mostly to the former Soviet Union and Comecon countries is now redirected to the European Union countries. Bulgaria has joined the CEFTA and started negotiations to join the European Union. After the collapse of almost half of the banks and hyperinflation in 1996-97 a monetary board was introduced and the financial system was stabilized, but the possibilities of government to spend, especially for social programs, have been strictly limited. Bulgarian governments during the last decade have had to act under harsh economic conditions, industrial decay and low productivity, ecological problems, a foreign debt of $11 billion (a gigantic sum by Bulgarian standards), loss of the traditional markets in Russia and former Comecon countries, as well as in the Arab world. There is a broad consensus in Bulgarian society, and among political parties as to the necessity of reforms, as to the priority of joining the Euro-Atlantic community (the European
88 Roumen L. Genov

Union and the NATO). Disagreement and discontent concern the price of the changes and the equal place of the social groups in bearing the burden of transformation. The mass of the people enthusiastically greeted the new freedom and the beginning of reforms, however, they brought with them high unemployment (up to 16-17% of the working force according to official figures or even more according to the trade unions; 33% among young people are unemployed; and unemployment is especially high in certain agricultural regions dependent on tobacco growing, with compact masses of ethnic Turks, and among the Rom population reaching up to 70-90%), a sharp rise of prices after deregulation, a process of dismantling of most of the inefficient industries, sharp social polarization, and generally, a severe economic crisis and a sharp fall even in the modest living standards enjoyed by the population in the 1980s. The results were intensive emigration, especially of younger and better-educated people (about 530,000 for the period 1989-99), a negative birth rate, and an aging nation. Under the new conditions women are the social group that fares worst. Democratic transformation has not changed the basic character of patriarchy and male domination. There is a vertical segregation in economy (industry is a predominantly male sphere, while in services, including education, health service, and so forth, the share of women is about 70%). Horizontal segregation is a general characteristic of economy and decision making, top management and decision making positions, both appointed and elected positions are prevailingly male spheres (76% of employers are men, 80% of elected offices are occupied by men). Wages and salaries are all very low (median monthly income was about 200 levs or 100 Euros in 1999), and tend to be even lower among women 6. As a result the income gap is widening. Women are the larger part of the new poor, especially in woman-headed households (64% of these live in absolute poverty). During the last decade the consumption of basic foodstuffs decreased significantly, as well as access to medicine. As a result there are inequalities in self-evaluated health status, 39% of women report serious health problems in 2000 (compared to 28% of males). The relative share of women among all unemployed persons is about 60% (1997), and they are largely subject to sex and age discrimination in getting employment. There are gross inequalities in family life, less womens mobility; there is domestic violence and harassment; divorce is single main reason for impoverishment in woman-headed households, 70% of the housework is done by women. In fact, womens representation in politics has decreased during the last decade, their share in elective bodies of government both central and local has decreased. In 2000 only 11% of members of parliament, 5% of mayors and 23% of municipal councillors were women. That is why some womens organizations now insist that political parties should include a certain quota of women in their list of parliamentary and local election candidates 7. There are other negative factors affecting mostly women, such as the sharp rise of criminality rates, violence in the streets and domestic violence, sexual harassment at the work place. The sex industry and traffic in women have become new sectors of business. Still, there are certain positive elements in recent developments. Old state controlled trade unions have been replaced by new democratic ones, a number of nongovernmental organizations have sprung up, including ones defending specific womens interests and causes.
Women in Bulgarian society Politics and Power 89

They work in conjunction with their European counterparts and in some cases, governmental agencies seek their collaboration in preparing legislative measures (as is the case with the Equal Opportunities Bill of 2000). Euphoria and great expectations that followed the beginning of the changes in 1989 belong already to history, it is time now for realism, for painstaking work and relentless efforts in defence of practical demands, of human and social rights of women, their dignity and their due and deserved place in society.

NOTES
1

The Tracians, a large group of Indo-European tribes, inhabiting from the second half of the 4th millenium B.C. the area from the Carpathian Mountains to the Aegean Sea, as well as the northern shores of the Black Sea, and parts of Asia Minor, were the first population of the region which we know by its name. Bulgarians or Proto-Bulgarians a group of tribes of Turcic-Altaic origin, who had formed a large state in the lands north of the Black Sea in early 7th century B.C. were dispersed under the attacks of the Khazars. They migrated reaching as far as the Middle Volga basin, Pannonia, southern Italy, Macedonia. A group of Bulgarians under Khan Asparuch founded the state of (Danubian) Bulgaria in the North-Eastern Balkans in 681, the precursor of modern Bulgaria. Haidut (haiduk) members of brigands or social bandits in the Balkans under Ottoman domination from the 15th to the 19th century. See Hobsbawm E.J., Bandits., Rev. edn. New York 1981. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, all Eastern Orthodox Christians were organized along religious lines in the Rum millet (Romaic people), headed by the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople. According to national statistics for the late 1980s about 35% of working women were engaged in industry, 18% in agriculture, 12% in services, 10% in education, 8% in health service. Median monthly salaries and wages of women were 68.9% of those of men (in 1996-68), and rose by 3.9 points in 1998. As a result of the last general elections of 17 June 2001 the share of women MPs was increased to 20%.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Conrad J.L., Metaphorical Images of Women in South Slavic Proverbs, Balkanistica, Bd. VI, 1980, pp. 147-160 Corin C. (ed), Superwoman and the Double Burden: Womens Experience of Change in Central and Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union, London 1992. Crampto R.J., A Concise History of Bulgaria, Cambridge 1997. Corin C. (ed), Superwoman and the Double Burden: Womens Experience of Change in Central and Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union, London 1992. Koch S.J., Koch K.L., Moneva Z., In Their Own Words: An Ethnographic Analysis of the Quality of Life of Bulgarian Women and Their Children, Paper presented to: Transitions and Transcendence. Mutual Perspectives of East and West, Conference on Womens Issues. American University in Bulgaria. Blagoevgrad may 1994, pp. 21-23. Kostova D., Similar or Different? Women in Postcommunist Bulgaria, in Rueschemeyer M. (ed), Women in the Politics of Postcommunist Eastern Europe, New York 1994, pp. 116-128. Kostova D., The Transition to Democracy in Bulgaria: Challenges and Resks for Women, in Moghadam V.M. (ed), Democratic Reform and the Position of Women in Transitional Economies, Oxford 1993, pp. 92-109. Merdjanska K., Panova R., The Family Enclosure in the Bulgarian Context. From Herodotus to the End of the Twentieth Century, The European Journal of Womens Studies, 2(1), 1995, pp. 21-32.

90

Roumen L. Genov

Merdjanska K., Panova R., The Family Enclosure in the Bulgarian Context. From Herodotus to the End of the Twentieth Century, The European Journal of Womens Studies, 2(1), 1995, pp. 21-32. Stoev V., The Ghetto. The Bulgarian Woman and the Iron Regime, Womens Studies International Forum, 17(2-3), 1994. Petrova D., What can Women do to Change the Totalitarian Cultural Context?, Womens Studies International Forum, 17(2-3) 1994, pp. 267-271. Sokolova B., Bulgarian Women: Problems Past, Problems Present, Women a cultural review, 3(3), 1992, pp. 261-270. Staikova R., Gadeleva S., Die Frauen in Bulgarien - ihre Bestimmung heute und in Zukunft, Feministische Studien, 2, 1992. Todorova M., Balkan Family Structure and the European Pattern. Demographic Developments in Ottoman Bulgaria, Washington D.C. 1993. Todorova M., Historical Tradition and Transformation In Bulgaria: Womens Issues or Feminist Issues?, Journal of Womens History, 5(3), 1994 (Special Issue), pp. 129-143. Vitanova I., The Establishing of Womens Studies in Bulgaria - or How Far Can You Go, Womens History Review, 2(1), 1993, pp. 143-148.

SOURCES
Womens social position and rights according to the Bulgarian constitutions There are not any specific texts in the first Bulgarian constitution of 1879 (the Turnovo Constitution, called so after the name of the city where it was adopted), relating to the position of women. The second republican constitution was adopted in 1947 (the so-called Dimitrovs Constitution, after the name of the Communist leader and prime minister Georgi Dimitrov, 1882-1949, contained several relevant articles. From the Constitution of Peoples Republic of Bulgaria (1947): Art. 3. All citizen of the age of 18 years and over, can elect and be elected (members of any body of government), irrespective of their sex, nationality, race, creed, education, occupation, social and economic standing, except for mentally disabled persons and those stripped of civil and political rights by judgment-at-law Art. 72. Women are equal with men in all spheres of public, private, economic, social, cultural and political life. Equality of women is realized by guaranteeing equal right to work, equal pay, right of annual holidays, right of social security, old age pensions and right to education. Women-mothers enjoy a special protection in terms of conditions of work. The state takes special care of mothers and children by setting up of maternity hospitals, day care centers and dispensaries, women are guaranteed paid leaves from work both before and after giving birth, and free obstetrical and medical service Art. 76. Marriage and family are under the special protection of state. Only the civil marriage contracted before respective authorities has legal value. Children born out of wedlock enjoy the same rights as those born in wedlock

Women in Bulgarian society

Politics and Power

91

From the Constitution of Peoples Republic of Bulgaria (1971): (This one was called Zhivkovs Constitution after the name of the then Communist leader and President of the State Council, Todor Zhivkov (1911-1998). Art. 36. Women and men in Peoples Republic of Bulgaria enjoy equal rights. Art. 37. Women-mothers enjoy a special protection by the state, the economic and public organizations, which guarantee them leave before and after giving birth while retaining their pay, free obstetrical and medical care, maternity clinics, alleviation of the conditions of work, extension of the system of childrens care centers, of the public utilities and catering estalishments. Art. 38. (1) Marriage and family are under the protection of the state. (2) Only the civil marriage has legal value. (3) Spouses have equal rights and obligations in marriage and family. Parents have the right and obligation to bring up their children and educate them in the spirit of Communism. (4) Children born out of wedlock enjoy the same rights as those born in wedlock In 1991, after the end of the one-party Communist regime, a new democratic constitution was adopted by the 7th Grand National Assembly. From the Constitution of Republic of Bulgaria (1991): Art. 46. (1). Marriage is a free union between man and woman. Only the civil marriage is legal. (2) Spouses have equal rights and obligations in marriage and family. (3) The form of marriage, the conditions and ways of contracting or dissolving it, and personal and property relations between spouses, are regulated by law. Art. 47. (1) Bringing up and education of the children until their coming to age is obligation of their parents and is supported by the state. (2) Women-mothers enjoy the special protection of the state, which guarantees them paid leave before and after giving birth, alleviation of the conditions of work and other forms of social support. (3) Children born out of wedlock enjoy the same rights as those born in wedlock. (4) Conditions and the form of limitation or deprivation of parental rights are regulated by law Art. 48. (1) Citizens entitled to the right to work. The state is setting up the framework guaranteeing this right Art. 52. (1) Citizens are entitled to the right of health insurance, which guarantees them access to medical service and to free health service under conditions and form regulated by law .

92

Roumen L. Genov

Women in Bulgarian society

Politics and Power

93