To commemorate International Women’s Day, a digital exhibition showcasing the historic newspaper “Macedonian Woman” from the Women’s Antifascist Front of Macedonia has been inaugurated at the St. Clement of Ohrid National and University Library.

Entitled “Women in Rare Periodicals,” the exhibition, curated by Marina Mijakovska and Milica Ivanovska, draws from the archives of the National and University Library. The focus is on illuminating the newspaper’s cultural, historical, and literary significance, providing a platform for women partisans to express their views and manifestos during the resistance to fascism and their quest for emancipation and women’s rights.

Veselinka Malinska, the first editor of the paper, played a pivotal role, with numerous women contributing their literary works. The exhibition seeks to shed light on these unfairly overlooked female authors, described by Mijakovska as “literature’s hidden subjects.” Despite being contemporaries of well-known male writers, their contributions have been either dismissed or forgotten by history.

The inaugural issue of “Macedonian Woman” on November 7, 1944, marked the beginning of an eight-year period of publication, totaling 83 issues until its closure in 1952 coinciding with the disbandment of the Women’s Antifascist Front of Macedonia. The initial issues are part of the National and University Library’s “Rare Periodicals” collection, currently undergoing digitization, with issues from 1944, 1945, and 1946 already digitized.

Mijakovska highlighted that the early issues portrayed female partisans as equals to men in the anti-fascist war. Post-war, the newspaper’s focus shifted to everyday life, housekeeping, and fashion. Not only significant for the women’s liberation movement, but the newspaper also played a crucial role in securing women’s rights, including the right to vote, achieved in 1945.

Additionally, the exhibition uncovers the role of Women’s Antifascist Front of Macedonia members in building libraries through donations, showcasing their multifaceted contributions to society. The event concluded with a poetry reading featuring several contemporary Macedonian women writers.
photo MIA