The first six months of the existence of the Informal Women’s Group “Fontana” Old Town Maglaj
“It is adorned with monuments, the old Fortress and the Kuršumlija mosque, a symbol of Islam”.
This is part of the song “Mom Maglaju” which the members of the Informal Women’s Group “Fontana” Stari grad Maglaj took as their anthem. They sang it at the end of February at
Alija Izetbegović Square, at the old bazaar, when they officially introduced themselves to fellow citizens. The name of the Informal Women’s Group “Fontana”, as well as the name of the future association, was not chosen by chance. The fountain on the bazaar since its first day of existence – in the 70s of the last century, was a place where couples in love, friends were waiting, it was a place where people socialized and had fun. When you stand next to the fountain, you can see the old bazaar, Gradina, the Kuršumlija mosque, but also the new part of the city.
There are already around 70 members of the informal group
In a time when we are increasingly alienated from each other, it is nice to know that there are also those who want to socialize, do something useful for the community, travel and implement projects. Thus, on December 1, 2023, the Informal Women’s Group “Fontana” in the Old Town of Maglaj began its work. Mejrima Islamović, who herself is emotionally attached to the Old Town, has been thinking about the need for women to get involved in recent years, especially on the right bank of Bosnia. She discussed her desire with Jasminka Hadžišehić and that’s how it started. “We had nothing to lose. The idea went from woman to woman, our fellow citizens were enthusiastic about the idea, and especially because of the fact that the gathering of women will revive the Old Town, which has been unfairly neglected in recent years,” Mejrima, the president of NGŽ “Fontana” and the future association, told us. The women meet every Thursday in the hundred-year-old Čabra’s tavern, which the members were given to use by Asima Obralić. “We work, agree, plan, laugh, sing because this is a beautiful story. And of course nothing without the support of local authorities, mayor Mirsad Mahmutagić, our fellow citizens and donors”, added our interlocutor and emphasized that the women of the Old Town, but also the new part of Maglaj and the suburbs, gathered around the “Fountain”. The members of “Fontana” organized the presentation on February 24, and despite the rain and bad weather, several hundred Maglaj men and women came to the old bazaar and supported them. The first performance was performed by members of the folklore section from Bijela Ploča.
Tradition is preserved with mother’s kata and Bosnian dishes
And how tradition is preserved was shown by Mediha Kokić and Muradija Herceg, who at the presentation wore kat – dimia and a blouse with a scarf, what used to be worn by our nanas, prananas… “I brought the kat from my mom, I feel really nice when I wear it, especially since it also has sentimental value. I often wear Kat during Ramadan, when I go to the mosque. “We women gathered for fellowship and humanitarian work,” Mediha told us. Muradija Herceg got the floor she was wearing as a gift. “I’m glad that I have another chance to wear a kat, and I usually wear it when I go to teravia. We women get along really well, many women have joined us and we are really overjoyed,” added Muradija. Thanks to the Obralić family, Čabra’s tavern was made available to them for the presentation. And the hardworking women prepared traditional Bosnian salty and sweet dishes, sherbe and coffee, which was ground in a mill all the time. A mini-exhibition of old objects was also set up, without which no Bosnian house could once be imagined: sahani, ibrici, brazier, shish for roasting coffee, sinija, as well as fildjans and jezves. The women exhibited their handiwork, everything they knitted or crocheted, and they breathed new life into some old items. “Each of our members prepared something with a lot of love, so we offered it all to the visitors. Everyone praised us, we saw for ourselves how satisfied everyone was, and we were the happiest when we saw all that support. Most of us are emotionally attached to the Old Town, the bazaar, the fountain, Čabra’s tavern, and thank you Aunt Asima for giving us the space of the tavern for free,” Jasminka Hadžišehić told us and continued, “In the past six months, we have realized a number of activities. First, we visited our old and sick fellow citizens, during Mubarak Ramadan, with the help of donors and RO ‘Merhamet’ Maglaj, we prepared several joint iftars, traditional halva for Laylat-l-Qadr, and we also visited residents of the “Sira” Home for the Aged and Infirm, which was particularly emotional. Eid packages were provided for children and young people with special needs, and the women prepared juices and jams according to the traditional recipe”. Also, the members of “Fountain” presented themselves at the Sports Fair in Maglaj, and for the IT Challenge competition of young computer scientists, a rich table was prepared, for which one of the participants said that the Bosnian table was better than the Swedish one. Muniba Ibranović, a member of “Fountain” and a retired professional chef, is happy to be a part of “Fountain”. “Our gatherings really relax me, and cooking is my great love. Every time we prepare a gastronomic offer, we try to include Bosnian specialties that are part of our tradition and we preserve it in this way. Let’s prepare maslanica and other pies, crusts, tirit, japrak, onions, Bosnian pot, tagarica, Hadji kebab, beans, babinja, corn, sutlija, persimmons, reshedija, halvapita. We were glad to see young computer scientists eating tagarica with great appetite,Hadžija ćevap and Bosnian pot”, Muniba told us and added that one of the projects is the publication of a small cookbook with recipes for traditional Bosnian dishes, the way these women make them. The cookbook will include: Muniba’s kebab, Džija’s persimmon, Merima’s japrak, etc.
Members look forward to every Thursday
Hajrija Hadžišehić especially looks forward to every Thursday. “I am a pensioner, I live alone, and on Thursdays I come to Čabra’s tavern, hang out with other women, there is work, but also talk and laughter. I am also the treasurer of the informal group and I collect membership fees,” Hajrija told us. Dženana Arnautović is currently unemployed, and Thursday is always marked on her calendar. “Maglaj needed this association and I believe they will be proud of us. There are a lot of women here, work, activities, and above all socializing. We make something new from the old, we give an object a new use value, when we have the opportunity we sell our works – jewelry boxes, mugs, tespis, tapestries, checkers, aprons and we use the money earned to purchase new raw materials”, Dženana told us. Šahza Mujkanović pointed out that her long-term wish was to establish such an association. “I have work and obligations at home, but I can’t wait for Thursday. I worked in a textile factory, I know how to sew like some other women, so we sew jackets and aprons. With another member, we also sewed 30 dimis for our women, and that is our contribution to the preservation of Bosnian tradition,” Šahza told us.
They act like a family
What we learned at the end of the conversation with these hard-working women is that the informal group will soon have the status of an association. All the necessary documentation has been secured and submitted to the authorities. “We will continue to work hard, prepare for some future bazaars, we are ready to respond to the invitations of associations from other areas, to get to know each other, socialize, to be heard about us. We are also here to jointly mark important dates for Maglaj and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which we have done several times already. I must especially point out that I am happy and proud that we succeeded in our intention to bring women together, to get out of the house, because we act as one team, as one family. We can always rely on each other, in the middle of the night if needed, we are there for each other”, Mejrima Islamović, the president of the non-profit women’s group “Fontana” Old Town Maglaj and the future association, told us at the end of the conversation.
Written by: Nejra Bradarić
This story was written thanks to the generous support of the American people through the “Local Works” program of the United States Agency for International Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina (USAID). The content of the story is solely the responsibility of the author and the “Network for Building Peace”. The views expressed in the story do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
