A Livestreamed Femicide in Bosnia

August 17, 2023

Protests break out across the country ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

August 17, 2023

Hey there, Meteor readers,

I hope you’re getting pumped up for the World Cup finals this Sunday between Spain and England, or, as my husband calls it, Our Original Colonizers versus Our Second Colonizers. I’m rooting for England—but no matter who gets the trophy, the real winners are the record-breaking seven-million-plus viewers who have tuned in to watch women make history.

In today’s newsletter we look at a femicide in Bosnia, check in on Moms for Liberty, and offer up some weekend reading.

English for a day,

Shannon Melero

PS: We’re going to SXSW next spring to have a desperately needed conversation about the state of feminist media. Vote for our panel and leave a comment about what you’d like us to talk about!

WHAT’S GOING ON

“We won’t live in fear”: Last Friday, a man in Bosnia went live on his Instagram and shot his former partner, Nizama Hećimović, at point-blank range in the presence of her nine-month-old baby. Over 12,000 people watched the video. Hećimović had filed a restraining order against him just a few days earlier.

After broadcasting her murder, the gunman went on to kill two more people, filming his actions all the while before taking his own life. It would be hours before authorities got in touch with Meta to have the footage taken down—but not before it was duplicated and reposted across the internet.

As shocking and horrific as this crime is, violence against women has become commonplace in Bosnia. A report on human rights practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina found that “48 percent of women and girls older than 15 suffered some form of gender-based violence” in 2020 and a majority of women—84 percent—didn’t report acts of violence to the police. But Hećimović had reported the harassment by her ex, who had a criminal record. Not only were officials not able to protect her, the Prime Minister had the gall to say in response to her murder that “situations like this cannot be predicted.” Except for when they can.

This week, thousands of Bosnians across the country took to the streets in protest, demanding that more be done to protect women from violence, harassment, and femicide. More than that, Bosnians are putting more pressure on Meta to explain how exactly a man was able to live stream three murders before having his account shut down.

PROTESTORS IN SARAJEVO, BOSNIA (SCREENSHOT VIA TWITTER)

AND:

The newest target of the right-wing Moms for Liberty is…sex education classes. A new report detailing M4L’s talking points at their recent convention is so wild it borders on unbelievable. They even went so far as to claim that sex education was intrinsically linked with critical race theory.
Yesterday, federal judges ruled in favor of upholding tight restrictions on the widely used abortion pill mifepristone; those new rules would ban prescriptions for those more than seven weeks pregnant, among other things. But this ruling is subject to approval by SCOTUS, so until the Robed Ones make a decision, the drug is still widely available. In fact, you can learn how to get it here.
Transgender women have been banned from competing in women’s chess competitions by Fide, the top federation of the game.
Thousands remain missing in Lahaina as the wildfire there has left death, destruction, toxic debris, and undrinkable water. It could be years before the land recovers. Meanwhile, another wildfire is gaining traction in Canada’s Northwest Territories. Residents of the city of Yellowknife and Indigenous communities in the surrounding areas have been ordered to evacuate.

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WEEKEND READS 📚

On doing too much: Barbie-mania came for every corner of pop culture, even home renovation shows. Here’s how it all went wrong for one California neighborhood. (The Ringer)

Online: Dating apps were all fun and games until they became a hunting ground for “con artists, rapists, and murderers.” (Mother Jones)

On education: How natural disasters have decimated math scores for young students in Puerto Rico. (NPR)

On “girl” things: Womanhood is being repackaged online. A “blogger girl” explains the trend. (Vox)

On Scandoval: Rachel is ready to talk. Again. (The Cut)