The 3rd Fierce Women Awards ceremony was held last nigh in Zagreb, Croatia.

Together with the nonprofit media VoxFeminae we recognized and celebrated the contribution to gender equality and social justice in Croatia of these magnificent ladies and collectives – Ivana Crnoja (Udruga Pobjede), Udruga PaRiter, Jasenka Grujić, Marina Kelava, SPEAR tim Sveučilište u Rijeci / University of Rijeka.

Ivana Crnoja is one of the founders of Pobjede, an association that successfully revitalized Osijek’s asylum. In 2021 alone, two employees took care of 350 dogs in the shelter with the help of about a hundred volunteers. Cooperation with the local community, schools, associations and the way in which Ivana Crnoja and the association developed a model of functioning serves as an example and inspiration to other social actors.

PaRiter is an association from Rijeka consisting of Tihana Naglić, Marinella Matejčić, Marija Trcol and Maja Obućina. Their work is a combination of activism and advocacy, pointing out systemic injustices and promoting women’s and human rights, as well as reproductive justice.

Jasenka Grujić is a specialist in gynecology and obstetrics and arguably the most vocal doctor in Croatia who continuously and boldly advocates the right to abortion, as well as sexual education of young people. Her work on promoting women’s reproductive rights and health represents an immeasurable contribution to the feminist struggle.

Marina Kelava is an award winning journalist and one of the founders of H-Alter, independent media. For years she has been a volunteer of the Biciklopopravljaona collective, which operates as part of the Zelena akcija / FoE Croatia, where she coordinates the bicycle donation program, which reached its record last year.

The SPEAR team is active in promoting and advancing gender equality in academia and the wider community. It consists of rector Snježana Prijić Samaržija, Sanja Barić, Sanja Bojanić, Brigita Miloš, Daria Glavan Šćulac, Ana Tomaško Obradović, Matija Miloš and Ivana Klarin. They have successfully implemented the Gender Equality Plan in the work of the University of Rijeka, which has thus become the first academic institution in Croatia and the region to systematically implement equality measures in the field of gender rights and policies.

The portraits of this year’s winners were created by Helena Nemec, Ana Salopek, Rina Barbarić, Ivana Štrukelj and Jelena Oroz.