Center for Advanced Studies proudly presents the book Women and COVID-19 Pandemic: Psychosocial Challenges and Opportunities edited by Selvira Draganović, Emel Topçu, Serap Fišo.

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This book is one of rare ethnographic studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina about the COVID-19 pandemic impact on women of different walks of life. The authors discuss the challenges women faced while they were juggling between online work and family duties and how they were coping and adjusting to the new normal pandemic times with many restrictions and limitations. The book is divided in two parts: autoethnographic aspects of women’s experience during the pandemic and psycho-social aspects of their experiences with pregnancy, mental health issues, physical and psychological wellbeing.

The book is valuable contribution to ethnographic studies of women’s lives that are under-researched. Intersectional approach to women’s life encompassing different identities, social and cultural realms with patriarchal gender roles politics, bring on the surface a complex realities and coping strategies. Feminist methodological approach is particularly important in ethnography and autoethnography, because women are subjects of the research, they shape the research together with authors narrating their lives the way they want.

Zilka Spahić Šiljak, University of Sarajevo

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This book is a female perspective on the recent and still ongoing pandemic. It focuses on their experiences while pursuing their professions in unusual working conditions and caring for their beloved ones in these challenging times. Twelve chapters address the experiences of women with different profiles and professions. The reader learns about dramatic changes in personal, professional, social and family lives. At the same time the authors describe healing processes and methods women developed to establish new interpersonal and professional skills.

The impact of COVID-19 virus pandemic on women’s physical and psychological health and wellbeing including work and family life will continue to be a research subject in the future. The findings of this book can help to recognize individual and collective mental health challenges and difficulties encountered by women in difficult times. This information can be used by responsible institutions to identify, react and provide adequate help through formal and informal support. Hence, this book is useful for scholars and practitioners who want to learn more about the coping strategies of women and the impact of the pandemic on women.

Dževada Šuško, International University of Sarajevo

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The book in PDF is available here: