Staka Skenderova | |
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| Born | 1828 |
| Died | 26 May 1891 (aged 63) Sarajevo,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Austria-Hungary |
| Resting place | Holy Archangels Cemetery, Sarajevo[1] |
Staka Skenderova (1828 – 26 May 1891) was aSerb teacher, social worker, writer and folklorist from Bosnia and Herzegovina.[2] She is credited with establishingSarajevo's first school for girls on 19 October 1858.[3] The following year, she became the first published woman author in modern Bosnia.
Skenderova was born in 1831 inSarajevo to parents fromPrijepolje inSandžak. Her older brothersewed for theOttoman Army, and Skenderova learned the Turkish language at a young age and taught herself to write.
Skenderova, by permission of theOttoman authorities, was allowed to open the first school for girls in Sarajevo in 1858. She was also the first woman teacher in Bosnia and Hercegovina.
She eventually decided to become a nun. Since Bosnia at the time had noSerbian Orthodox female monastery, she was ordained as anEastern Orthodox nun inJerusalem in 1870.[4]
Skenderova died in May 1891. While she was enjoying some entertainment inIlidža, a horse-drawn carriage ploughed into the crowd and Skenderova was severely wounded.[5] She was cared for by a friend,Paulina Irby, but died of her injuries soon after. Irby arranged the funeral and Skenderova was buried in Sarajevo.
Skenderova was featured in the multi-media ŽeneBiH project, devised by activists and scholars in Bosnia to highlight the achievements of women in the country's culture and history. She is also one of the principal subjects of the essay collectionNo Man's Lands: eight extraordinary women in Balkan history, by the British-Kosovan writers Elizabeth Gowing andRobert Wilton.
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