THE POSITION OF WOMEN IN THE SERBIAN ARMY: CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS AND PERSPECTIVES

The military profession has always been regarded as a typical male profession. This understanding is the result of numerous prejudices in the ability of women to adequately respond to all the challenges that they carry with this service. In the past, it seemed that there was no place for women in the Serbian Army. Women who wanted to serve their homeland in this way were forced to conceal their gender identity. This is also evidenced by the example of the First World War hero Milunka Savić, whose true identity probably remained undetected if she was not wounded. The paper deals with the position of women in the Serbian Army nowtodays, the futures they face and the perspectives for their resolution. The Serbian Armed Forces have made an important step towards greater involvement of women in their ranks, when it is approved that female can be engaged in the duties of officers, non-commissioned officers and professional soldiers in the same way as men. The aim of the paper is to point out the directions of the development of the position of women in the Serbian Army, especially considering the process of its professionalisation.