Hasnija Berberović

As a 16 year old, became the first Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) teacher in Bosnia & Herzegovina. She taught at the first Muslim primary school and in the Girls' High School in Sarajevo. She played a pivotal role in women’s rights and paved the way for other Muslim women, in a very conservative period, to dream and make those dreams a reality. She advocated for women’s education in a time where women’s education (especially among Muslims) was seen as betrayal of cultural belonging. She co-founded “Osvitanje (The Dawning)”, the first Islamic women’s association in Bosnia & Herzegovina and was its first president, as a means of affirmation of rights and economic empowerment of women in the country.