Romani community member Edita Stejskalová recognized for her political engagement in the Czech Republic

The Fórum 50% nonprofit organization, which strives to achieve the balanced representation of men and women in decision-making positions and in politics in the Czech Republic, has given an extraordinary award to the political scientist and children's legal and social welfare worker Edita Stejskalová. The jury decided to express its appreciation for her longstanding engagement in the civil society sector and her active membership on the Czech Government Council for Romani Community Affairs.

Members of the expert jury for the organization's competition for the country's "Female Political Hopeful" said that to be an active female Romani politician in Czech society requires twice as much bravery as it does to be a non-Romani female politician. "To decide, in the Czech environment, to become an active politician requires a great deal of courage. If you are a woman and also a Romani woman, it requires at least twice as much bravery. That was apparent from the answers given by Ms Stejskalová, who wrote that her dream is that one day a Czech political party will have the courage to field a Romani woman in an electable spot on its candidate list," the jurors told news server Romea.cz when asked why they had given the extraordinary honor to Stejskalová.

"Several things captivated us about Edita Stejskalová. She has been politically engaged since the age of 16, including in organizing debates with politicians and being involved in election campaigns. She is also an active member of the advisory body to the Government on Romani community affairs. Third, she is very engaged in the civil society sector as well," the jurors said.

The jury was comprised of Petr Just, head of the Department of Humanities and Political Science at Metropolitan University in Prague; Jitka Gelnarová from the Institute of Political Science Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University and from the National Museum; Karel Müller, head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Economics; and Jana Smiggels Kavková, a member of the administrative board of Fórum 50%. First place in the "Female Political Hopeful" competition was awarded to Michaela Matoušková (STAN), the Mayor of Řečany nad Labem, at the American Center in Prague during a gala ceremony.

This is the fourth year of the competition, which is organized by Fórum 50 %, and second place this time went to the local assembly member for the capital city of Prague, Mariana Čapková (PRAHA SOBĚ), while third place went to Ivana Váňová, Mayor of Mořkov (Christian Democratic Party - KDU-ČSL). The jury gave exceptional awards to Stejskalová and Marcela Válková.

Fórum 50 % is a nonprofit organization that supports equal representation between men and women in decision-making positions and in politics. While women comprise more than 50 % of the population, their representation in Czech politics is a mere 20 %.