Voice of America
09 Mar 2025

BELGRADE, SERBIA — 

Female students Saturday marked International Women's Day in Serbia by leading the daily street protests against corruption and sending a message decrying widespread violence against women in the Balkan country.

University students in Serbia are behind almost-daily rallies that started after a concrete canopy crashed down in November at a railway station in the northern city of Novi Sad, killing 15 people.

Many in Serbia believe that the huge concrete construction fell because of poor renovation work fueled by government corruption. Street demonstrations have become a challenge to the populist President Aleksandar Vucic.

The students carried a banner reading: “Women in front rows," heading the marching column that passed through central streets in Belgrade and by the building hosting the state prosecutor's office.

The protesters held 19 minutes of silence, instead of the 15 held normally for the 15 victims of the canopy crash. The additional four minutes were dedicated to the four women killed in domestic violence in Serbia this year.

“I am here to support all women around the world, all mothers and fighters, and students of course," said Slavica Djajic, a resident of Belgrade.

The protesting university students have insisted on full accountability in the canopy fall, a call that has garnered widespread support among citizens who are largely disillusioned with politicians and have lost trust in state institutions.

Student-led rallies have drawn tens of thousands of people, becoming among the biggest ever in Serbia which has a long history of anti-government protests. Vucic has described the rallies as a Western-orchestrated ploy to oust him from power.

The next big rally is planned for March 15 in Belgrade, and Vucic alleged that “they will try to achieve something with violence and that will be the end.” He added that “many [demonstrators] will end up behind bars accused of criminal acts.”

All student-led protests in the past months have been peaceful, while incidents were recorded when opponents drove their cars into protest blockades or attacked the protesters.

The populist leader and his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party have held a firm grip on power in Serbia for over a decade, facing accusations of stifling democratic freedoms despite formally seeking European Union entry for Serbia.

Authorities have indicted 16 people over the canopy collapse, but many doubt that the actual culprits will face justice.