Room 2 – Isidora Sekulić

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ISIDORA SEKULIĆ

Isidora Sekulić was born in 1877 in Mosorin, not far from Titel. She was educated in Novi Sad, Sombor and Budapest. She was an extraordinary example of a strong, independent, intelligent woman who lived all by herself, what was unusual at the beginning of the 20th century. She kept up with her work, without family and property, and fought for her place in the male world. Isidora Sekulić wanted to awaken women’s consciousness in her country.

She became the correspondent secretary of the International Union of Women and participated in congresses of women’s societies that fought for gender equality. Although from today’s perspective, through her work, Isidora proved that women, even at that time, could stand side by side with men, the vast majority of her contemporaries did not want to go the way she went.

Like many educated women at the time, she worked as a teacher, first in Pančevo and then in Šabac. She was admitted to the Serbian Girls’ Higher Secondary School in Pančevo in 1897 as a teacher of mathematics and natural sciences. Isidora Sekulić was highly regarded by the school council, and during the school year of 1901/1902, she was also the school principal. Then her conflicts with the school administration and the small-minded community began, which is why she left Pančevo, after almost ten years. Being in Pančevo was very difficult for her because, among other things, she struggled to equalize the titles of male and female teachers and was the target of various intrigues.

She ate at taverns, brought her students to football games, and with her unconventional attitude towards life and free-spirited behavior, she was unusual and difficult to accept in a small Palanka environment. Isidora Sekulić was an avant-garde, often living almost casually. She traveled extensively around the world trying to bring the spirit and breath of modern Europe to Serbia. She married Dr. Emil Stremnicky in Norway, but after only one year of their marriage, he passed away.

 She spoke various languages, was familiar with many cultures. She was interested in various fields of artistic expression, and as a writer, translator, and interpreter of literary works, she gained respect during her life as the most educated and brightest Serbian of her time. She received her Ph.D. in 1922 and was the first president of the Writers’ Association of Serbia. She was elected in 1939 as a Corresponding Member of the Serbian Royal Academy, and in 1950 as a Full Member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences, as the first female academic.

Isidora Sekulić died in Belgrade in 1958. Today, in Pančevo, an elementary school and a bookstore bear her name, and in 1989, fellow citizens and writers erected a memorial plaque on the building where she served.

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