ABOUT THE BIH PRIDE MARCH

The BiH Pride March is rooted in the principles and values of antifacism, equality, solidarity, freedom, social justice, self-determination, secularity, inclusivity, antimilitarism, the rule of law, openess to dialogue and non-violent communication.

The BiH Pride March has been established to tackle the lack of mobilizing platforms in BiH that empowers human rights defenders and fosters an independent and participatory approach to the organization of events. The BiH Pride March Organizing Committee (OC) is an informal body of volunteers, not representing organizations but involved in their personal capacity. Each year, an open call for applications is issued, inviting all interested BiH citizens to apply and become a part of the organizing team. Membership is on a voluntary basis and all decisions are taken in consensus.

Dozens of people passed through the organizing committee in just four years, many of which became activists for the first time through our team. We are proud that some of them continued their activist path during this year as well. The organizing committee is composed of all generations, genders and gender identities, as well as various activist and professional backgrounds. Each of the members contributes to the creation and organization of the BiH Pride March. We are especially proud that many LGBTIQ people have decided to be part of the committee and through this form of activism to get involved in the fight for the rights of LGBTIQ people for the first time.

***

Invisibility, isolation, lack of recognition, exclusion, and violence, in both the private and the public spheres, are the biggest problems for the LGBTIQ population in BiH. Most LGBTIQ people decide against revealing their sexual orientation, gender identity or sex characteristics to their families for fear of violence and rejection, which forces them to conceal a part of their life and the people they love. As LGBTIQ people, we are prevented from living openly and expressing our identities in public spaces—be it streets, workplaces, schools, institutions or cafes.

The BIH Pride March 2025 declares: Love rules!

And it’s not just a slogan – it’s a message, a warning and a call to fight

The first BiH Pride March was held in 2019 in Sarajevo – we thought it would be a turning point for the LGBTIQ+ community in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The slogan Coming Out much more than a message – it was an act of resistance and liberation. The community, together with its allies, for the first time collectively took to the streets of the capital, occupying a public space that had been denied to them for decades.

The BiH Pride March has been held every year since then – and every year it articulates louder, more decisively and more clearly the struggle of LGBTIQ+ people for equality, dignity and freedom. The procession has become the largest and most consistent protest march in the country, which for five years has continuously called on the government to stop ignoring systemic discrimination and violence against the LGBTIQ+ community.

The demands are concrete and clearly defined:

• Legal recognition of same-sex civil unions,
• Passing the law on gender identity,
• Protection of LGBTIQ+ persons from domestic violence,
• The introduction of hate crimes into criminal laws,
• Amendments to the law on public assembly in Sarajevo Canton in accordance with European standards.

All these are not “special demands” – they are basic human rights!

However, the devastating truth is that after six years, none of these demands have been met. Not a single one! Institutional ignorance and inefficiency have become accomplices to daily discrimination, violence, and invisibility of LGBTIQ+ persons in BiH.

That’s why the BiH Pride March does not give up. Quitting is not an option when it comes to lives, rights, and dignity.

We live in a time when fascism and right-wing extremism are flourishing all over the world – and our region is no exception. On the contrary, we are on the front line. And when fascist politicians look for targets, they always strike first at those they consider “undesirable”. At LGBTIQ+ people. At us. It is not an abstract threat – it is already happening, here and now. In the Republika Srpska entity, the government deleted the concept of gender identity from all laws. They erased us from the laws as if we did not exist. As if we have no right to existence, dignity, protection, life. But we will not disappear. We remain unyielding. We are the ones who stay and fight.

Such decisions are not just administrative changes – they are a direct attack on our bodies, our existence, our security. That’s why we keep marching, that’s why we keep being loud – and we’re telling the institutions: our lives are real and your attempts to erase us will not go unopposed. We demand the immediate adoption of laws that protect us – and we will not stop until all five demands of BiH Pride March are approved and implemented into existing laws and practices.

We did not give up even when it was more difficult. We won’t give up now. We will never give up.

What is happening now – the abolition of gender identity – is only the first step in a wider plan of the complete trampling of human rights. Fascism does not stop. But neither do we. If they think they’re going to shut us up, they’ve forgotten one thing: we’re here. In the streets. With our bodies, our voices, our resistance.

And we are not and must not be alone in this struggle. We invite you, allies, to move from alliance to complicity because this concerns us all. Because if you think you’re safe, you’re wrong. They will come for you too. They will come for anyone who doesn’t fit into their little world of control and fear. They don’t care about anyone – except their own interests and power.

So don’t wait. Stand with us now. Because the fight for LGBTIQ+ is a real fight for the freedom of all of us.

This year’s slogan is Love Rules

Due to the ignorant and humiliating attitude towards our rights, this year’s slogan the BiH Pride March reads: Love Rules. And it’s not just a slogan – it’s a message, a warning and a call to fight.

“Love Rules” has a double meaning: that the law must protect love, but also that love is stronger than any law that tries to ignore, exclude or ostracize. Our rights are not up for debate. They are not a matter of political moment, nor a privilege that the authorities can grant – or take away – as they see fit. Our rights are undeniable. Our love is real. Our fight is legal.

Our message to the institutions is: Enough is enough! It is time to recognize the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons in all laws. Our love must not be legally invisible. Justice is not justice if it chooses who to protect and who to ignore.

Our message to our community is: Love is our strength, our law, our identity. We exist. We love. We are fighting. And we will not stop until our rights are guaranteed by law – clearly, unequivocally and without conditions.

Because love is not just an emotion. Love is political. Love is an act of defiance. Love rules!

Everyone on the streets on June 14, 2025, because Love Rules!

Information about the route and program of the BiH Pride March (click)

Get the latest updates and stay informed