Wherever Bajraktarevic went, she said, discrimination followed, creeping into nearly every aspect of life.
'It was only later that I realized that this was unequal treatment of me as a member of the LGBT community,' she said. In the end, the medical staff wrote in her file 'that I 'felt like a man,' although I never said that.' 'My whole examination then came down to the question of my sexual orientation,' she told RFE/RL's Balkan Service.
On a visit to the gynecologist, for instance, after responding to a question about sexual activity or potential pregnancy, she made reference to being a lesbian.
For all of Dina Bajraktarevic's adult life, Bosnia-Herzegovina has had a law in place banning discrimination, including based on sexual orientation or gender identity.īut the 25-year-old native of Tuzla, in northeastern Bosnia, has never felt protected, particularly when she was at her most vulnerable.
