Human Rights Action protests the insults directed at the NGO Women’s Rights Centre (WRC) by European Alliance MP Nikola Zirojević.

Instead of responding with dignity to criticism over the sexist insult he directed at the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Zirojević attacked the WRC, calling them agents of the Democrats, insulting them with the term “grant hunters”, and falsely accusing them of failing to speak out when the Democrats attacked women.

HRA warns the public that all of Zirojević’s claims are completely unfounded.

First, the WRC’s attempt to once again stop the humiliation of women in politics through expressions such as the one used by Zirojević is legitimate. Calling someone her boss’s “conductress” and similar expressions constitute sexism inappropriate for a democratic society, as stated in Recommendation CM/Rec(2019)1 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on preventing and combating sexism.

Second, accusing the WRC of siding politically with the Democrats, and questioning whether it has ever criticized them, is highly malicious and completely uninformed. The WRC, for example, together with HRA, demanded the resignation of the leaders of the Democrats after the latest mass killing in Cetinje, because the town had not been adequately secured. The WRC also supported the student group Kamo sjutra, which organized mass protests over that issue.

Also, in August 2025, the WRC explicitly criticized Democratic MP Zdenka Popović, stating that she “shows unquestioning loyalty to her party leaders and the leadership of the security sector — instead of promoting gender equality and democratic dialogue”, thereby showing that personal insults are not the only way to score a political point in a democratic debate.

MP Zirojević’s female colleagues, such as Dragica Sekulić and others, will hopefully remember that the WRC also came to their aid when women’s equality in politics was threatened in their own cases.

Finally, we protest with particular disgust against the offensive label “grant hunters”, which MP Zirojević recklessly attached to the WRC.

In the project our organizations recently completed, “United Against Abuse and Impunity” alone, WRC activists, thanks to a “hunted” European Commission grant, provided legal representation for 208 abused women, monitored more than 40 court proceedings concerning domestic violence, followed over 300 hearings, and prepared a detailed monitoring report with criticisms and recommendations, which was received with gratitude by representatives of the judiciary.

We could also ask whether MPs are merely hunters of million-euro privileges that political parties receive from the budget, that is, from the pockets of the people, and whether such amounts are truly used for purposes of the general interest. Not to mention informal benefits from interest groups and criminal groups.

The work of NGOs in the general interest of the citizens of Montenegro is mostly financed by international organizations and foreign states, through project writing and participation in tenders, whereby we do not impose a financial burden on citizens, unlike MPs.

HRA hopes that this response will contribute to more cautious and responsible expression in the public sphere, as well as greater respect for the efforts of non-governmental organizations such as the Women’s Rights Centre to make Montenegro a truly democratic state governed by the rule of law.