Quick Facts
Biography
Staka Skenderova (c. 1830 – 26 May 1891) was a Bosnian teacher, social worker, writer and folklorist. She is credited with establishing Sarajevo's first school for girls on 19 October 1858. The following year, she became the first published woman author in Bosnia.
Life
Skenderova was born in about 1830 in Sarajevo to immigrant parents from the Serbian town Prijepolje. Her older brother sewed for the Ottoman Army, and Skenderova learned the Turkish language at a young age and taught herself to write.
Skenderova, by permission of the Ottoman authorities, was allowed to open the first school for girls in Sarajevo in 1858. She was also the first woman teacher in Bosnia and Hercegovina.
She eventually decided to become a nun. Since Bosnia at the time had no Serbian Orthodox female monastery, she was ordained as an Eastern Orthodox nun in Jerusalem in 1870.
Death
Her life ended tragically and violently in May 1891. Upon enjoying some entertainment in Ilidža, a horse-drawn carriage rushed into the crowd and Skenderova was severely wounded. She was cared for by friend Miss Irby but died of her injuries soon after. Irby arranged the funeral and Skenderova was buried in Sarajevo.
Works
- Ljetopis Bosne, 1825–1856 ("The Bosnian Chronicle, 1825–1856", 1859)