[Aleksandar Trajkovski]

In Balkan, sports still feel very gendered to me. If a guy wants to do something like dancing or gymnastics, people look at him weird. Same for girls, if they want to do wrestling or football, it’s like everyone thinks it’s not for them. But I think younger people are starting to ignore these old ideas, and just do what makes them happy. I really respect that. It’s tough though, cause people from your family and society can put a lot of pressure to follow the normal sports.

[Aleksandar Trajkovski]

I noticed that in Balkan countries, like in a lot of places anywhere else I guess, there are still some pretty rigid expectations about what men and women should do for work. Women are often expected to go into teaching or healthcare, while men are pushed towards engineering or business. But I think things are slowly changing—people are starting to challenge these stereotypes more.I’m just trying to choose a career based on what I love, not what’s expected from me as a guy, although some people from family wouldn’t agree. I dont know, maybe it’s pretty normal in western Europe nowadays.

[Aleksandar Trajkovski]

Yeah, I think youre right, and a lot of it probably comes down to historical and cultural factors. for example in Turkey, the role of religion and traditional family had big influence on their view on gender roles, meanwhile Germany has experienced strong feminist movements, particularly after second World War, which led to more progressive gender policies. These differences in historical development really shape how each society views equality today I guess.

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