Neda Božinović bila je pravnica, partizanka, političarka, aktivistkinja i feministkinja.
Rođena u selu kod Dubrovnika, Neda se 1935. godine seli u Beograd i upisuje Pravni fakultet. Tokom studentskih dana bila je aktivna u studentskim udruženjima, kao i u Zadružnoj omladini Jugoslavije. Četiri godine nakon dolaska u Beograd postaje članica, tada zabranjene, Komunističke partije Jugoslavije, a zalaganje za socijalističke ideje o uređenju društva obeležiće njen život. Ubrzo nakon stupanja u Partiju i izbijanja Drugog svetskog rata, Neda zauzima važne pozicije, kako u Partiji tako i „na terenu“. Bila je aktivna u radu AFŽ-a (Antifašističkog fronta žena), na polju dečije zaštite i poboljšanja položaja žene. 1941. odlazi u Crnu Goru gde je bila zadužena za rad sa ženama u Nikšiću, bila je zamenica komesara III nikšićkog bataljona i vodila politički rad V kozaračke, te III krajiške brigade i Prve proleterske divizije.
Od 1945. godine Neda je imala važne političke funkcije. Između ostalog, bila je pomoćnica predsednika Komisije državne kontrole FNRJ, pomoćnica ministra rada FNRJ, poslanica Saveznog veća Savezne skupštine, a 1963. je postala sudinica Ustavnog suda.
Pored svega, Neda Božinović je bila i aktivna feministkinja koja je prva uradila temeljno istraživanje položaja žena u Srbiji (u periodu od 19. do 20. veka) – oličeno u monografiji „Žensko pitanje u Srbiji u XIX i XX veku“. U ovoj knjizi Neda se bavila razvojnim putem borbe za rodnu ravnopravnost, čiji su vesnici bili studenti i studentkinje, socijalisti i socijalistkinje, koji su se obrazovali u inostranstvu. Neda je u knjizi takođe pisala o školovanju devojčica tokom istorije, o nastanku prvih ženskih i feminističkih grupa, o ulozi partizanki u II s.r., radu AFŽ-a, i kritikovala je gašenje ove progresivne ženske organizacije. Značaj i vrednost ove Nedine knjige je višestruka, pre svega na polju rodnih studija u Srbiji.
Odlikovana je za učešće u II s.r. Spomenicom 1941, Ordenom bratstva i jedinstva sa zlatnim vencem, a iz rata je izašla kao rezervni major JNA. S početkom raspadanja Jugoslavije devedesetih godina, Neda, koja je tada imala preko 70 godina, ne mogavši da se pomiri sa nastupajućom tragedijom aktivno se uključuje u rad nekoliko pacifističkih, antiratnih i feminističkih organizacija.
Neda Božinović was a lawyer, a partisan, a politician, an activist and a feminist.
She was born in a village near Dubrovnik (Croatia) and she moved to Belgrade in 1935 where she begun her studies at Faculty of Law. During her studies she was active in students’ and youth organizations. Four years after arriving to Belgrade she became a member of, then forbidden, Communist Party of Yugoslavia, and she was committed to socialist ideas for the rest of her life. Shortly after joining the Party and the beginning of WW2, Neda had important roles in the Party and “on the field” as well. She was an active member of Women’s Antifascist Front (WAF) and worked on children’s protection and the empowerment of women. In 1941. she went to Montenegro where she was in charge of working with women and she was deputy of commissioner of the 3rd Nikšić Battalion. She was also the political leader of two brigades and the First Proletarian Division.
From 1945. Neda held important political positions. Inter alia, she was assistant to president of Commission of State Control of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, assistant to Minister of Labour in SFRY, minister in the Parliament and in 1963 she became a member of Constitutional Court.
Apart from all, Neda was an activist and a feminist who did a pioneer research on status of women in Serbia (from 19th to 20th century), issued in monograph “The women question in Serbia in 19th and 20th Century”. In this book Neda dealt with the genesis of the fight for gender equality, whose heralds were students and socialists who got their education in foreign countries. She also wrote about the historical aspect of girls’ education, the formation of first female and feminist groups, the role of female partisans in WW2, the works of WAF and she was opposing the abolition of this organisation. The importance and value of Neda’s book is immense.
She was honoured for her participation in the WWII, with Commemorative Medal of 1941, Order of Brotherhood and Unity With Golden Wreath, and she came out of WWII as reserve major of Yugoslav People’s Army. With the beginning of Yugoslavia’s disintegration in the ‘90s, Neda who was over 70 years old couldn’t deal with the coming tragedy decided to actively participate in the works of several pacifist, anti-war and feminist organisations.