The Patriarch of Serbian Orthodox Church, obliges the womans to give birth to children.

Serbian tabloid Alo! dedicated its front page to Serbian Patriarch’s Irinej’s comment that “Serbian women are obliged to give birth”, sparking anger and mockery on social networks. The Serbian Orthodox church has constantly encouraged Serbian women to have more children, for the sake of the nation. Irinej said for tabloid: “We are obliged to renew our nation and to recommend that mothers give birth to children through God's blessing”. The Patriarch’s comment immediately sparked anger from some people on social networks who condemned head of Serbian Orthodox Church for meddling into human rights. The chairman of the Serbian National Assembly Committee on Human and Minority Rights, Meho Omerovic, in reaction to the statement made by the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Patriarch Irinej said: “Religious dignitaries are free to ‘urge something that is based on divine rules’.” Omerovic then observed that women in Serbia decide for themselves, of their own free will, in line with the law – on whether or not to have children. Serbian cabinet minister and chairwoman of the Coordinating Body for Gender Equality Zorana Mihajlovic then reacted by saying that women “should be allowed” to have children “when they want to. ” But the recent declaration of the Serbian Patriarch Irinej has brought many reactions, especially on social networks. Many on social media have reminded the Church how hard and costly it is to raise children, and reminded them of the luxury cars the church is known for, and for the many properties. Many others mentioned the tax benefits that the Serbian Orthodox Church gets from the state.