Laura Papo Bohoreta

Laura Papo (; born Luna Levi; 15 March 1891–1942) also known by her pseudonym Bohoreta, was a Bosnian feminist, writer, and translator who devoted her research to the condition of Sephardic women in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She is considered the first Bosnian feminist, and the first in the entire Balkans.

Biography Family and early life Laura Papo Bohoreta was born in Sarajevo on March 15, 1891, into the poor Jewish family of Juda and Esther Levi. She was the first of the couple's seven children. Juda Levi was a trader who, having yet to succeed in Sarajevo, relocated his family to Istanbul in 1900. Laura was originally named Luna, but the family changed her name to Laura when they moved to Turkey because it was considered a more modern and international name. Laura attended the International French School for Jews, "Alliance Israélite Française," in Istanbul for eight years. After eight years, Levi's family returned to Sarajevo, just as poor as before, only with more children. To help her family, Laura gave lessons in French, Latin, and German, as well as piano lessons. With Laura's help, her sisters Nina, Klara, and Blanka (the mother of the famous writer Gordana Kuić) opened a salon called "Chapeau Chic Parisien" in Sarajevo. Immediately upon returning to Sarajevo at 17, Laura began losing interest in the Sephardi tradition and folklore, instead turning her attention to collecting romance poems, stories, and Sephardic proverbs. Additionally, she translated and adapted the works of French authors: Jules Verne's "Captain Grant's Children" and Emile de Girardin's "Joy of Fears" ("La joie fait peur – Alegria espanta").

She intended to teach women through familiar and frequent situations in each family, such as how to live, how to overcome current problems and meet the needs of both the family and society. Every woman can be a mother and work outside the home, without the bother of conscience, while respecting the Sephardic tradition. It should be kept in mind the fact that Laura lived in the Balkans in the period before, during, and after the First World War, and between the two wars, during the Great Depression and the fascist persecution of the Jews.