Denitsa Panayotova’s baby started crying while she was in a mall in Sofia in August 2014. She began breastfeeding it, but soon after the security guard of the store she was in approached her and asked her to stop.

"My child was crying because it was tired and hungry. My natural reaction was to breastfeed it so that it can calm down and feel better. I never believed that this could be perceived as unpleasant," said Panayotova.

Immediately after she was asked to stop breastfeeding her child, Panayotova submitted a written complaint to the mall’s management. The chief of security, however, told her that breastfeeding on the property was not permitted, as the sight of it could be disturbing to other customers.

Panayotova never received a written reply to her complaint. She said that she found the situation deeply humiliating, as she was only trying to take care of her child.

'Victims only women'

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee will represent Panayotova in a lawsuit against the mall and specific store in which the incident occurred.

In legal terms, the case is an example of gender discrimination within the meaning of the Law on Protection against Discrimination. Breastfeeding in public should be seen as natural behavior for a mother when her baby is in need.

"Limiting this right is an act of direct gender discrimination, because victims are only women," said Adela Kachaunova, a lawyer for the BHC’s Monitoring and Research Program. "Obstruction of breastfeeding in public violates article 32, paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, guaranteeing non-interference in the privacy of citizens and the protection of their honor, dignity and reputation."

Attorney Daniela Fartunova stated that international courts are largely in favor of women’s right to breastfeed their children whenever and wherever they want.

"Every person’s right to private and family life is guaranteed by article 8 in the European Convention on Human Rights," she said.