Marta Prekpalaj is an exeptional activist and the first woman to serve as school principal in Has. She is the next activist who agreed to participate in an interview for the series of KWN publications on the contribution of human rights activists in Kosovo. Prekpalaj begins our conversation by going back in time – when she, together with the Organization Motrat Qiriazi (Eng: Qiriazi Sisters), worked tirelessly to eradicate illiteracy and empower women and girls.
“I remember that at that time the biggest problem for girls was going to high school. Most of them only had primary school education. I remember in my high school class in (1981) there were only three girls”, says Prekpalaj, adding that since then, she always wanted to help other girls to attend school.
Today in Has, that dream is realized. Currently, there are more female graduates of secondary school than male graduates. Prekpalaj recalls the opening of the first school in Gjonaj of Has, in1994, as well as the medical school in Romajë, in 1996.
She attributes both of these achievements to the Motrat Qiriazi’s efforts to educate the youth of Kosovo.
“With the activists of the Motrat Qiriazi, we have done many activities, we have held first aid courses, village by village, neighborhood by neighborhood. We have also organized health visits for those women who needed to travel to Prishtina, we have held sewing courses, and we have opened a library “, she says.
Much of Motrat Qiriazi’s work was taking place during a period of civil and military unrest in Kosovo. This was incredibly challenging for activists like Prekpalaj, however, it also made the contribution of the Motrat Qiriazi completely unforgettable.
During this conversation, she remembered the helping the women and children of Krusha e Vogel by transporting them by tractor.
“On the day when the massacre took place in Krusha e Vogel, women and children were sent to the river Drini i Bardhë, while I went out into the river with a tractor and sheltered them.”.
Prekpalaj has long collaborated with KWN, and talks about KWN’s contribution over the years to advancing women’s rights throughout Kosovo.
“After the end of the Motrat Qiriazi mission, KWN has begun to establish a network of women’s organizations in Kosovo, the Balkans and Europe. As an activist, I greatly appreciate KWN’s many years of activism, especially the meetings and gatherings of women that KWN has provided through out the years and still continues to provide.”
“These meetings are irreplaceable – they bring together women’s rights activists and talk about things that effect different areas,” she said.
Prekpalaj singled out the establishment of the Kosovo Women’s Fund as an important for financial support for local women’s rights organizations.
Finally, she has a message for women and girls who face difficulties in their career journey.
“I tell women and girls: You can become a principal, a teacher and everything else you want to achieve. All girls must have courage and will, and they will achieve everything they want,” she said.
In 2011 she established the organization Visionary Woman of the XXI Century. She received the Women’s Creativity in Rural Life Award from the Women’s World Summit Foundation in 2006.
