Initiatives for Services That Improve the Lives of All

Narta Neziri Nuka is a young mother of a 9-month baby girl. In a few weeks, Narta’s maternity leave ends and she goes back to work. Like many other women in Kosovo who find themselves this situation, Narta was faced with the child care options available to her. She had to make a decision, which proved to be not so easy.

According to a survey on demand, supply and options for childcare availability in Kosovo, conducted in 2016 by Kosovo Women’s Network, only an estimated 15.5% of Kosovo children use childcare. Public care services currently in place are insufficient to meet the demand, especially in the capital city, Prishtina. On the other hand, reliance on family members providing unpaid care services is prevalent.

It may sound mundane but with the changing social dynamics, demand for quality childcare service in Kosovo is increasing. Paired with high unemployment rate among women, estimated at 36.6%, and even higher percentage of women who are economically inactive, the childcare services provided by the private sector, become a huge opportunity for employment.

To tackle the issue from both ends: equip women and men with skills to help them find jobs as childcare providers, and by these services save women’s time on reproductive tasks thus increasing their productive role, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in Kosovo, through the Promoting Private Sector Employment project, partnered with the Women’s Business Association SHE-ERA to deliver a specialized training program for care services, including childcare.

92 people, of whom 2 men, have now graduated the program. They are the future childcare providers to be hired by families or educational institutions. These trained childcare providers put skills essential to bringing up children to the benefit of all, working alongside parents, families, and other members of the community. With their services, they will help free up the time of women otherwise spent in unpaid care work, thereby enabling these women to get paid work outside of their homes. This is a contribution to women’s economic empowerment.

When Narta heard about the training program by SHE-ERA, she decided to hire one of the newly graduated childcare providers. “I like the fact that this service provides security, and trained providers” she said. Narta interviewed several candidates but she knew right away that Besarta was the right one for her baby. Besarta Berisha, currently studying for her master’s degree in sociology of education, is happy with the new job. In October 2017 Besarta signed the employment contract. Both are about to embark on a new journey, each in the professional paths they have chosen.

After all, innovation is not just about codes and app development; it is rather about introducing a new product or service that provides a solution to needs and demands out there.

KWN Creates Advocacy Strategy for EU Accession

 On September 7, the Kosova Women’s Network (KWN) led a strategic planning workshop in order to inform its Strategy for furthering a gender perspective in Kosovo’s EU Accession process. 
       This strategy will include planned advocacy efforts for addressing specific bodies in the EU and Kosovo. Representatives of Kosovo institutions, civil society, international organizations and the European Union office in Kosovo, joined together to discuss topics such as: approximating Kosovo law with EU law: gender-based discrimination and labor rights; financing, supporting, and sustaining women’s rights activism; Improving and Increasing women-led CSO’s Involvement in the EU Accession Process, and Integrating a gendered perspective in IPA programming
        Attendees chose the topic that was most pertinent their work and then the groups identified key problems/issues within that particular topic. After discussion, the groups defined objectives and activities that KWN and its partner organizations could undertake in order to remedy the issues; and the expected results it would have. The discussion around these topics was intense and fruitful. 
        Some of the objectives that came out of the small group discussions centered around improved monitoring and evaluating of current projects in Kosovo, communicating to large donors about what types of funding is needed for long-term, sustainable change in communities, and increased knowledge amongst officials that gender equity is part of Kosovo law, which needs to be implemented. There were many more objectives and actions produced from these groups, and KWN staff are currently converting those into a working advocacy strategy. 
         There was also discussion about how best to improve further relationships between relevant government institutions and civil society organizations. In order for the EU Accession process to be successful, both sides need to work together, with donor organizations to better meet the standards outlined by the EU Gender Action Plan II. This action plan aims to provide a gendered perspective for all IPA programming by 2020. All sides are crucial to helping the most vulnerable populations of Kosovo, and should figure out better ways of working in tandem. If there could be a more fluid exchange of ideas and advice, as well as mutual support and trust, the two sides could make greater gains towards gender equality. 
       As of the end of the workshop, KWN has the basis for drafting an advocacy strategy to further a gender perspective in EU Accession. Participants and other key stakeholders will receive a copy of a draft of the strategy within the coming weeks, and then KWN will organize a second strategic planning workshop in order to finalize together this important strategy, which will guide KWN’s future advocacy work in coming years.  This workshop was supported by the Kvinna till Kvinna foundation, a long-time supporter and partner of the Kosovar Women’s Network. 

Lobby for Gender Equality discusses advocacy strategies

 On 8 September, in Deçan, the next-in-row meeting of  Lobby for Gender Equality in Kosovo  (LGEK) was held, attended by 104 Lobby members, representatives of local government institutions, international organizations and staff from Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN).

Yllarta Thaqi, Lobby member in the Municipality of Deçan, and moderator of this meeting, thanked the attendees, particularly Ms. Atifete Jahjaga, former President of the Republic of Kosovo and Ms. Alexandra Papadopoulou, Head of EULEX Mission in Kosovo. She was followed by Ms. Nurije Cacaj, representative of the Lobby for Gender Equality in Deçan, who, in her opening speech, welcomed all the attendees.
Ms. Atifete Jahjaga, former President of the Republic of Kosovo, congratulated, in her greeting speech, the Lobby members on the perfect work they have done since 2014, wishing them success when drafting the strategy for 2018. She highlighted, among others, that the low number of women in political entities is concerning; in the elections of this year, 32 political entities will run in 38 municipalities; of the total of 204 candidates, only 8 are women.
 “This concerning number indicates also the lack of democracy and gender equality”, Ms. Jahjaga added. “We cannot blame only men for this situation. Oftentimes, women became enemies of each other because of their ambitions. They compete against each other or use each other for their own benefit”. She called upon all women to support each other because it is only like that that we will achieve the desired purpose.
Later, the floor was given to Ms. Alexandra Papadopoulou, Head of EULEX Mission in Kosovo. She thanked the Lobby members for their work in promoting the rights of women and gender equality.
 “I know it from experience that time and dedication is needed. What you are doing here is to be admired and you deserve all the support of international organizations”.
Papadopoulou also emphasized the importance of including women and men, emphasizing that, “no society can move forward if it leaves half of it behind”.
Furthermore, Ms. Igballe Rogova, Executive Director of KWN, introduced a history of the Lobby and said that the KWN goals cannot be reached without cooperation with women in politics, which is also one of the reasons why the Lobby was established.
Afterwards, other Lobby members presented their activities carried out in their municipalities during this period. Representatives of some municipalities brought forward the issue of maternities being closed in Kosovo, particularly in rural areas where women have no Access to heath care. Recently, the maternity in Municipality of Kaçanik was closed, and in Dragash, there is only one building that has equipment and no gynecologist. Istog awaits the same fate, with a closure decision expected to be taken soon.
Lobby members agreed to bring these issues forward and advocate for changes alongside KWN once the Minister of Health is appointed.
This meeting was enabled with the financial support from the EU Office in Kosovo and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).

KWN Held its members bimonthly meeting

On 11 September 2017, the next-in-the-row bimonthly meeting of Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) members was held in Prishtina, attended by 42 representatives of KWN member organizations, members of Lobby for Gender Equality in Kosovo, representatives of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo and other KWN supporters.
            Igballe Rogova, Executive Director of KWN, opened the meeting welcoming all the attendees. She informed the members of the election of the new Chairperson of the Board, Besnik Leka, who said that he, “has always monitored the work of the Network and it is a privilege for him to be part of the Network”.
Later, Ms. Rogova expressed her dissatisfaction and disappointment at the number of women representatives in the new government; of 21 ministers, only two are women. Sharing the same opinion, the members decided to issue a press release on this matter as a Network.
Among others, she said that she has always had three dreams and two of them have come true and one only partially so. When it started to work like Qiriazi Sisters did, the women’s organizations did not have access to various donors due to various reasons. Her first dream came true through building capacities of KWN member organizations through the Kosovo Women’s Fund, which serves as a mechanism to empower such organizations. Her second dream to engage more men in the women’s movement in Kosovo, has also come true. Her third dream is about the solidarity among women, not only those among non-governmental organizations, but also those engaged in political domain. Unfortunately, this solidarity has not yet reached the level we want to see; therefore, we should work more to show solidarity to each other
In addition, she talked about the meeting of the Lobby for Gender Equality in Kosovo, which was held on 8 September in Deçan and said that it was a very powerful meeting where women from the civil society and those from politics discussed on concrete advocacy strategies towards reaching gender equality at municipal level.
Moreover, Mrs. Rogova narrated the semester report to KWN members concerning the activities carried out in line with the KWN strategy programs for the period from January to June; she was followed by Besa Shehu, Finance and Administration Manager, who presented the semester financial report.
Alba Loxha, Coordinator for Public Relations, introduced the draft of membership regulation, which was decided on by the members as well, to be drafted specially only for the membership. During the presentation, the members contributed various comments and suggestions; however, it was decided to consult regulation templates after the Law on Freedom of Association in NGOs is reviewed.
Furthermore, Magbule Elezi from the Kosovo Midwives Association, a KWN member, brought up her concern regarding maternities being closed in various municipalities because of gynecologists being in insufficient numbers. She said that the role of midwives must be promoted because once the midwives are involved, a maternity can function even without gynecologists. Therefore, a mother’s situation may be monitored even if it is worsened, because the midwives can provide the needed help.
Bahrije Deva from the Association for Education and Family Care, a KWN member, talked about a project that they are implementing these days, which relates to raising the awareness of girls of gynecological visits and the services offered by health institutions to women following their childbirth. She stated that it must be advocated that women be seen by midwives for at least the first five weeks following the childbirth. In addition, she brought up the matter of the involvement of psychologists in the entire process, because of post-natal depression in women, which is not dealt with seriously.
As these matters were considered highly important, it was decided to establish the Advocacy Group for Health, so that they advocate together for women’s access to quality health care in Kosovo. The Group met on 12 September to discuss the manners in which they can advocate for the raised concerns.
Afterwards, Feride Rushiti from the Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (KRCT), a KWN member, shared with the attendees the process and general situation of the survivors of sexual violence during the Kosovo war. She started by congratulating the Network on its achievements so far. “The concrete results are already obvious, and we hope that one of the priorities of the government will be the allocation of pensions for survivors of sexual violence during war. The elected committee and secretariat have been elected without any political interventions”, Ms. Rushiti said. She added that the civil society has advocated that this committee be initially trained for three months with a particular focus on the concepts of sexual violence as provided for in international covenants, domestic laws; on the consequences, interview techniques, and so on. 
This meeting was supported by the European Union Office in Kosovo.
 

KRCT aims at addressing the stigma surrounding the survivors of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo

“The purpose of the workshop is to increase the awareness of the current situation of survivors of sexual violence during Kosovo and the stigma surrounding them; to identify the main barriers and the measures to address the stigma at individual, community and institutional level”, Ms. Feride Rushiti, Executive Director of KRCT said in her opening speech.
The guests of honors to this workshop was the former President of the Republic of Kosovo, Ms. Atifete Jahjaga, Great Britain Ambassador to Kosovo, Mr. Ruairi O’Connell, and Head of EULEX Mission in Kosovo, Ms. Alexandra Papadopoulou.
 “After the dissolution of the National Council for the Survivors of Sexual Violence during the war, we witnessed a slowed-down process of recognition of these survivors’ status. Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MLSW) gave a positive impetus to the process; unfortunately, however, the Commission is slowing it down,” Ms. Jahjaga said in her speech. She further emphasized that, “It is our obligation as state and society to support the survivors of the sexual violence during the war”.
In the meantime, Ambassador O’Connell, speaking in a fluent Albanian, addressed the survivors of sexual violence attending this event. “I know that it has been 20 years that you have been fighting the stigma of sexual violence; you must be tired. But just like me you know that today there is no greater war in Kosovo than the war against stigma. Being a survivor of sexual violence is not to be ashamed of; it is not the survivor’s fault. Ashamed should be the one who committed this crime. Nobody can fight stigma better than you, because nobody can feel the pain more intensively than you do”.
Meanwhile, the Head of EULEX Mission in Kosovo, Ms. Alexandra Papadopoulou, in her welcoming speech, said, among others, that, “Providing the victims with sufficient support – whether psychological, social or economical and attempting to punish the authors of such crimes are two pillars of the attempts to overcome the stigma surrounding the sexual violence. The work and support of NGOs in this ongoing process is valuable and highly appreciated.”
            Organized in line with the Preventing Sexual Violence Global Initiative (PSVI) in London, the workshop brought together local and international experts to deal with the stigma surrounding the survivors of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo.
            Following the opening speech, activist and well-known actor Ms. Safete Rogova appeared in front of the participates and recited a poetry of hers dedicated to the survivors of sexual violence in Kosovo.
Furthermore, part of the agenda was a panel of open discussion composed of Ms. Igballe Rogova, Executive Director of Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN), Ms. Sabiha HusiÄ‹ from Medica Zenica Association in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ms. Kadire Tahiraj, Director of the Center for Promotion of Women’s Rights (CPWR) in Drenas.
            Speaking of the great work that was done during the mandate of President Jahjaga towards supporting the survivors and the slowing of the process of recognizing the victim status for these survivors, Ms. Rogova highlighted that, “Given that other mechanisms are extant, the new Government of Kosovo must speed up the allocation of the necessary budget so that the survivors of the sexual violence during war can, at least, enjoy their rights to pension, in compliance with the law”.
            The rest of the first day of workshop was reserved for group work; regardless of the profession and institution they represented, the attendees were split into four working groups. I. Individual perspective, composed of the survivors of the sexual violence during the war in Kosovo; 2. Role of the media; 3. Role of youth organizations and independent journalists; and 4. Role of institutions, in which representatives of state institutions, civil society and international organizations participated.
During the work in groups, the barriers influencing the stigma surrounding the survivors of sexual violence in Kosovo was identified along with the manners in which such identified barriers can be overcome and what measures must be taken.
At the same time, during the second day of the workshop, the work in groups continued identifying the necessary resources and the time limits to undertaken the measures and address the stigma. In addition, each working group was given the opportunity to present its work in front of the attendees, namely the other working groups.
The results of this workshop aim at contributing to the survivors’ increased access to rehabilitation, courts and other reparation programs.
 

Student from University of Massachusetts contributes in conducting Gender Analysis of Kosovo

Andrea Pulido from University of Massachusetts Amherst, volunteered this summer with the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) to help the research team conduct their Gender Analysis of Kosovo.
      Andrea loved learning about social justice in Kosovo, especially with a gendered perspective. Some of her favorite events included attending FemArt (the annual feminist creative arts festival), a conference held by the Kosovar Center for Gender Studies on “Gender Policies in Civil Society and Private Sector”, and a protest for the Justice of Zejnepe Berisha.
She was also interested in learning about the issues that ethnic minorities face in Kosovo.
      “Before Kosovo Women’s Network, I was aware of the gender issues within Kosovo but I had never researched how ethnicity and race affected the situation.”
      For the most part, Andrea worked on the Gender Analysis Profile, which asseses various sectors and institutions in Kosovo (e.g., healthcare, education, democracy/governance, LGBTQI rights, and employment). Through analyzing qualitative and quantitative data she was able to asses gender disparities within sectors, in order to later draft concrete recommendations to the Kosovar government and the European Union Office. She also conducted background research on sexual and gender-based violence in the Balkans to help inform KWN advocacy efforts in Kosovo and Europe.             
       Andrea plans on using this experience to broaden her idea of what feminism and activism looks like. She feels like this experience has prepared her to make gender-based conclusions and recommendations. In the future she wants to work for an organization and non-profit similar to KWN that manage to keep true to their initial goal of “prioritizing local women and their rights, without losing their vision.” She feels very lucky to have volunteered with an organization like KWN. 

Mitrovica Women’s Association empowers young women decision-makers

 On 14 September in Mitrovica, Mitrovica Women’s Association for Human Rights organized a training in the framework of “Young women decision-makers” project. This training was attended by 10 women candidates in local elections from the Municipality of Mitrovica, Director of MWAHR and representatives of Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN). 
     Considering the very small number of women candidates to Municipal Assembly and the very small number of women in decision-making positions, the organization initiated the implementation of this project which aims at increasing the number of women candidates for the Municipal Assembly members, greater participation in public debates and a broader inclusion of women in decision-making processes. 
               The training aimed to build the capacity for new women candidates, prepare them for public presentations. The topics dealt with in this meaning and of which women gained new knowledge included: communication, debate, public presentation, leadership. 
               One of the women who is running for the first time for assembly member added that, “The importance of this training is in empowering the women who participate in decision-making processes and that regardless of the fact that all the women present in this training were from different political parties, this training is important for each of us and empowers us as society, as women. The decision to get involved in politics was not easy and I hope that the other women will support us.” 
This project was supported by Kosovo Women’s Fund (KWF) of the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) and funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).

International Relations Committee of the House of Lords meets KWN and KRCT

In the second week of September, representatives of the International Relations Committee of the House of Lords, Baroness Coussin, Lord Grocott and Baroness Helic, Roshani  Palamakumbura, policy analyst, and Kenneth Morrison, advisor, stayed in Prishtina and Mitrovica to get closely acquainted with the current situation in Kosovo. On 19 September, the representatives of this Committee met with the executive directors of the Kosovo Women’s Network Igballe Rogovoa and Kosovo Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims (KRCT) Feride Rushiti.
During the meeting, the attendees discussed the developments and challenges faced particularly by women-led organizations, the socio-economic and political situation of Kosovo. A particular emphasis was placed on the discussion about the survivors of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo. Rogova and Rushiti informed the attendees in more details of their work and advocacy in the process of rehabilitation and recognition of their status as survivors of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo.
            “On 8 March 2012, we publicly sought legal protection and justice for the survivors of sexual violence. Today, we have been granted legal protection, but we must make sure that they see the already belated justice for them,” Igballe Rogova said.