Kosovo Women's Network

KWN held its 15th Annual Assembly of Members

29.12.2017

On December 16^th, starting at 11:00 hrs, at Sirius Hotel in Prishtina, Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) held its 15^thAnnual Assembly of Members, attended by its members, friends, supporters and representatives of Kosovo institutions. The Assembly was moderated by Nertila Qarri Gërguri, KWN Project Coordinator.

Besnik Leka, Chair of the KWN Board, in the opening speech of the Assembly, among others, said, “My election as Chair of the Board confirmed once again a truth by which the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) is guided – the truth that our organization belongs to anyone that is willing and believes in equality. We are ending a year which, more than ever, confirms the relevance and necessity of the work of KWN.”

That KWN cooperates closely with local institutions, was also emphasized by Edi Gjonbalaj Gusia, Chief Executive Officer of the Agency for Gender Equality, who mentioned the continuous cooperation with civil society organizations and organizations led by women. Among others, she added that, “the Agency this year, as always, was engaged in promoting the Law on Gender Equality, commenting and observing its application and obstacles faced for a proper implementation of this Law […] wanting to create a more secure future for women and girls, and men and boys.”

Hilmi Jashari, Ombudsperson, expressing his pleasure to address the members of KWN, said that today is a proper time to talk about opportunities believing that together we can play a very important role as representatives of the people, pushing forward the demands and needs for an equal state. “I congratulate all women for all the work and activism you are doing despite the evils that are happening. I remind you that the Ombudsperson will always be by your side”.

Habit Hajredini, Director of the Office for Good Governance within the Office of the Prime Minister, reminded the activism and cooperation of women-led organizations with the institutions since early 2000s and the processes initiated the deferred jointly. Talking about equality, he added that, “We, the men, should be an example of raising the awareness of others to fight for human rights and against discrimination, in order to achieve progress in the changes that we demand for an equal society”.

To mark the success of initiatives undertaken by the members through the Kosovo Women’s Fund (KWF), a documentary movie was played presenting some of these initiatives. The documentary is available on the KWN website and youtube channel.

Igballe Rogova, KWN Executive Director, speaking of the work of KWN in 2017, of the activism and solidarity of women and men to advance gender issues, stated that, “I would like the motto of this year’s Assembly be that we are not a Network just because we work together, we are a Network because we respect, believe and take care of each other”. She further added that KWN this year as well has worked in achieving its mission to make Kosovo a place where women and men are equal and have equal opportunities to education, employment, political participation, healthcare and a life without violence.

Talking about the solidarity and achievements, Ms. Rugova said that, “I cannot but mention the activists that physically are not amongst us, but I believe that they see us and smile on us. They are Advije Gashi, Drita Vukshinaj, Ajshe Nuhiu, Dua Dauti and the great Sevdije Ahmeti”. She also informed the attendees that starting next year, the Kosovo Women’s Network will start to award Sevdije Ahmeti Award for the most distinguished activist of the year. Furthermore, Ms. Rogova informed that in spring 2018, KWN will hold a meeting with its members in Durres to work on developing and drafting a new KWN Strategy.

Reporting on the work of KWN in 2017 was also made by other staff members, where each one spoke about the part in which she has been engaged during this year.

Later on, outside the agenda, a poetry interpreted by five members of KWN, written by the well-known actress Safete Rogova took place, which was prepared as a surprise by the staff for the 15^thanniversary of the KWN.

During this year, KWN achieved to implement all these activities thanks to the financial support from UN Women, ADA, EU Office in Kosovo, Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, Swiss Contact, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Heart and Hand Foundation, KWN members and individual donors. The KWN Annual Report can be found in the website of KWN.

Following the reporting, KWN continued the tradition with the prize winning game for its members, whereupon Shukrije Gashi from Partners Kosova, Afërdita Zeneli from NGO “Dita, and and Ibadete Maliqi from NGO “Flaka” won prizes.

Further, the attendees were given the opportunity of open discussion about the KWN Annual Report and exchange of information between KWN members and partners.

Zana Hoxha Krasniqi, Executive Director of the Artpolis Center, awarded a letter of appreciation to KWN for the contribution to partnership, commitment and engagement in solidarity with the artists, activists and communities for the achievement of social justice in Kosovo. “Twinning fights inequality”.

After lunch break, the members elected 3 new Board Members and filled in questionnaires to assess the work of staff and KWN in the activities implemented throughout 2017.

The 15^th Assembly of Members was made possible by the support of the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, European Union Office in Kosovo and the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).

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Amnesty International publishes “Wounds that burn our souls”

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Wounds that burn our souls: Compensation for Kosovo’s Wartime Rape Survivors, But Still No Justice, was an Amnesty International’s report that was launched on December 13^th, at Sirius Hotel in Pristina.

This report discloses the devastating physical and psychological impact caused to the survivors of sexual violence during the war who have so far been marginalized by the society and have not received any support from the Government.

While moderating this presentation, Igballe Rogova, Executive Director of the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN), speaking of the survivors of sexual violence during the war, among others, said, “Today they enjoy legal protection and finally the budget for material compensation has been approved. Now, we hope they will trust institutions and apply for it”. She added that Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people who carry out campaigns for a world where human rights are enjoyed by everyone.

During the presentation of the report, Sian Jones, a researcher for Kosovo and author of the report called upon responsible institutions to do more for this category which has been neglected for two decades, especially as regards the punishment of perpetrators of these major crimes that occurred in Kosovo.

While Gauri van Gulik, Deputy Director of the Office for Europe and Central Asia, emphasized that, “As of January 2018, the survivors’ legal status will be officially recognized and at the same time they will be able to apply for rewards for the sustained harm […] For many of them it will be too little and too late”.

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Ombudsperson and NGOs marched for human rights

29.12.2017

The Ombudsperson along with several Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) has undertaken a joint initiative to mark the International Day of Human Rights. In this respect, on 10th of December, they gathered in front of the National Theater to march with the motto “Raise for Human Rights”.
"All of us, as organizations are gathering under the umbrella of the Ombudsperson to jointly raise our voice on human rights. Our human rights and freedoms are not applied as it is stated in the Declaration; however we will not stop, and this is the specific of today when we have come together to raise the voice for the rights of all groups in Kosovo, the women rights, the rights of LGBT communities and all fundamental human rights in Kosovo" Igballe Rogova, Executive Director of Kosovo Women’s Network said in her speech.
Furthermore, Hilmi Jashari – the Ombudsperson said that "It is a special day in Kosovo because all non-governmental organizations are participating. […] the declaration has been signed by 40 organizations so far and they have agreed to approach the public institutions." He also read the Joint Declaration.
The Ombudsperson Institution together with representatives of NGOs has signed a Joint Declaration, pledging to continuously defend the human rights. Through this Declaration, the organizers aimed to strongly convey their demand for comprehensive and inter-institutional commitment to promote and educate for human rights and fundamental freedoms and to undertake joint actions in order to develop an effective cooperation for respecting the human rights and fundamental freedoms in Kosovo.

Photographer: Atdhe Mulla

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Gender Responsive Budgeting discussed under the PPDL Certification Program

29.12.2017

On 15 December, Igballe Rogova – Executive Director of the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) delivered a lecture on "Gender Responsive Budgeting at Local Level" under the PPDL – Cohort 5 training .

Ms. Rogova initially presented a brief history of KWN’s work and the vision that KWN promotes for an equal society. She indicated how the Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) represents integration of gender perspective in all phases of budget planning, execution, monitoring and evaluation, making this process more efficient and equitable for all citizens. Since the Ministry of Finance, through the Budget Circulars and the Law on Gender Equality No. 05/L-020, obliges budget organizations to institutionalize GRB in their budget documents, KWN, among others, cooperated with different Ministries and Municipalities to help this process.

"The Gender Responsive Budgeting does not necessarily require additional budget, it does not require 50-50% split of the budget and is not just for women. Benefits deriving from the GRB help to reduce inequalities; it helps in effectiveness funds allocation, better reporting to the Ministry of Finance and in growth, prosperity and economic development ", said Mrs. Rogova.

As far as GRB is concerned, only in 2017, KWN has published reports on Budgeting on Better Agriculture and Rural Development and Budgeting for Gender Equality Improvement in Diaspora Programs.

Discussions and interactivity after the lecture by various participating officials were quite promising for their further work to reduce existing inequalities.

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