Kosovo Women's Network

Women in Gjakova Seeks their Right to Inherit Property

04.09.2017

Time Zenuni is a 49-year-old single mother of four who tragically lost her husband during the war in Kosovo in 1999. She had to work hard to raise her three daughters and one son without their father, and without much familial support.
     She felt that her hard work and creativity could pay off, so four years ago, she started making postcards, packages, and envelopes. However, she struggled to get a loan and could not afford to register her business.
Her land was in the name of her mother-in-law, who had long passed away, and Time had nothing to use as collateral for a bank loan. It wasn’t until she met with a Nora Shehu from Medica Kosova that the single mother learned about her property rights. Representatives from Medica Kosova informed Time that she could register the land in her name and walked her through the procedure.
     Time has filed the papers to inherit the property, and her case is in its final steps. Once she receives her title to the land, the single mother wants to expand her business. “I want to invest in my business. After my case is completed, I can apply for a loan from the bank, since I will have property to pledge as collateral.” But this is not all. Her land, located in the Dobrosh village, is blessed with fertile soil and a warm climate that is well-suited for agriculture. Time now hopes to grow walnuts, and her sisters-in-law Florie and Behigje, who have also received legal help from Medica Kosova to register their property, plan to cultivate raspberries. “I checked the open calls in September, and we will apply there for a grant to start cultivating walnuts and raspberries in Dobrosh in Gjakova,” says Time.
       Time, Florie, and Behgjie feel that they are setting an example and empowering other women in their village with their work. And they’re not the only women that received free legal support. Thus far, Kosovo Women’s Network with support of PPSE Swiss Contact has helped 150 women initiate action to register or inherit real property.

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Kosova Women’s Network Helps Fatime Register her House and Land

04.09.2017

Fatime Limaj from Banjë, Malisheva, defeated cancer, but her prolonged battle left its scars. What began as a treatment for an abdominal tumor led to complications that claimed her foot. She is now cancer free, but unable to find work because of her disability.
         Although Kosovo law guarantees protection and benefits for the disabled, the government has turned its back on Fatime.
With three children at home, an unemployed husband, and no income, she began to work her family’s land. She couldn’t apply for loans, nor did she qualify for any of the grants from the government or international donors. The land was not in her name, and she had no money to register as owner.
      She learned by word of mouth that a nonprofit group had begun assisting married couples register their shared property for free, covering all their administrative costs. Fatime talked to her husband about it, and they both decided to apply. With the support of Arta Shushka, the coordinator of the Open Door Association, Fatime registered her house as shared spousal property and her land as her own separate property.
       Now Fatime wants to apply for grants to double her arable land. “I think I will get the grants,” she says, “since I now have 20 more points according to the ministry’s application, just for having my own land.”
She is also contemplating using solar energy to raise crops all year through and employ more women in need.
“Right now I can only hire five women during the summer. I usually try to find women who are heads of household and help them. I intend to employ more workers in the future.”
        Parents of a daughter and two sons, Fatime and her husband want their children to inherit equal shares of their property.
“I have three children. I don’t care if they are girls or boys, they are still my children, and their sex does not determine their worth to me. They are all the same in my eyes.”
Thus far, Kosovo Women’s Network with support of PPSE Swiss Contact has helped 150 women initiate action to register or inherit real property.

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Remembering an Inspirational Activist: Dua Dauti Kadriu

01.08.2017

On 6 July, an angel departed from our earth. We at KWN continue to mourn the loss of our dear friend and fellow activist, Dua Dauti-Kadriu (36).

Dua’s name means love. In all her acts and words, she fulfilled the prophecy of her name. Dua was always patient, kind, honest, caring and ready with an encouraging word. Full of light and life, she refused to dwell on anything negative and constantly emphasized the positive aspects of every situation.

Dua’s life was full and her contributions many, likely far more extensive than those that we know. Here we humbly recount only some of her contributions to the women’s rights movement.

In 2005-2006, she worked as a researcher at the Kosovar Gender Studies Centre, where she contributed substantially to researching History is Herstory, Too. She spent several days (and nights) conducting oral history interviews with leading women’s rights activists and artists from Prizren, Krushe e Madhe, Vushtrri and Prishtina, documenting and preserving their stories of activism for generations to come.

In 2011-2012, she joined the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) as a staff member, researching and writing At What Cost? Budgeting for the Implementation of the Legal Framework against Domestic Violence in Kosovo. Dua was an intelligent and perceptive researcher, skilled at gathering information from diverse institutions and actors, with a flair for insightful analysis.

In the years that followed, whenever KWN was in need, of peer reviewers or last minute researchers (because someone had dropped out), Dua would jump in, travelling to Mamushe, Prizren and other municipalities at a moment’s notice. A skilled communicator, she conversed freely with diverse women in men in Turkish, Bosnian, Albanian and Serbian, including with regard to difficult topics like domestic violence. She volunteered regularly for KWN, donating thousands of hours to contribute to furthering women’s rights. She attended nearly every KWN bimonthly meeting, actively following the network’s initiatives.

In 2015, Dua became an individual member of KWN. She was a constant promotor of KWN and its work, recruiting several friends, family members and co-workers to join KWN as individual members, as well.

In 2015, KWN member organizations elected Dua as a member of the KWN Board of Directors, where she served in 2016 and 2017, including briefly as Chair of the KWN Board. In this position, she continued contributing substantially to KWN’s work with her positivity, encouragement and ideas.

With her unwavering energy and commitment, Dua was an inspiring role model for other women. While caring for her two children as a dedicated mother, she also worked full-time. Meanwhile, she simultaneously continued her own education. For years, she studied late into the night in order to finish her degree in psychology, as well as to finish in Law, passing the Bar exam.

Dua always divided time from her busy schedule to support others. She utilized her degree in psychology for counselling, not as paid work, but by lending a friendly ear to anyone who needed one, always ready to listen and offer support. She was an exceptional friend, and she always brought life, light and joy to social gatherings.

Dua served her community in many other ways. She was a member of the Independent Media Commission in 2017, and advocated for children’s rights, in her own way, for years. For example, after enrolling her children in school, she was concerned by the poor diets of children and the negative impact that it had on academic achievement. She worried for children who could not afford “cool” (albeit unhealthy) snacks and soda during recess, as they were teased by other children; and for the negative impact that consuming sugar has on children’s ability to focus and learn. She advocated both within schools and on television for parents and teachers to ban junk foods from school, promoting a healthy diet for all children. She also appeared regularly on television, discussing parenting techniques and child health.

Dua has left behind her wonderful and supportive husband, Halit; children Diella and Alpi; and the Kadriu and Dauti families from Prishtina, Gjilan and Prizren. We share our most heart-felt condolences with her family. Dua will forever live on in our hearts, memories and work.

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KWN Udpdates its Statute

01.08.2017

On 1 July 2017, the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) held its members bimonthly meeting, and it was attended by representatives of member organizations, staff members, Board members and other supporters of KWN.

Given that the agenda for this meeting was updating and amending the KWN Statute, Igballe Rogova, Executive Director of KWN, recalled to the participants the information that since the Annual Assembly of Members, held in December 2016, it was discussed to change the name of KWN in Albanian, shortening it to Kosovo Women’s Network (in Albanian: Rrjeti i Grave të Kosovës), since in Albanian the name has been longer.

Further, based on the change of name, it was decided that KWN’s Statute should be updated based on the latest version of the Statute of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

The last model of the KWN Statute has been approved on 4 December 2011, by the Assembly of Members, at a meeting held in Durres. The current model is based on the latest model (17.10.2014) published on the website of the Ministry of Public Administration (MPA), the NGO Department, in consultation with Law No. 04 / L-57 on Freedom of Association in Organizations Non-governmental organizations, as well as some comments and suggestions from members.

According to this Law, there are two models of Statutes, by the Assembly or the Board, depending on the highest governing body of the Organization. Since KWN’s highest governing body is the Assembly of Members, all changes made in the 11 articles are based on the respective model.

After the revision of all articles, the members agreed and approved all the changes. KWN staff continued with the procedures required by the Department of NGOs’ at the MPA in order to conclude this process.

The next meeting of KWN members will be held on September 11th. This activity has been supported by the European Union Office in Kosovo.

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CPWR & CPHF Advocate for the Rights of Women Survivors of Sexual Violence During the War in Kosovo

01.08.2017

Starting from July, the Centre for Promotion of Women’s Rights (CPRW) in Drenas, in partnership with the Centre for Promotion of a Healthy Family (CPHF) in Prishtina, for four months will implement the project “Empowering survivors of sexual violence during the war toward achieving their legal rights”.

The project aims at raising awareness, advocacy, documentation and empowerment of women and girls who have experienced sexual violence during the war, who live in the municipalities of Drenas, Skenderaj and Pristina. During the implementation of the project, awareness-raising sessions will also be held with families and communities, and there will be advocacy at the local institutions for the economic empowerment of survivors of sexual violence during the war.

The fact that in these municipalities there is a large number of women and girls who have experienced sexual violence during the war, has made the CPRW and CPHF collaborate with the aim of recognizing these women as civilian victims of war.

On July 17, the third informative meeting with women and girls was held so that they could get acquainted with their legal rights and application procedures for the status of a civilian victim of war.

The trainer Eronita Brahimi presented in details the Law on amending the Law no. 04 / L-054 on the status and rights of martyrs, invalids, veterans, members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, victims of sexual violence, civil victims and their families, as well as other categories of war, explaining also the role of the Commision created for the acceptance of the applications for recognizing the status survivors of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo, for which NGOs’ that will support the verification process were authorized.

In March 2014, the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo approved the amendment of Law no. 04/L-054 on the "status and rights of martyrs, invalids, veterans, members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, victims of sexual violence, civil victims and their families" to formally recognize and include the status of civilian victims of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo. The status entitles 20,000 women in Kosovo to monthly pensions and other benefits as prescribed by law. The National Council on Survivors of Sexual Violence during the War, established in 2014 by the former President of Kosovo, Mrs. Atifete Jahjaga, developed the necessary legislation and sublegal acts that create preconditions to ensure that survivors of sexual violence will have access to the benefits mentioned in the previous law.

On 19 April 2017, the Government of Kosovo published the National Strategy of the Republic of Kosovo for Protection from Domestic Violence and Action Plan 2016-2020. The strategy relies heavily on data and remarks made by the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN), respectively in about 70% of the recommendations of the recent report "No More Excuses – An Analysis of Attitudes, Incidence and Institutional Responses to Domestic Violence in Kosovo".

One of the beneficiaries of the project, who is a survivor of sexual violence, stressed that "the consequences that have been caused to us are enormous and that every day because of them we live with fear, suffering and pain. A strong blow is also given to the society that stigmatizes and humiliates, as if that has happened to us is our fault." Women, survivors of sexual violence, hope that one day justice will be established and the perpetrators punished for their actions.

This project is supported by Kosovo Women’s Fund (KWF) of KWN and financed by the European Office in Kosovo.

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Women in Mamusha and Gllogovac Advocate for their Property and Inheritance Rights

01.08.2017

On 20th and 21st of July, the organization "Partners Kosova" – Center for Conflict Management, in the framework of the project "Women’s Advocacy for their Property and Inheritance Rights", organized one-day presentations in the Municipality of Mamusha, respectively of Drenas. These two presentations were attended by 55 women, including women survivors of sexual violence during the war in Kosovo.

The aim of this presentation was to raise awareness among women, girls and youth through information on women’s rights and gender equality, within the applicable legislation in Kosovo, focusing on the right to participate in property and inheritance sharing. The presentation also aimed to provide participants with relevant guidelines on how to advocate to relevant institutions of the Republic of Kosovo regarding their property rights and inheritance.

During the presentation, it was discussed about the legislation in force in the Republic of Kosovo, which guarantees and protects the right to property and inheritance of both sexes, in this case with special emphasis on the rights of women, including the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and other laws, such as the Law on Gender Equality, the Law on Property and Other Real Rights, the Law on Inheritance, the Anti-Discrimination Law, the Law on Family, the Law on Free Legal Aid (these and all other laws in force in the Republic Of Kosovo can be found alphabetically listed here) as well as the accompanying administrative instructions (which, sorted by the years when they entered into force, can be found here).

"We came here to learn what our rights are in this area, as in many cases in Kosovo, siblings, in this case sisters for example abandon inheritance in their father’s family, because according to the mentality here ‘one can not take brother’s inheritance’," said one of the participants in the presentation held in Drenas.

An important part of the presentation held by Partners Kosova in these two municipalities was the introduction of the role of notaries in these processes, as well as guidelines on what women should know about their rights, when contacting notaries for such cases within their families.
"To escape the pressure that may be caused by the patriarchal mentality, or in any case by a family member who objects your inheritance and property rights, notaries are obliged to meet family women separately at their office, asking them in full privacy whether they are pressured to renounce their legacy or are they doing so by their own will, as such a decision is irreplaceable," said one of the trainers during the presentation.

Special emphasis during the presentation was put to advocacy and the necessary steps for advocating for the division of property and the right to inheritance.

This project was supported by the Kosovo Women’s Fund (KWF) of Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) and funded by the European Union Office in Kosovo.

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Dragash and Deçan exchange experiences in Including women in decision-making

01.08.2017

The non-inclusion of women and girls in decision-making processes continues to be a problem in the municipality of Dragash / Dragaš. They still do not participate in public meetings wherein important issues which are related to their lives are discussed. The Women’s Initiative Association has taken steps to mitigate this phenomenon in Dragash, by encouraging and motivating women and girls of this municipality to be active in social and political life.
          At the same time, the Women’s Initiative Association is organizing workshops and meetings with girls from the remote and deepest mountain villages of the Albanian community and the Gorani-Bosniak community, since in most of these villages still there is no girl / woman employed, despite the education of some girls recently.
      “Non-employment of girls and failure to provide a better perspective for young people has influenced a large number of young people in this municipality to move to other cities of Kosovo or even migrate abroad in order to ensure a better life”, said the director of the organization, Ms. Xhejrane Lokaj.
         In the course of the activities of this initiative a meeting took place on 5 July in Dragash / Dragaš. This meeting was aimed at exchanging experiences between the municipalities of Dragash and Deçan. In this meeting initially a brief presentation was made for the participants from Dragash and Deçan by the deputy mayor of Dragash, who spoke about the extent, territory, number of population and initiatives that have already been taken by this municipality. In his speech, Selami Sahiti also said that “women today are present in education, health institutions; today they are MPs, hold very high positions and are very skilled in their work”. Among other things, he stressed that “empowerment of women means the empowerment of the state”. He also asked from women to be more united and more supportive of each other.
          Lindita Kozmaqi-Piraj, the Gender Equality Officer in Dragash / Dragaš Municipality, emphasized that the Dragash municipality has tried to push forward initiatives to include women in rural areas in decision-making processes but they have not been successful so far, and stated the problems that this office has encountered during its work. “The Albanian community has overcome the challenge of non-education of girls, while for the other non-majority communities non-education of girls and early marriages still remain among the key issues”, she said.
        During the meeting it was pointed out that in the municipality of Dragash / Dragaš women do not hold high positions. There is not even a single woman director of any hospital or other institution. While, compared to Dragash, Deçan is in a better position in this regard as this municipality has a woman who is a school director and the only public day care is run by a woman. During the meeting there took place many discussions and were shared practices on how to put in function the day care of Dragash which currently is not functional, by taking as example advocacy strategies used by the municipality of Deçan.
       This initiative is supported by Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) and is funded by the European Union Office in Kosovo.

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Serb and Roma Women in the Municipality of Vushtrri Discuss their Health Rights

01.08.2017

On 21 July, "Luna" organized a training in the village of Prelluzhë within the scope of the project “Healthy Woman – Healthy Society”. This training was attended by 15 women from villages Prelluzhë, Grace and Plemetin, the representative of the organization “Luna”, Doctor Zekije Shala, representatives of organizations "Open Door" and "Ruka Ruci", as well as representative of Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN).
        The purpose of the project is advocacy at the Ministry of Health and local health institutions in the municipality of Vushtrri / Vucitrn for providing gynaecological health services for Serb and Roma women from Vushtrri / Vucitrn Municipality, respectively from villages Prelluzhë, Grace and Plemetin. Through this project the organization “Luna” intends to raise awareness of women on their health rights through the provision of training on breast self-examination, prevention of breast and cervical cancer and on assistance techniques and support of women affected by these diseases.
        “Raising women’s awareness on these diseases and the importance of regular check-ups is the first step and the only way for women to be informed and understand the importance of advocacy at institutions to start providing gynaecological services to the Family Medicine Centres of these Villages”, said Ms. Stanica Kovacevic, the representative of the organization “Luna”. She also stressed that apart from the lack of specialist doctors for these diseases, women in these villages face the problem of transport and free movement, which hinders their access to health services. “In addition to advocating for the provision of health services, we will also advocate to officials in the municipality of Vushtrri for arranging a transport line, which will pass through these villages”, added Ms. Stanica.
        In addition to the regular training on topics such as breast self-examination, breast and cervical cancer prevention, and techniques for assisting and supporting women affected by these diseases, Dr. Zekije Shala also offered the participants the opportunity to consult on their health problems, by advising them depending on their case and need.
          The participants expressed gratitude for this project and being satisfied with the knowledge acquired from the training, thanked the organization “Luna” as well as the doctor for providing advice and consultations on these diseases. One woman said “I will inform all women who I know have such health problems to come to the next training and consultations. As we do not have any specialist for these diseases near our village, visits of Dr. Zekije are very important for us”.
         The implementation of this project is supported by the Kosovo Women’s Fund (FGK) and is funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).

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KWN and BIRN Monitor Gender-based Violence

26.07.2017

On 21 July 2017, the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) organized a training for monitors from the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN). The training was held in the framework of cooperation that these two networks recently began, monitoring the work of Kosovo institutions in ensuring justice, protection and rehabilitation in cases of gender-based violence.
Gender-based violence involves any form of violence committed by one person against another person because of that person’s gender. In Kosovo, women and girls are significantly more affected by different forms of violence, only because of their gender. Knowing this, KWN and BIRN have joined forces to fight gender-based violence, aiming to increase institutional accountability in addressing it, to deter persons from perpetrating it, as well as to encourage citizens to report it. The types of cases to be monitored include domestic violence, sexual harassment, sexual assault, rape and any other form of gender-based violence.
Training participants were informed about gender-based violence, its forms, the duties and obligations of relevant institutions in addressing it and standard operating procedures in protection against domestic violence. Participants also discussed gender biases and stereotypes that may affect poor implementation of institutional responsibilities related to gender-based violence, drawing from evidence from KWN’s prior research on domestic violence and sexual harassment.
KWN and BIRN will begin monitoring institutions in July 2017. The networks encourage persons reporting gender-based violence to inform us about any poor performance by institutions in treating their cases. Further, please do inform us if you would like a well-trained monitor to follow your case as you approach police and other institutions, towards monitoring how these institutions treat your case in accordance with their roles and responsibilities. This can contribute to holding institutions accountable to carrying out their responsibilities correctly.
The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) is supporting this monitoring initiative. The initiative also is contributing to the implementation of the EU Gender Action Plan II in Kosovo, by improving the ability of media to investigate, research and report on gender-based violence.

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KWN Members Create Effective Advocacy Strategies

21.07.2017

Advocacy is an active process in which we try to change a policy or a law, by targeting relevant institutions and involving citizens in changing the things we want to change.

KWN has pushed forward many issues through advocacy, by carrying out various campaigns, public discussions, researches, etc.

In order to have a successful advocacy, it is important to create an effective advocacy strategy. During the mentoring, KWN members have sought to learn more about effective advocacy in order to create effective advocacy strategies in the future.

Therefore, on 18 July, at the European Union Information and Cultural Centre in Kosovo, KWN held the “Effective Advocacy” workshop, which was attended by over 20 representatives of KWN member organizations.

In this workshop led by Nicole Farnsworth, Program Manager at KWN was discussed about effective advocacy, by paying attention to the review of advocacy cycle, situation and problem analysis, objective analysis, and so on.

Whilst, in the second part of the workshop, members who were divided into different groups, with the help of KWN staff started analysing the problem and thereupon started drafting their strategies for their existing advocacy goals.

Thus, the women’s property and inheritance rights group analysed the problems faced by women and girls in the enjoyment of their rights starting from the patriarchal mentality, lack of information, and problems with (non) application of the law. Thereupon, they proposed alternatives and concrete solutions for which they will continue to work so that women and girls in Kosovo enjoy equal rights to property and inheritance.

One of the working groups in the "Effective Advocacy" workshop worked on creating a strategy to support the survivors of sexual violence during the war, respectively to reintegrate them into our society. This strategy included activities aimed at the economic empowerment of these women through reparations which are to be provided to them by the state, then their vocational training up to their (self) employment as ways to help their reintegration into society. Within the strategy were included also awareness raising campaigns aimed at changing the mentality of our society to support these women and not blame them for the crime committed against them.

“I am a student, and I have already started to carry out the internship in one of the member organizations of the KWN, specialized in working with survivors of sexual violence during the war. However, this workshop has given me a clear idea of ”‹”‹the advocacy cycle (circle); analysis of groups of interest, situation, problem and objectives, and so I think I have gained initial knowledge of how to create an advocacy strategy”, one of the participants of the workshop said.

Whereas in the project group for capacity building of women farmers in rural areas, several parts of the advocacy strategy were drafted, such as drafting the problem “tree”, the vision “tree”, stakeholder analysis and advocacy action plan. The Group decided that advocacy for the problem of non-representation of women in rural areas in agriculture should be done at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development (MAFRD) for better methods of information on grants and subsidies provided; at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), for improving women’s awareness of their property and inheritance rights; at the Ministry of Economic Development (MEC) for support as regards the trainings and counselling for the creation and development of micro-businesses; and at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), respectively the Kosovo Investment and Enterprise Support Agency (KIESA), for more effective information methods on the grants they provide to women in business. The group also decided that advocacy should take place in a parallel manner at the local level, in the respective municipalities, too, depending on each project.

After the workshop, the members had already created their own advocacy strategies for implementing the latter in their initiatives during this year.

This workshop was supported by the European Union office in Kosovo

19.03.26