The Committee of Blind Women of Kosovo

31.08.2015

21.06.24

Public Call for Applications for Capacity Building and Sub-Granting in Gender and Climate Change Financing

19.12.18

Organization of Persons with Muscular Dystrophy of Kosovo (OPDMK)

19.12.18

Women’s Association “Aureola”

19.12.18

The Midwives Association of Kosovo

19.12.18

Handikos Mitrovica

19.12.18

Psychotherapists in Action

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Ministry of Education Marks Milestone in Gender Budgeting

24.08.2015

Since March 2015, the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (MEST) and Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) have been collaborating on institutionalizing Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) in MEST. 
   July marked a great success in this collaboration, since MEST prepared a GRB annex for its annual budget with KWN support. MEST has successfully prepared and attached this annex to its annual budget, marking the first step towards institutionalizing GRB in its budget documents and processes. This annex includes gender disaggregated information regarding public universities’ scholarship recipients, as well as gender disaggregated data on MEST staff, including by salary level. Such data can help elucidate inequalities in MEST budget allocations and within one of the most important sectors of Kosovo: Education. Identifying inequalities in prior spending can provide important information in planning for more equitable expenditures in the future. 
     GRB is now a legal obligation for budget organizations in the Republic of Kosovo. The new Law on Gender Equality 05/L-020 has a specific article on GRB, which obliges budget organizations to integrate GRB in their budget processes and documents. Further, the Budget Circular 2016/02 released by the Ministry of Finance in July 2015 encouraged all budget organizations to include GRB in their annual budgets. MEST’s annex can serve as a positive example for other ministries in the Republic of Kosovo in the future. 
   The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MLSW) achieved a related success, by also provided gender disaggregated data in their budget document 
While GRB is a simple concept and a legal obligation, it remains a new practice in Kosovo and beyond. Only a few countries have successfully integrated GRB in their budget documents (see, for example, Austria, the State of Berlin and Andalusia. Thus, MEST in Kosovo is now among the leading examples of how gender can be integrated into budget documents. 
    KWN and MEST collaboration towards institutionalizing GRB was funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA). KWN support to MLSW was supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

18.06.25

Workshop Held on Social Services, Rights, and Other Mechanisms 

12.06.25

Activists Engage in President’s Global Forum on Women, Peace and Security  

30.05.25

WCSOs Ask: What’s the Real Cost of Specialised Services for Gender-based Violence?  

30.05.25

Budget Red Lines: Community Session Calls for Action on Menstrual Poverty 

30.05.25

The Institutional Crisis Continues to Contribute to Discrimination Against Women 

29.05.25

Preventing and Protecting Blind Women and Girls in Kosovo from Violence 

Ajshe Osmani Nuhiu: Proud to Have Her among Us

18.08.2015

Ajshe Osmani Nuhiu passed away at the age of 70 on August 16, 2015 from a difficult disease. She was born in 1945 in a village near Viti. Since health was her passion, she finished high school for medicine in Prishtina and then continued her studies in the same field in Belgrade. 
     After her studies, she started working at the Kosovo Health Secretariat as a Coordinator for Preventive Health. She practiced this profession with great will and passion for more than 20 years. Her work included collaborating with UNICEF to provide drinking water for people in rural areas. More than 100 water pipes were provided to residents of different villages. She received a medal for her significant contribution and was decorated by UNICEF, the Federal Ministry of Health and the Presidency of Kosovo. 
     At that time, Ajshe also served as a Member of Parliament. In 1990 she was dismissed from her position since she did not accept to work for Serbian institutions. After that, she was never employed. This, motivated Ajshe to find other ways to help people in need, especially women and girls. 
     After the war in Kosovo, she was part of the labor unions of Kosovo and later on she founded the Association of Women Pensioners called “Vita Jeta”. Its mission was to empower and emancipate women pensioners by offering them psycho-social assistance, rehabilitation and health protection. 
     With her tremendous energy she welcomed many members into the organization. She increased the number of members from a few hundred to more than 1000. She enriched their lives with various activities, lectures and topics important to women pensioners, especially in the field of justice and human rights. Thanks to her engagement and advocacy together with other Vita-Jeta staff, more than 600 women received free medical checkups for osteoporosis disease. 
     “Hundreds of women, thanked our mother hundreds of times for the psycho-social contribution with which she provided them,” said Arber Nuhiu, son of Ajshe. 
     Rabije Slivova, coordinator of “Vita Jeta spoke of Ajshe as a very active woman who loved life. “Even during the last days of her life she gave us courage, and she spoke to us about our future activities that we will organize together. Since 2000, the year when the Association was founded, Ajshe has worked a lot with all the members of the Association,” Rabije said. “She will undoubtedly remain forever in our hearts and minds.” 
     Ajshe Nuhiu was a great support and inspiration for all women pensioners, who have cherished the hope for an active life after giving their contribution to this country for many years in education, health and other fields. 
     Her death is a great loss for Kosovo Women’s Network and especially for women pensioners. She has provided women pensioners with unlimited support and space to develop their creativity, as well as promote their interests and needs in a country where the status and living conditions for pensioners is very difficult. 
     “I am convinced that her work and contribution will remain as a guide for us and many other women who hope for an active life in their third period of life,” said Veprore Shehu, Executive Director of Medica Kosova.

 

18.06.25

Workshop Held on Social Services, Rights, and Other Mechanisms 

12.06.25

Activists Engage in President’s Global Forum on Women, Peace and Security  

30.05.25

WCSOs Ask: What’s the Real Cost of Specialised Services for Gender-based Violence?  

30.05.25

Budget Red Lines: Community Session Calls for Action on Menstrual Poverty 

30.05.25

The Institutional Crisis Continues to Contribute to Discrimination Against Women 

29.05.25

Preventing and Protecting Blind Women and Girls in Kosovo from Violence 

Photo credit: GIZ, 2015

Budget Analysts at the Ministry of Finance Take On Gender Responsive Budgeting

07.08.2015

On August 5, an important milestone was reached with the Ministry of Finance. This Ministry incorporated Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) in their Budget Circulars 2016/02 for central and local budget organizations, in accordance with the new Law on Gender Equality (2015).  On Augst 6, KWN met with the budget analysts of this ministry to discuss how they can advise budget organizations on how to integrate GRB in their budget documents.

As the organiser of this workshop and one of KWN’s close partners in seeking to institutionalize GRB in Kosovo, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) welcomed the officials and introduced the agenda. Alexandra Fehlinger from GIZ (Project Leader, Reform of Public Finance Systems) thanked the participants for their presence, also stating, ‘’I am not trying to convince you that GRB is the most important thing in the world, but today I would like to tell you that GRB is better budgeting. Something that Kosovo needs.’’
 
Indeed GRB can contribute to more effective, efficient and transparent spending that benefits more Kosovars, including women and men. Petrit Popova, Head of the Department for Municipal Budget, expressed his interest in this subject while noting that it might be a delicate one. He suggested changes that could be made within the budget to make it more equal for men and women. They, as budget analysists, must take on the responsibility to make a change by talking to budget organizations to incorporate this.  
 
After this positive note, Lukas Fischer from GIZ (Advisor; Component Leader “Support to Tax Administration” Reform of Public Finance Systems in Kosovo) gave examples of succesfull international experiences in integrating GRB into budget documents. He mentioned concrete examples from Berlin, Austria and Andalusia. However, he emphasized that due to the diverse nature of budget documents and contexts, there is no one way to “do GRB”. Therefore, participants discussed that Kosovo needs to identify the best way to carry out GRB as per its particular legal framework and processes. Pilot initiatives by KWN in the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Municipality of Kamenica and Municipality of Gjakova, supported by GIZ and the Austrian Development Agency, can serve as models for how Kosovo may be able to institutionalize GRB in the future.
 
Nicole Farnsworth and Donjeta Morina (KWN) proceeded to explain Kosovo’s new legal requirements  for GRB, what GRB entails, how this can be translated into central and local budget documents and how this has been done in the past with the aforementioned budget organizations in Kosovo. They specifically referred to the concrete steps taken by the Municipality of Kamenica and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare towards institutionalizing GRB.
 
Participants asked both general and specific questions on how to incorporate information from gender analyses in different economic categories. Following some lively discussions, most participants agreed on the need to delve deeper into the materials presented and perhaps organize follow-up discussions to further examine specific challenges that they might face in implementing their legal responsibilities related to GRB.

18.06.25

Workshop Held on Social Services, Rights, and Other Mechanisms 

12.06.25

Activists Engage in President’s Global Forum on Women, Peace and Security  

30.05.25

WCSOs Ask: What’s the Real Cost of Specialised Services for Gender-based Violence?  

30.05.25

Budget Red Lines: Community Session Calls for Action on Menstrual Poverty 

30.05.25

The Institutional Crisis Continues to Contribute to Discrimination Against Women 

29.05.25

Preventing and Protecting Blind Women and Girls in Kosovo from Violence 

Gender Responsive Budgeting in Kosovo’s Latest Budget Circular

06.08.2015

Kosova Women’s Network (KWN) in close collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the Ministry of Finance in Kosovo has been working to institutionalize Gender Responsive Budgeting in Kosovo. On 5 Aug., we received news that the Ministry of Finance, in accordance with the new Law on Gender Equality (2015), has incorporated Gender Responsive Budgeting in their Budget Circulars 2016/02 for central and local budget organizations. Citing Article 5.1.5 of the Law on Gender Equality, the latest Budget Circular ‘’encourages budget organizations to make the effects of public spending visible in terms of the equality of women and men, boys and girls in the annual budget for 2016.’’ This will contribute to enhancing the effectiveness and transparency of public financial management.

Moreover, the Ministry of Finance has incorporated an annex with tables that can be used to collect gender disaggregated data (proposed by KWN in collaboration with GIZ). The ministry encourages each budget organization to include these tables as an annex to their annual budget for 2016, using gender analysis of previous trends in spending on women and men to inform planned expenditures. Gender analysis of prior trends is crucial for informing specific objectives, activities and indicators towards enhancing gender equality in various sectors, in accordance with the Law on Gender Equality.
 
We congratulate the Ministry of Finance on their proactive work towards implementing the new Law on Gender Equality and the effort they made to encourage budget organizations to integrate Gender Responsive Budgeting into their budget documents.
 
You can find more information about Gender Responsive Budgeting  at the central level here: http://www.womensnetwork.org/documents/20141128100658219.pdf, at the local level here: http://www.womensnetwork.org/documents/20141128100554784.pdf, and at the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare here: http://www.womensnetwork.org/documents/20140702111942678.pdf
 
The new Law on Gender Equality and its reference to GRB can be found in Article 5.1.5, here: http://www.kuvendikosoves.org/common/docs/ligjet/05-L-020%20a.pdf
 
The Budget Circulars for 2016/02 are available here: http://mf.rks-gov.net/en-us/Reports/Reports-and-Publications/Budget-Circular

 

18.06.25

Workshop Held on Social Services, Rights, and Other Mechanisms 

12.06.25

Activists Engage in President’s Global Forum on Women, Peace and Security  

30.05.25

WCSOs Ask: What’s the Real Cost of Specialised Services for Gender-based Violence?  

30.05.25

Budget Red Lines: Community Session Calls for Action on Menstrual Poverty 

30.05.25

The Institutional Crisis Continues to Contribute to Discrimination Against Women 

29.05.25

Preventing and Protecting Blind Women and Girls in Kosovo from Violence 

KWN Recommendations Included in New Law on Gender Equality

31.07.2015

 As an member of the official governmental working group drafting the new Law on Gender Equality, the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) had the opportunity to review and provide detailed comments on several versions of the draft law. The process, which began in late 2015, has since concluded. From the more than 20 comments that KWN made on the most recent draft of the Law, seven were reflected in the new Law on Gender Equality (No. 05/L -020), adopted on 28 May 2015.   It was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Kosovo on 26 June and already has entered into force.

     Among the comments provided by KWN that have been successfully reflected in the new Law include:
  • Article 5.1.8: All institutions should collect gender-disaggregated data and submit it to the Agency of Statistics of Kosovo (ASK)
  • Article 8.1.9 and 8.12: Analyses of the status of gender equality in Kosovo together with a report on the implementation of the law should be published and made publicly available 
  • KWN, among other key stakeholders such as the Agency for Gender Equality and GIZ also advocated successfully for the Law to require all institutions in Kosovo to carry out gender budgeting.
    While we are happy that our advocacy was successful and some of the recommendations brought forth by KWN were taken into consideration, the still has several shortcomings.  For further information about these, please read our latest article: “Kosovo’s New Law on Gender Equality: The Good, The Bad, The Questionable”.  Even so, we hope that the proper implementation of this Law will contribute to furthering gender equality in Kosovo. For more information, click here to see the new Law on Gender Equality. If you have any comments or suggestions please share them with us. 

18.06.25

Workshop Held on Social Services, Rights, and Other Mechanisms 

12.06.25

Activists Engage in President’s Global Forum on Women, Peace and Security  

30.05.25

WCSOs Ask: What’s the Real Cost of Specialised Services for Gender-based Violence?  

30.05.25

Budget Red Lines: Community Session Calls for Action on Menstrual Poverty 

30.05.25

The Institutional Crisis Continues to Contribute to Discrimination Against Women 

29.05.25

Preventing and Protecting Blind Women and Girls in Kosovo from Violence 

American University organized 2015 summer School

31.07.2015

This summer American University in Kosovo organized the sixth Peace-Building, Post-Conflict Transformation and Development Program. The program, took place on the A.U.K. campus in Pristina, Kosovo from the 28th of June until the 31st of July. Participants included undergraduate and graduate students, as well as professionals from various fields and disciplines. The Summer Program 2015 in Kosovo, provided participants with a timely series of lectures and seminars, as well as role playing opportunities and visits to historic sites in the region. 
   Participants also had the opportunity to listen to a lecture from the women’s rights activist and director of Kosova Women’s Network (KWN) Igballe Rogova. Ms.Rogova spoke about the history of the women’s movement in Kosovo, highlighting the movement’s achievements to date, and the challenges it continues to face. 
   Overall, this Program provided an exceptional opportunity for students from around the world, including Kosovo, Serbia and other states in the region to study and debate, with academic experts and veterans of the recent conflict in Kosovo, the lessons learned from that conflict and to examine the efforts to build a new state in its aftermath.

18.06.25

Workshop Held on Social Services, Rights, and Other Mechanisms 

12.06.25

Activists Engage in President’s Global Forum on Women, Peace and Security  

30.05.25

WCSOs Ask: What’s the Real Cost of Specialised Services for Gender-based Violence?  

30.05.25

Budget Red Lines: Community Session Calls for Action on Menstrual Poverty 

30.05.25

The Institutional Crisis Continues to Contribute to Discrimination Against Women 

29.05.25

Preventing and Protecting Blind Women and Girls in Kosovo from Violence 

Kosovo’s New Law on Gender Equality: The Good, The Bad, The Questionable

30.07.2015

By Donjeta Morina and Nicole Farnsworth, Kosovo Women’s Network
Almost everyone seems to have an opinion about gender equality. For some, it is a “none issue”: men and women are ostensibly equal. For others, men and women can never be equal because we are fundamentally, biologically different. Still oth

Indicator

Female

Male

Juvenile crime suspects

2-4%

96-8%

Property owners

7.9%

83.4%

Persons repatriated (2010)

22%

78%

Presidents (ever)

1

5

Prime Ministers (ever)

0

6

National Assembly Members

40

80

Chairs of Assembly Committees

1

8

Mayors

1

32

Municipal Directors of Directorates

4.4%

94.6%

Municipal Assembly Members

34%

66%

Civil Service

38%

60%

Gross Upper Secondary Enrolment

88%

96%

Upper Secondary School Drop out

29%

71%

Labour Force Participation Rate 2012

17.8%

55%

Labour Force Participation Rate 2009

29%

68%

Unemployment

40%

28%

Youth Unemployment

63.8%

52%

Youth not in employment, education or training (NEET) 15-24 years

40%

31%

Business owners

8.2%

91.8%

Net income from Self Business

8%

92%

Accounts at formal financial institutions

31%

57%

% of women and men suffering domestic violence in their lifetimes (2008)

46.4%

39.6%

Nr. and % of domestic violence victims (reported to police, 2013)

869

80%

220

20%

Source:  Country Gender Profile, 2014
 ers believe that gender equality is important for the wellbeing of women and men, and that it has yet to be achievedAmid this debate, ample evidence exists that men, women, girls, and boys in Kosovo (and the world more broadly) are unequal (see table). Women are much less likely than men to own property or businesses, to be employed, to have bank accounts, to hold decision-making positions in government, or to live a life without violence. Men are more likely to drop out of secondary school early and to perpetrate violence. Indeed, gender equality is not only about women. It affects everyone.
Even so, in Kosovo women tend to be marginalized and discriminated against socially, culturally, economically and politically in many more ways than men. Given the inequalities that exist among women and men, Kosovo arguably needs affirmative measures towards creating a more equal society. This is what the new Law on Gender Equality seeks to accomplish: to “guarantee, protect and promote equality between genders as a basic value of democratic development of society” (Art. 1.1). It sets forth “general and specific measures to ensure and protect the equal rights of men and women, and defines the Institutions responsible and their competencies” (Art 1.2).
The new Law differs from the prior Law on Gender Equality Law (2004) in several important ways, summarized here.
What’s Good? (In KWN’s Opinion)
  • True equality: Equal representation is no longer defined as at least 40% of either gender, but rather as 50%. This includes at all levels of decision-making “in political and public life” (Art. 3.1.15 and 6.8)
  • Stronger requirements for gender mainstreaming in government policies: The new Law explicitly defines and requires (Art. 5.1.3.) gender responsive budgeting and gender mainstreaming in all institutional policies (for bodies “at all levels of legislative, executive, judicial and other public institutions). This means including a gender perspective “into every stage of the process, planning, approval, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of legislation, policies or programs and budgets, in all political, economic and social areas”
  • Clearer responsibilities: No longer condemned to photocopying alone (as many officers once were), the new law outlines very specific duties and responsibilities for Gender Equality Officers, who should be appointed in every Ministry and Municipality in Kosovo (Art. 12).
  • Improved definition of sexual harassment (Art. 3.1.12) and forbidding the victimization of persons who report it (Art. 4.6, 17.1.14).
  • Stronger fines for (some) violations of the law, including for the private sector.
  • Gender Identity: the new Law now extends to persons who identify with different gender identities or sexes, beyond the previously simple categories of “women” and “men”, guaranteeing equal opportunities and treatment in all areas of public and private life. The Law protects persons of different “gender-related identity, appearance or other gender-related characteristics of a person (whether by way of medical intervention or not), with or without regard to the person’s designated sex at birth” (Art. 3.1.9).
  • Power to mainstream gender: The Agency for Gender Equality remains in the Office of the Prime Minister, at a high level from which it can encourage, further, and monitor the implementation of the Law.
  • Gender disaggregated data collected, recorded, and submitted to the Agency of Statistics by all institutions.
  • Improved description of what constitutes gender discrimination in employment (Art. 15).
All in all, the new law is very important and, if properly implemented, will advance gender equality in Kosovo. While we are generally pleased with the new Law, we do take issue with a few aspects of it.
What’s Bad?
  • Misunderstands the concept of affirmative action. While the Law importantly foresees special measures (Art. 6), such as “preferential treatment, recruitment, hiring and promotion”, these are almost entirely undermined and become convoluted and confusing in the paragraphs that follow. Affirmative actions are important for furthering gender equality based on the assumption that 1) equality is important in itself; and 2) if one gender is under-represented in decision-making, then public policies and programs may not meet the needs of all people, even involving indirect discrimination.
  • Some funky definitions and terms: Some last minute changes to the Law revised significantly the definitions that had been written by gender experts. Sex (male and female) refers to biological traits. Gender refers to women and men and the social roles ascribed to them by the society in which they live. However, the new law often uses women/female and men/male interchangeably and inaccurately. It is unfortunate that a Law focusing on gender equality inaccurately defines these key terms and often confuses basic concepts relating to gender equality.
  • Declarative articles: While fines exist for some articles and others may be addressed through the procedures foreseen in the Anti-Discrimination Law or Criminal Code, several articles are merely declarative without any clear means of enforcement.
What’s Questionable?
  • Strong enough teeth? While the law foresees fines for some violations, ranging from €300 to €900, these fines may be insufficient for preventing individuals or companies from engaging in gender-based discrimination.
  • Mechanisms for implementation? A key issue with the previous Law on Gender Equality was that the mechanisms for reporting violations of the Law were unclear. While fines exist for violations of some articles, it remains questionable what the recourse will be for violations of other articles.
    Adopted on 28 May, the new Law on Gender Equality (No. 05/L -020) was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Kosovo on 26 June 2015 and has already entered into force. The Law is available online at: https://gzk.rks-gov.net/ActDetail.aspx?ActID=10923. Want to continue the debate? Leave a comment about this article on our Facebook page: Kosova Women’s Network.

 

26.04.19

Women’s Rights Centre Launches Report: Gender-based Discrimination and Labour in Montenegro

24.04.19

KWN contributes with recommendations to public consultations about ERA

16.04.19

Ruka Ruci briefs women of Uglarë to the “Strengthening Women’s Participation in Politics”

15.04.19

Reactor promotes new report on Gender Based Discrimination and Labour in North  Macedonia

11.04.19

KWN Launches Report: Gender-based Discrimination and Labour in Kosovo

11.04.19

KWN Launches Report: Gender-based Discrimination and Labour in Kosovo

Women’s Caucus and Women Assembly Members Support CBW’s Initiative

29.07.2015

As part of the initiative “Advocacy for providing free transport for blind persons”, the Committee of Blind Women of Kosova (CBW), recently organized a meeting with representatives from various organizations including, Women Assembly Members, The Women Caucus, members of CBW and Kosova Women’s Network (KWN).
   During this meeting, the Law for Blind Persons was discussed. This law, which was approved in 2012, says “Blind persons and their companions, when accompanying the blind person, shall enjoy benefits in payment, urban traffic is free, and in under urban traffic traveling payment shall be fifty percent (50%) of the value of the ticket.”
   During the meeting Halil Kurmishi, a lawyer, talked about how the law is not being properly implemented, the changes that need to occur,. Kurmishi and several other representatives also made several recommendations for addressing the inadequate implementation and enforcement. .
   Following discussion of the law, the Women Caucus promised that they would raise this issue at government level. In September, they will organize a meeting with all relevant stakeholders, which could increase coordination among all institutions in working towards the elimination of discriminatory practices resulting from the lack of enforcement of this law.
This initiative is supported by the Kosova Women’s Fund (KWF) in the amount of €2.750. KWF is funded by The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and The European Union.

18.06.25

Workshop Held on Social Services, Rights, and Other Mechanisms 

12.06.25

Activists Engage in President’s Global Forum on Women, Peace and Security  

30.05.25

WCSOs Ask: What’s the Real Cost of Specialised Services for Gender-based Violence?  

30.05.25

Budget Red Lines: Community Session Calls for Action on Menstrual Poverty 

30.05.25

The Institutional Crisis Continues to Contribute to Discrimination Against Women 

29.05.25

Preventing and Protecting Blind Women and Girls in Kosovo from Violence 

Gender Responsive Budgeting | Nicole Farnsworth | TEDxPrishtinaWomen

29.07.2015

28.03.25

Reaction of the Kosovo Women’s Network to the Recent Killings in Kosovo due to illegal weapons 

08.11.24

Press Release – Recommendations for the Kosovo Parliament  

05.11.24

Response to Klan Kosova – Do Not Promote the Perpetrators

04.11.24

Violence Against the Minor is Intolerable – KWN Calls for Justice and Immediate Action

17.10.24

Letter to the Chairman of the Assembly of Kosovo, Glauk Konjufca

14.10.24

Reaction: KWN calls for an urgent solution to the strike of technical workers of the Assembly