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

 

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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. 

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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.

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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.

 

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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.

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Gender Responsive Budgeting | Nicole Farnsworth | TEDxPrishtinaWomen

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Women and Girls advocate successfully in the municipality of Novo Brdo

Women and Girls advocate successfully in the municipality of Novo Brdo

22.07.2015

 Even though July has seen extremely high temperatures, the Foundation for Education and Development (FED) has not been prevented from implementing their initiative, “Say no to prejudices”. The main goal of this initiative is two-fold: to gather women and girls together to discuss their mutual problems; and at the same time, to break ethnic prejudices by having them advocate together for these problems.
   So Far, FED has united 20 Albanian and Serbian women and girls, who were able to discuss mutual issues during several meetings.  These meetings also served to teach the women how to advocate to the officials of the Novo Brdo Municipality for three priority issues which they identified..  
   On 21 July, the women and girls gathered in Novo Brdo for a roundtable where they had the opportunity to speak in front of the Mayor of the Novo Brdo Municipality, Svetislav Ivanovic, the Vice-president of the Municipality, Bajrush Ymeri and to the Chairperson of the group of women parliamentarians in the Municipal Assembly of Novo Brdo, Shefkije Mehmeti. The three main issues they addressed are the following:
   First of all, The booth, which was placed and furnished from the past project of FEZH (supported by KWF) near the information center of Novo Brdo, is now to be reopened with the help of the Municipality. The group of women asked the mayor for the booth to be placed near the Municipal building, since this location is frequented more often by people. At the same time they also requested that the booth have a transparent job application process that is open to all citizens so that they may apply for the position of a salesperson in this booth.
   The second issue brought up by the women focused on property rights and inheritances. Although the land of Novo Brdo is very fertile and well-suited for agriculture, property and inheritance rights still remain taboo topics. Therefore, there is a  great need for women from Novo Brdo to organize at least two meetings with the help of the Municipality in particular the Office for Gender Equality. “During these meetings women from the two communities can get to know each other and to discuss the mutual problems they are facing in regard to property and inheritance,’ said Vjollca Zeqiri, the executive director of FED.
Even though Nazmije Bunjaku, official of property taxation in Novo Brdo, said that citizens have started to become more aware of registering their properties and paying regular taxes for them, few properties are registered by women. “I can say that out of 350 properties, for this year, 10 have been registered by women. This is a big step if we compare it with the previous years.”
   The third issue for which the women advocated was related to the work of the Red Cross. The group of women asked Selvete Zymberi, an official from the Red Cross in Novo Brdo, for this institution to become more transparent in their activities. Zymberi also informed the women about the current programs they have, including: health education, youth activities, and first aid in schools etc. “Citizens can get information about these activities through our leaflets which we publish regularly,’ said Selvete Zymberi. Women participants continued to advocate for greater transparency, proposing for these leaflets to become available to all citizens by placing them in the Citizen’s Service Centre within the Municipality of Novo Brdo. The center is one of the places that is being frequented most by citizens.
    The Mayor of the Municipality, Svetislav Ivanovic congratulated women and girls for this initiative and for these concrete proposals, which can be implemented by the municipality. 
The initiative is supported by the Kosova Women’s Fund (KWF) with the amount of €2,350. KWF is funded by Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and European Union Office in Kosovo.

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Resolution of Feminist Economists gathering at the IAFFE conference in Berlin, July 16-18, 2015

20.07.2015

We are shocked that the EU institutions and European leaders are imposing on the people of Greece a further program of austerity that will severely undermine the living conditions of women and men and plunge them into a deep crisis of deprivation. This hits Greek women particularly hard as they will have to provide the safety net of last resort through intensified work of taking care of their families, friends and communities.
As feminist economists, as well as many other economists, have stressed over many years, the debt burden is unsustainable, this fact has recently even been acknowledged by the IMF. Thus, the hardship imposed on Greek people will not resolve the problem of its indebtedness, but it will rather worsen the great depression.
The fate of women, men and their families should not be abandoned by EU institutions and politicians and left in the hands of financial powers. The same neoliberal political perspective under the name of “structural adjustments”, has led to enormous sufferings and political instability in Latin America, Asia and Africa. As we know, the vicious circle was only interrupted by a drastic change in political perspective and policies.
Women across Europe, although in different ways according to class, citizenship and ethnicity, have already been disadvantaged by the neoliberal policy of the EU institutions and member state governments. The proposed action against Greece will further damage women’s economic and social status and autonomy in all EU countries.
In addition to jeopardizing the independence and democratic basis of a Member State government, austerity imperils women’s and men’s power to design and implement transformative policies for a sustainable and democratic future that puts women’s and men’s well-being at the center.
Painful lessons of history, especially of the First and Second World War, should never be forgotten. Europe has to be alert to the political and economic dangers that are embedded in this austerity approach. Furthermore, history teaches us that these problems can only be solved by significant debt reduction, as for example in 1953, and by international solidarity and collaboration.
We call upon EU leaders and in particular the government of Germany to come to an agreement with Greece respecting the dignity of Greek people and democratic processes, including
  • an immediate moratorium on Greek government debt and negotiate a write-down of this debt,
  • a progressive fiscal policy that takes into proper account the distribution of income between labour and financial capital; sustains the process of social reproduction that enables women and men, in their life cycle, to live and work with dignity; promotes the creation of high-quality jobs, aiming at a substantial reduction of working hours for all, and investment in public services and care infrastructure. 

 

Source: European Gender Budgeting Network
Gender Budgeting in Europe-NOW!

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Second Group of Peace Corps Learn about Women’s Rights in Kosovo

15.07.2015

On 15 Jul., KWN Executive Director Igballe Rogova spoke to 37 Peace Corps volunteers about women’s movement in Kosovo, its start in 90s, the movement’s achievments until now and the challenges it faces. The volunteers are the second group to volunteer in Kosovo. They’re participating in a three-month comprehensive cross-cultural, language and technical training before starting to their specific regions across the country to teach English in primary schools.
    The Peace Corps Program in Kosovo was launched on 9 Sep. 2013 with an official signing ceremony at the Office of the President in Pristina. The Program was invited to start its work by President of Kosovo madam Atifete Jahjaga, who signed the agreement along with Helen Lowman, Peace Corps former Regional Director and current Associate Director of Volunteer Recruitment and Selection.
    “With the great support of USAID and the U.S. Department of State, the Peace Corps looks forward to establishing a vibrant and enduring program in Kosovo,” Lowman said following the signing ceremony.
     Upon signing this agreement, Kosovo became the Peace Corps’ 140th country of service since its establishment in 1961. It is also the organization’s first entry into a new country since opening a program in Cambodia in 2007. Peace Corps staff visited Kosovo after the agreement was signed and worked together with Kosovo’s government to identify the local communities that would be best served by the agency’s volunteers.
    Peace Corps volunteers are also encouraged to participate in community and school-based projects. This offers opportunities to share experiences, exchange skills and knowledge and establish increased understanding between volunteers and their host communities. The Peace Corps approach is built on the importance of people-to-people, grassroots exchange of ideas.
    Since its founding by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1961, more than 210,000 Americans have volunteered across the globe. The Peace Corps’ mission is to promote world peace and friendship by fulfilling three main goals: help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women; help promote a better understanding of Americans by the peoples served; and help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. Currently, volunteers are working in local communities in the focus areas of agriculture, community economic development, education, environment, health and youth development.

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AWGj & Artpolis collaborate to create mechanisms against sexual harassment

01.07.2015

“Artpolis” and “Active Women of Gjakova” organized a joint training about the methods of advocacy and the legal mechanisms needed to address sexual harassment in public universities. The training was held on 1 July, 2015 at Hotel Sirius, in Prishtina as part of the Networking for Change Grant, which was granted to these two organizations by Kosova Women’s Fund.
    To address sexual harassment in public universities, the two organizations have invited young women activists, who study at the Prishtina University and Gjakova University. Getting together through meetings and trainings they will learn how to advocate to initiate the process of creating legal mechanisms against sexual harassment in public universities.
“This is the start of a hard and long process, which requires a full engagement for a long period of time. We hope to achieve to make changes,” said Zana Hoxha Krasniqi, director of “Artpolis”.
    During this training, the participants had the opportunity to learn about interactive advocacy methods from the trainer Dardana Mehmeti. She showed concrete methods on how to advocate through art and street actions. While, in the second session, the participants worked in groups, where they analyzed the aim of this initiative using the SWOT and SMART method. These methods assisted the girls in defining the strategies they will use when doing advocacy with relevant institutions.
    They shared personal cases of sexual harassment that happened to them in the universities where they studied and discussed ways of approaching in these cases. One concerning issue that emerged during the discussion was; what to do in cases when evidence of sexual harassment is missing. Gresa Rahmani, student at the Prishtina University recommended that “in cases when there are more than 5 cases that report sexual harassment towards one person, then the institutional mechanisms need to investigate this case even if there evidence is missing.” She proposed for this recommendation to be part of the legal mechanisms against sexual harassment in public universities.
    During the third session, the trainer Ariana Qosaj- Mustafa informed the participants for the legal framework of Kosovo, especially for the laws that define and punish sexual harassment. They include: the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo (2008), the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women – CEDAW (1979), which is part of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo. The Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo (2012), the Law Against Discrimination, the Law on Gender Equality (2015), the Law on Civil Service of Kosovo (2010) and the Law on Public Peace and Order (2009).
    The young women will continue to work for the aim of this initiative, through trainings and meetings that Valbona Doli-Rizvanolli from “Active Women of Gjakova” and Dardana Mehmeti from “Artpolis” will organize in the following months.
This project is financed from the office of the European Union in Kosovo.  
 

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