The Young Women’s Empowerment Initiative (YWEI) meeting on Jul. 5 gathered 16 young women from various NGOs and institutions in Prishtina. Young women discussed the problems and issues they face in everyday life and their strategies for overcoming these issues. The main challenges that they identified included young women’s access to education and healthcare, early marriage, inter-generational conflict, religion and gender equality.

“The meeting had great value for us; it gave us the opportunity to identify problems that different girls in Prishtina face,” a participant said. “In this meeting we shared experiences and ideas for resolving these problems.”

Young women believe that the first step towards overcoming the challenges they face is raising awareness among young women about their rights, and developing communication skills.

“Girls should work hard to develop their communication skills and be open to others when they express their opinions,” said Arbnora Gosalci.
“Only by raising our voices can we address our concerns and achieve our goals.”

Girls were encouraged to continue thinking about ideas for resolving the issues they face. They will bring their ideas to future meetings.

The YWEI arose out of KWN members’ interests in furthering the sustainability of women’s organizing in Kosovo. It aims to involve more young women in the women’s movement by empowering them to advocate for their concerns and needs. This was the fifth meeting, following prior discussions held in Prizren, Gjilan, Mitrovica and Gjakova. YWEI receives support from Kvinna till Kvinna.