Kosovo Women's Network

Businesses and Employees in Lipjan are being informed about the EU Work-Life Balance Directive

14.06.2022

On 9 June in Lipjan, Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) member organization, Lipjan Youth Center (LYC), distributed flyers to business owners and employees to raise awareness on family-friendly policies in the workplace, as per the EU Work-Life Balance Directive.

The volunteers distributed posters and placed them in the visible places of the business premises.

Valmire Marevci, Coordinator, LYC, says that some businesses in Lipjan offer flexible working hours for their employees as well as childcare site in the workplace.

Marevci says that “the government should apply the Directive because it improves the country’s economy and it contributes to the equal participation of women and men in the labour force.”

Isamete Krasniqi, who owns a tailoring business, welcomes the campaign to promote the EU Directive on Work-Life Balance. She said that as a businesswoman she understands the workers’ needs by allowing them to bring their children to the workplace and by offering them days off when they have to take care of family members- what is known as the carers leave by the EU Directive.

This is not the first activity that LYC conducts regarding the KWN’s awareness campaign on gender responsive family policies.

On 20 May, the organization held an information session with business representatives in Lipjan to inform them in more detail about family-friendly policies in the workplace.

The initiative “Promoting Family Friendly Policies at the Local Level” was supported by the United Nations Population Fund in Kosovo (UNFPA) via KWN’s initiative “Expanding Choices: Gender-Responsive Family Policies for the Private Sector in the Western Balkans and Moldova,” financed by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the operational unit of Austrian Development Cooperation.

In addition to LYC, three other organizations have benefited from UNFPA, through the 15th round of the Kosovo Women’s Fund. You can read more here.

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KWN Introduces Gender Policy Recommendations for Persons with Disabilities

10.06.2022

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Today, June 10, from 10:30 to 12:30, the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) presented the reports “Gender-responsive Financing of Personal Assistants for Persons with Disabilities in Kosovo” and “Gender and Disability in EU Law: An Intersectional Approach to Informing Kosovo’s Legal Framework”.

“Gender-responsive Financing of Personal Assistants for Persons with Disabilities in Kosovo” is a policy brief that seeks to inform discussions surrounding important, current political and legal processes, including the forthcoming respective draft laws for Assessment, Recognition of Status, Benefits, and Services for Persons with Disabilities; for Social and Family Services; on amending and supplementing the Law No. 04/L-131 on State Funded Pension Schemes; and annual Kosovo budgets.

Whereas the report “Gender and Disability in EU Law: An Intersectional Approach to Informing Kosovo’s Legal Framework”, provides a summary of policies and analyzes the legal framework of the European Union (EU) regarding disability and gender, presenting recommendations for Kosovo and its legal framework.

In her opening remarks, the Chair of the KWN Board. Nermin Mahmuti said that “Equality means fair treatment for all, giving everyone the same opportunities.” She added: “When we talk about equality, our ultimate goal is justice. The equality is achieved only when everyone gets what they need.”

During this meeting, the main findings and recommendations of the two reports were presented. Part of the discussion were officials from the Ministry of Labor, Finance and Transfers, representatives from the ombudsman institution, representatives of the EU in Kosovo and women’s rights organizations that focus on women with disabilities.

The findings and recommendations of these analyzes were welcomed by the EU Office in Kosovo. The representative of this institution, Jarmo Helppikangas said that “Since the government should make assessments of the impact of gender equality to inform new laws and policies, these documents should provide important support in this regard.”

“The analysis and findings are very timely as they can and should be used to inform future laws that are currently being finalized by the government.” he added.

The recommendations of these two analyzes were also welcomed by the Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfers, more precisely by the Legal Department for Labor and Social Welfare. Present at the discussion was Mrs. Minire Begaj, Head of the Legal Department for Labor and Social Welfare, MFLT, who congratulated the authors of the two analyzes and said that “These findings and recommendations will be presented to the working group which is drafting the above-mentioned draft laws.”

Key recommendations include:

– Amend existing laws to incorporate consistent, internationally recognized definitions of disability:

• Law No. 02/L-17 on Social and Family Services

• Law No. 2003/23 on Disability Pensions

• Law No. 05/L-021 on the Protection from Discrimination

• Annual Budget Appropriations

– Ensure these use an intersectional approach to gender, attending to intersections with ethnicity, age, and other factors that could hinder access to appropriate care services.

– Prior to amending/adopting, ensure a Gender Equality Impact Assessment is conducted as part of the required Regulatory Impact Assessment included in the Better Regulation Strategy 2.0 for Kosovo.

– Review the eligibility criteria for personal assistance and actual needs.

– Specify in secondary legislation the minimum experience, expertise, and qualifications that personal assistants must have to provide qualified services, such as via obligatory training and qualification testing.

Read the full “Gender-responsive Financing of Personal Assistants for Persons with Disabilities in Kosovo” report, HERE.

Read the full “Gender and Disability in EU Law: An Intersectional Approach to Informing Kosovo’s Legal Framework” report, HERE.

These analyzes are supported by the European Union, as well as the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

For media statements on this topic please contact us at media@womensnetwork.org, and ernera@womensnetwork.org.

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KWN Supports The Pride Parade Under The Slogan “BOTH IN THE STATE AND IN THE FAMILY”

10.06.2022

For the sixth year in a row in Prishtina was held the Pride Parade by the LGBTI Community (homosexual, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex), activists and supporters of the rights of this community.

On June 9, hundreds of activists gathered in the “Skënderbeu” square of the capital under the slogan “BOTH IN THE STATE AND IN THE FAMILY “.

Shemsie Musa-Çerkini, mother of a gay person, said she was proud of her son and called on Kosovar society to “open its mind and heart”.

“The time has come for them to understand that everyone has the right to decide for themselves, to love whoever they want, to wear whatever they want, to marry whomever they want, to start a family with whomever they want. “, She said.

This year’s parade was held at a time when there is no support in the Assembly of Kosovo for the new Draft Civil Code, which opens the possibility of drafting a law on registration of civil communities between persons of the same sex.

The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) once again was part of this parade organized by the Center for the Development of Social Groups (CSGD) and the Center for Freedom and Equality (CEL).

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KWN Holds the First Meeting to Draft the New Strategy

07.06.2022

On June 6 in Pristina, close to 100 representatives of member organizations, partners and supporters of the work of the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN), gathered for the workshop to plan the new KWN strategy 2023-2026.

The meeting was opened by Igballe Rogova, Executive Director, KWN, who noted the importance of such meetings in uniting women towards achieving gender equality and increasing solidarity.

“Today we will start building the basis of our joint work for the next four years,” said Rogova, among others.

Next, Nicole Farnsworth, Program Director and Research Leader, KWN, and Adelina Berisha, Program Manager for Gender-Based Violence, KWN, spoke to introduce the programs that KWN will prioritize in its new strategy.

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The second part of the workshop continued by sharing experiences and opinions, in five working groups, divided as follows;

Improving gender equality through the rule of law,
Life without gender-based violence,
Economic empowerment of women,
Education that transforms gender norms, as well
Environmental protection.

After the joint discussion, the representatives of the groups presented the main problems that KWN should focus on to address in the next four years.

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In November of last year, KWN members met for three consecutive days for the workshop on which KWN’s feminist strategy was planned. HERE you can read more about this workshop.

This workshop was supported by the Austrian Development Agency ADA.

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KWN Attends the Working Party on the Western Balkans Region (COWEB) Meeting

02.06.2022

We thank EULEX and the Working Party on the Western Balkans Region (COWEB) for the opportunity to share about KWN and our members’ work to empower women’s rights groups; increase women’s participation in politics and a gender perspective in laws and policy-making; address gender-based violence in line with the Istanbul Convention; empower women economically through legal reforms and addressing gender-based discrimination at work; further women’s access to healthcare; and transform gender norms through education, including childcare availability.

We requested COWEB members’ support to:

1) ensure diverse women have a seat at the table during Pristina-Belgrade Dialogue and that EU Special Envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, consults women’s rights groups as per UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and EU commitments to it, as per KWN’s letters;

2) ensure that EU regulations make stronger commitments to furthering gender equality, including clear targets and budget allocations (noting IPA III as a missed opportunity);

3) encourage the Kosovo government to adopt needed legal and policy reforms and allocate budget for implementing the Istanbul Convention in close consultation with women’s rights activists as experts; and

4) expedite visa liberalization to truly realise European values of intercultural exchange and peace-building.

EULEX Kosovo (Official) #COWEB

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CMZ Presents The Report On The Quality Of The Local Electoral Process

01.06.2022

On February 25, the member organization of the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN), Centar Manjinske Zajednice (Albanian: Minority Community Center), presented the report on the quality of the electoral process in the municipalities of Gracanica, Fushë Kosovë, Prishtina and Rahovec, within the initiative “I have the right to be informed!”, supported by KWN’s Kosovo Women’s Fund (KWF).

During this activity, it was discussed about the project, online media reports on the local elections of 2021, as well as the overall assessment of the day of these elections.

The report, which was compiled during the period 16 September – 16 December 2021, is a continuation of the effort to raise awareness of officials about the state of the media in Kosovo, and analyzes the data collected from election day to contribute to increasing transparency. Moreover, accountability of institutions during the electoral process. The media analyzed in this report include; RTK Live, Radio KIM and Radio Gracanica.

The CMZ had engaged accredited observers in these four municipalities, who closely monitored the process from the opening of the polling stations to the counting process in order to record all irregularities at the polling stations where they were present.

During the presentation of the report, the participants, including young people, discussed their views on the electoral process and opportunities for improvement. They stressed that these media did not provide them with enough information on how to vote, and stressed the need for the media to have more freedom.

This CMZ activity is one of many activities supported by the 15th round of KWF, thanks to the financial support received from the European Union (EU) Office in Kosovo, through the KWN initiative “Strengthening Women’s Participation in Politics”.

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Moravski Biser Continues To Involve Women From Rural Areas In Both Public And Political Life

31.05.2022

Moravski Biser, a member organization of the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN), from December 22 to December 24, 2021 held workshops in the village of Pasjan, Partesh Municipality, respectively in the village of Bostan, Municipality of Novo Brdo.

These workshops aimed to acquaint the participants through the theoretical part as well as active group work with the basics, methods, as well as advocacy opportunities which will increase their knowledge for advancing the position of women in the community.

Together with the workshop leader Ms. Nebojsha Simiq, assembly members, gender equality officials, women political parties and women’s rights activists from the municipalities of Partesh, Kllokot, Ranillug and Novo Brdo discussed the necessary steps to improve co-operation between political representatives at the local level.

One of the most useful things during the training was considered to be the connection of women from these municipalities who are geographically close to each other, as well as the exchange of common ideas in order to improve well-being in these municipalities.

This activity, as well as other activities of the “Involvement of women from rural areas in public and political life” initiative, were supported by the 15th round of the KWN Kosovo Women’s Fund (KWF), funded by the Office of European Union (EU) in Kosovo, through KWN Initiative “Strengthening Women’s Participation in Politics”

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KWN and UNFPA Encourage Businesses in Skenderaj to Implement Family-Friendly Policies

31.05.2022

Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) member organization, Drugëza, today in Skënderaj held a meeting with representatives of businesses, banks, municipal officials and civil society to discuss the KWN’s awareness-raising campaign on gender responsive family policies.

During the meeting, some business representatives said they were pleased for being informed on the EU Work-Life Balance Directive and the family-friendly workplace policies offered to small businesses.

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The KWN Program Officer for Women’s Economic Empowerment, Adelina Tërshani, encouraged local businesses to continue their willingness to put into practice the family-friendly policies stemming from the EU Directive, adding that the implementation of this directive helps achieving the gender equality.

Dea Pallaska O’Shaughnessy, the Population and Development Program Analyst at UNFPA said the meeting shows how the way of doing business is changing and how this can help in empowering women economically.

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The KWN’s “More Choices: Gender Responsive Family Policy for the Private Sector in the Western Balkans and Moldova” initiative is supported by the UNFPA and funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the operational unit of the Austrian Cooperation Agency.

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Western Balkans Coalition Publishes Regional Report on Gender-based Discrimination and Labour

30.05.2022

The Coalition for Addressing Gender-based Discrimination in Labour in the Western Balkans (WB) launched the second edition of their research report titled Gender-based Discrimination and Labour in the Western Balkans on 20 May in Brussels and on 30 May through online platform Zoom.

The research sought to identify shortcomings in the relevant legal framework; awareness and prevalence of gender-based discrimination related to labour; the extent to which people have filed claims; and how institutions have treated such cases.

In her opening remarks in Brussels, Michela Matuella, Acting Director of the Western Balkans in the Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) at the European Commission (EC) said: “CSOs are a key player in moving these issues forward, and this report being launched today is proof of that. We will encourage the political leadership in the region to follow up on its recommendations.

While, Olga Martin Gonzalez, Gender Equality Coordinator in the European Commission Directorate

General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations during the online launching event said:

“The continuous work of women’s rights civil society organisations that are behind this regional research contributes to evidence-based policy interventions and provides useful recommendations to address gender-based discrimination in the WB, by governments, civil society, businesses, and the EU.”

David JJ Ryan, Co-author; Vaska Leshoska, Researcher, Reactor-Research in Action and Endrita Banjska, Co-author, KWN during both launching events have presented the main findings and recommendations for the EU and relevant institutions.

The main findings are:

No government has harmonised fully its legal framework with the EU Work-Life Balance Directive. Various issues exist related to leave rights, particularly parental, paternity and carers’ leave.
While awareness that gender-based discrimination is illegal seems to have improved slightly, many people still do not know where and how to report it.
Labour-related gender-based discrimination has remained widespread in the WB, including in hiring, promotion, pay, contracts, pregnancy and maternity leave rights, paternity leave, and sexual harassment at work.
LGBTQI+ persons, women with disabilities, and women from minority ethnic groups report facing multiple, intersectional discrimination.
Few people report gender-based discrimination due to low awareness of how to report it; distrust in institutions; concern for stigmatisation; fear of job loss or other victimisation; and lengthy, often expensive justice or other proceedings.

Key recommendations include:

For the EU

Require implementation of institutional reforms to address gender-based discrimination in labour as a condition of the EU accession process.
Monitor reforms using a standardised approach, via country reports.
Encourage and support all countries in harmonising their legal frameworks with the EU Work-Life Balance Directive.
Continue consulting and supporting CSOs, especially WCSOs, in legal reforms, raising awareness, providing legal aid, and, thereby, monitoring institutional performance.

For Responsible Institutions

Harmonise national legislation with the EU Work-Life Balance Directive, among other needed amendments outlined in the report.
Improve data collection, ensuring all data is disaggregated by gender of victim(s), of alleged perpetrator(s), location, and form of discrimination. Regularly publish data.
Ensure obligatory, institutionalised training for responsible officials on gender equality and transforming gender norms; the legal framework on gender-based discrimination in labour and referrals; and forms of gender-based discrimination, especially sexual harassment.
Better resource labour inspectors and justice providers.
Improve collaboration among institutions and with (W)CSOs, including in jointly raising awareness about how to report discrimination and in improving public trust in institutions.

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KWN Advocates to Abolish Taxes on Menstrual Products

27.05.2022

On May 24, the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) launched a campaign demanding the abolition of taxes on menstrual products. Currently menstrual products in Kosovo are taxed at 18% of their value, just as luxury products are taxed. Recall that there is another value added tax of 8% for essential products, such as pharmaceuticals. However, menstrual products are not taxed with this tax either, which would nevertheless reduce their price. They continue to be taxed as if they were luxury products, not essential, as they are for women and girls and their well-being and their right to affordable health care.

Through this campaign, KWN aims to inform citizens about the importance of implementing gender policies in imposing taxes on menstrual products, as well as the special importance it holds in the case of Kosovo – knowing that only 15.9% of women in Kosovo are employed.

To advocate for this, on May 28, World Menstrual Hygiene Da,y KWN sent a policy document entitled “Gender Responsive Taxation: Abolition of Taxes for Menstrual Hygiene Products” to the Ministry of Finance, Labor, and Transfers. This document, which was originally launched by KWN member organization EcoKos Women (EKW), clearly sets out the reasons why the Government of Kosovo should reduce or eliminate taxes on menstrual products altogether, thus increasing women’s well-being. and implement Gender Responsive Budgeting, as committed through the Law on Gender Equality. The document also contains recommendations on how to do so.

Therefore, KWN encourages the Government of Kosovo to amend Law No. 05 / L-037 on Value Added Tax, and with it to change the administrative instructions for its implementation, so that menstrual products are exempt from customs duties. and from taxation. This will benefit low-income families as well as contribute to achieving equality in state revenue collection by removing this discriminatory tax on women. Furthermore, it would contribute to improving women’s access to health care, personal hygiene management, education and employment. If the complete abolition of the tax is not possible, then anyway this tax should be reduced to 8%, as in this way their price would be reduced without being so noticed in the collection of state revenues.

This campaign is supported by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the Swedish International Cooperation and Development Agency (Sida).

30.05.25