Kosovo Women's Network

KWN Informs Women in Lipjan, Skenderaj, and Mitrovica about Discrimination in Labour and how to Report it

16.03.2022

During February, the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) held three workshops in Lipjan, Skenderaj, and Mitrovica with women jobseekers and entrepreneurs regarding the legal framework for gender-based discrimination in the labour market. During the workshops, Adelina Tërshani, Project Coordinator, KWN, briefed the participants on the legal framework.

She emphasized that according to the main findings of the KWN’s research, “Gender-Based Discrimination and Labour in Kosovo”, the legal framework is not harmonized, therefore the workers who want to address their cases don’t know exactly which law to refer to. Tërshani also explained the procedures for filing lawsuits.

“The Law on Labour is still not in line with the European Union (EU) Work-Life Balance Directive. KWN with many other organizations is trying to advance the recommendations that should be included in the Labour Law and that are in line with the EU directive,” she said.

While speaking about the legal framework on gender-based discrimination in the labour market, Valmira Rashiti, Project Coordinator and Legal Assistant, KWN said that KWN is trying to find the ways for the implementation of the appropriate mechanisms.

“Although the legal framework can be complex, it is important to know the referral mechanisms where the cases of discrimination can be reported within the community where we operate,” Rashiti said.

The participants of these workshops shared their experiences regarding non-compliance with the Labour Law.

“I worked for eight years in a private business and I have never had annual leave, holiday leave or maternity leave. If I took the annual leave, I was not paid for those days,” said Serbeze Zabeli from Skenderaj.

Some former women entrepreneurs said that they had to give up their business because of the difficulties they encountered just because of gender.

“I started my own business and functioned for several years, but I had to close it because of sexual harassment from people who came to the store. I did not tell my husband because I was afraid of the worst and as a result I closed the business,” one of the participants said.

While talking about a case where she was harassed through telephone, one participant encouraged all women and girls to report any form of discrimination.

Another participant highlighted the importance of this workshop.

“These workshopsare very useful for us and for the young people. It is good for young girls and boys to embrace the concept of non-discrimination and apply it in practice, ” the activist Valbona Salihu said.

KWN constantly strives to combat gender-based discrimination in the labour market.

For more information, see the KWN research report “Gender-Based Discrimination and Labour in Kosovo.”

These workshops have been financed by the European Union and co-financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

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Zensko Pravo Holds Workshops on Prevention of Violence Against Women

15.03.2022

The member organization of the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN), Zensko Pravo (English: Women’s Rights), has held several activities thanks to the support received from the 15th round of the Kosovo Women’s Fund.

In the framework of the initiative “Prevention of violence against women in northern Kosovo”, the organization Zensko Pravo has organized a series of trainings and a round table on the Istanbul Convention

These trainings enabled the survivors to address the needs for reintegration into society directly to the institutions, thus creating an environment as acceptable to them as possible.

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“We aim to contribute to the awareness of professionals in judicial, prosecutorial and police institutions working in cases of gender-based violence, on the need to implement the principles of the Council of Europe Convention on the Prevention of Violence against Women and Violence in Families, now integrated in the Constitution,” said Ruzica Simic, Project Coordinator.

As part of this activity, draft agreements for cooperation with the court, the prosecution, the ombudsman and the police were also prepared, as part of the legal assistance that Zensko Pravo is providing to victims of gender-based violence.

On December 24, 2021, during a roundtable held in Mitrovica, participants were 15 officials of institutions working on cases of domestic violence and gender-based violence, as well as women who have experienced violence.

“Meetings like this affect the increase of cooperation and coordinated work between institutions and non-governmental organizations,” said the prosecutor for domestic violence cases, Natasa Tanic.

Furthermore, this organization has held a workshop with 15 officials on the role of non-governmental organizations working for women’s rights in the prevention and provision of specialized services for victims of gender-based and domestic violence. During this workshop, Simic, Project Coordinator, informed the participants about the work done by Zenkso Pravo over the years, providing free legal services to women victims of violence.

This initiative of Zensko Pravo is supported by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), through KWN’s “Further Advancement of Women’s Rights in Kosovo II” initiative, co-financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), through the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina.

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We March Against the Killing of Women-Once Again the March 8 Echoes the Call for Gender Equality

08.03.2022

The Palace of Justice in Hajvalia was the meeting point of the collective “MARShojmë S’festojmë”, which for the seventh year in a row marks the International Women’s Day, March 8, with a protest march to demand social justice and gender equality.

Many citizens and activists joined this march in the Zahir Pajaziti square continuing to walk toward the Government of Kosovo, where the protesters echoed the calls for equality and justice for women raped and killed by men.

As in previous years, this time the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) joined this march, which found support in several other municipalities in Kosovo.

This time, an important part of the march was the activity called “Red Shoes”, which was held for the first time in Kosovo.

Seeking justice for women, 48 pairs of red shoes were placed to commemorate the 48 women killed by men since 2010 in Kosovo. Red symbolizes their blood, as well as the love and memory we, as feminist activists, will continue holding for them.

“Red Shoes” is a campaign against gender-based violence and the violence women face in families and societies. The campaign began in 2009 in Mexico by artist Elina Chauvet, and since then red shoes every March 8 fill the squares and cities of the world, demanding equality of justice for women.

This year marked the first year that Kosovo joined this initiative, which becomes even more meaningful as we joined its organizers in Albania, who are: Bash-Art Association, Come in the Theatre Association (Alb: “Eja në teatër”), Albanian Women Empowerment Network (AWEN), as well as the Feminist Collective.

This event was also supported by KWN member organizations, which marked it in their respective cities.

Let March 8 echo equality and solidarity!

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KWN Joins Civic Solidarity with People of Ukraine

07.03.2022

“Kosovo stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people”, “Feminists against the war”, “We sympathize with the women of Ukraine”, and “Peace for Ukraine” were some of the calls heard during the march in support and solidarity with Ukraine on March 7. in Prishtina.

Citizens, activists and representatives of institutions together raised their voices against the Russian aggression against Ukraine that began on February 24 this year.

The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) joined this initiative of the Forum for Civic Initiatives (FIQ) and BIRN, once again applauding calls against the war.

“We are here today through a symbolic civic gesture to express the support and solidarity of Kosovo in the human, institutional and non-governmental organizations with the people of Ukraine. We are here to define our position with Western values, in very difficult moments that it is going through as a result of the occupation and aggression of the Russian Federation “, said in her speech Dajana Berisha, Executive Director, FIQ.

HERE you can read the full letter in solidarity with Ukraine, which also lists the names of all the organizations supporting this action.

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Ura Sociale Raises Awareness of Vushtrri Students About the Importance of Sex Education

01.03.2022

The member organization of the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN), Women’s Association Ura Sociale held lectures on sex education with high school students of Municipality of Vushtrri, within the initiative “Raising awareness for prevention of sexual harassment”, beneficiary of the 15th round of the Kosovo Women’s Fund.

From November 2021 to January 2022, this organization during three months has held a total of five lectures with high school students in Vushtrri. In total, 125 students aged 15-18, had the opportunity to be informed about sexual harassment and their reporting to the relevant institutions.

On 21^st of October 2021, the representatives of this organization also met with officials from the Municipal Directorate of Education in Vushtrri, principals, psychologists and teachers of Vocational High School “Bahri Haxha”, Technical High School “Lutfi Musiqi”, and Gymnasium “Eqrem Çabej”.

The recommendations from these meetings was the need for training of educational staff on the sensitivity of these cases, Moreover, the subject of sex education in primary schools was considered more than necessary.

These activities and this initiative is supported by The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) via KWN’s “Further Advancing Women’s Rights in Kosovo II”, co-funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) through the Embassy of Sweden in Prishtina.

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NORMA Holds Lectures with High School Students on Violence Prevention

01.03.2022

The member organization of the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN), Norma Lawyers Association, held information meetings with 14 high schools in the Municipality of Prishtina, where they discussed topics related to relevant legislation, gender issues, domestic violence, school violence, sexual violence, from the educational and prevention aspect as well as advocacy for the improvement of knowledge and legislation from the gender aspect.

From October 2021 to February 2022, Norma through these lectures also met with the management teams of schools. School psychologists, teachers, and officials from the Directorate of Education in this municipality discussed together ways to prevent gender-based violence, as well as appropriate techniques related to quality and gender-sensitive education.

“Our main goal is to inform students and raise awareness about their role in combating violence,” said Valbona Salihu, Executive Director of this association.

“Access to quality education is essential for protection from the violation of the rights of young people,” Salihu added.

These activities were carried out within the initiative “Learn and act, for a life free of gender-based violence”, supported by the 15th round of the Kosovo Women’s Fund (KWF), funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and co-funded by the Swedish International Cooperation and Development Agency (Sida), through the Swedish Embassy in Pristina.

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Drugëza Continues Promoting the EU Work-Life Balance Directive in Skënderaj

25.02.2022

On 16 February in Skenderaj, Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) member organization, Drugëza, distributed leaflets to business owners and employees informing them of KWN’s awareness-raising campaign on gender responsive family policies.

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

Gentiana Zeqiri, Manager of the organization Drugëza said that all workers, especially women, benefit from the EU Directive.

“The EU Work-Life Balance Directive creates opportunities for flexibility and appropriate conditions in the workplace, as well as increases the well-being of workers. In particular it contributes to the empowerment of women and the increase of gender equality,” Zeqiri said.

Whereas, Adelina Tërshani, Project Coordinator, KWN, added that the implementation of this directive helps achieving the gender equality.

“KWN by promoting the EU Work-Life Balance Directive at the local level in cooperation with member organizations will inevitably affect the implementation of family-friendly policies in small businesses and increase the number of women participating in the workforce,” Tërshani said.

The Chief Executive Officer of Eko-Natyra, Arben Veliu, welcomed this campaign.

“The EU Work-Life Balance Directive is important because it creates a friendlier and more acceptable environment for workers, as they spend much of their day at work. It is also important for employers in order to have a continuity and stability of their work, as this helps to create stability of the company as well.“ Veliu said.

Last year, on November 3, Drugëza undertook an awareness campaign for the implementation of the EU Directive. This organization held a meeting with 15 representatives of civil society organizations in Skenderaj, within the framework of the initiative “Creating friendly workplace”, supported by the 15th round of the Kosovo Women’s Fund (KWF), and financed the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) through KWN’s “More Choices: Gender Responsive Family Policy for the Private Sector in the Western Balkans and Moldova” funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), the operational unit of the Austrian Cooperation Agency.

Read HERE more about this activity.

READ ALSO: Kosovo Women’s Fund Allocates €109,312 for 23 Organizations in Kosovo. You can read more about that HERE.

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KWN Holds a Workshop on Healthcare Rights with Its Member Organizations

24.02.2022

The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) on the 15th of February, held a workshop with the representatives of member organizations, on health care rights and the implementation mechanisms.

This workshop was led by Besim Kodra, lawyer and health expert, who informed the present organizations more about human rights on health care and the mechanisms for handling complaints in health care.

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“Every citizen has the right for equal access to health services without any discrimination” said Kodra.

“Patients should be encouraged to give a feedback on the provided health services,” he added.

During the workshop, special focus was placed on the patient’s rights and responsibilities, the patient’s rights to report a complaint as well as the ways of resolving the complaint and potential conclusions.

Whereas, Elvana Gojani, Coordinator of the K10 Coalition, Action Foundation for Mothers and Children, assessed this workshop as very useful for informing every citizen about their rights.

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“I am glad that you have taken this initiative, not many citizens are informed about their rights in health care. Today I learned a lot from this workshop which steps I should follow for a better service”, said Gojani.

The workshop ended with a discussion about the complaint mechanisms and the free telephone line for citizens’ complaints in providing health services.

“Women’s Rights to Healthcare” is one of KWN’s core programs, through which we, along with member organizations, work to increase women’s access to quality and affordable health care.

This workshop is funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and co-funded by the International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

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Gender-Based Discrimination and Labour in Serbia Report Launched

23.02.2022

The report Gender-Based Discrimination and Labour in Serbia was launched today, 23 Feb., in an online event organised by The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation (Kvinna till Kvinna).

This report examines gender-based discrimination and labour, as part of a regional initiative to address such discrimination in six Western Balkan countries. The research indicates that sexual harassment in labour in Serbia continues to be a serious problem, particularly affecting women. The report provides information about shortcomings in the relevant legal framework; the prevalence and nature of gender-based discrimination related to labour; the extent to which people have filed claims; and how institutions have treated such cases.

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The Head of Operations at the European Union (EU) Delegation to Serbia, Leonetta Pajer, provided opening statements for the event, in which she observed that women are disadvantaged compared to men in almost all spheres and that the gender gap persists on most labour market indicators. She said that the EU’s new Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in External Action 2021–2025 (GAPIII) adopted at the end of 2020, sets out an ambitious agenda to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment through all external action of the EU.

“Therefore, I hope that the results of the research report will raise awareness and improve the knowledge of the general population on issues of gender-based discrimination in the labour market, especially for more vulnerable groups that are marginalised in Serbian society,” she said.

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Sofija Vrbaški, Project Coordinator at Kvinna till Kvinna, presented the research findings, which show that gender-based discrimination persists, particularly in hiring, promotion, maternity leave and sexual harassment at work. Regarding promotion, every tenth woman respondent was denied a promotion due to gender, compared to only one man respondent. Survey findings suggest that gender-based discrimination particularly affects women working in the private sector.

Meanwhile, low reporting rates continue to pose a challenge for addressing gender-based discrimination in labour. According to the report, the courts still have little judicial practice, and few judges seemed knowledgeable regarding the relevant legal framework.

Vrbaški observed the key role that civil society has played and should continue playing in addressing rights violations. “The support has to be there. It has to be continued in the long-term, certainly beyond this program,” she said.

To contextualise the findings, Nicole Farnsworth, Programme Director and Lead Researcher at the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) presented the initial regional research findings. She noted that important progress has been made since the first edition of this report in 2019, though progress is mixed across countries. Still, a third of the survey respondents said they had experienced some form of labour-related gender-based discrimination (36% of women and 18% of men).

“Gender-based discrimination in hiring remains widespread, having affected two-thirds of respondents who attended [job] interviews since 2018. More women than men were asked about their marital status, plans to marry, children or plans to have children. More women faced discrimination in promotion. Statistical data show that the gender pay gap persists across the region,” she said. Moreover, “several countries do not sufficiently protect victims from victimisation.”

Farnsworth said that KWN believes that the “triangle” of cooperation among government, civil society organisations (CSOs), the EU and other international actors can contribute to legal and institutional change. She also said that continued funding and engagement of CSOs is important for holding institutions accountable, providing legal aid and monitoring institutional response while assisting cases.

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During the presentation participants cited several good examples, including praising the Ombudsperson Institution, as trust in this institution seems to have increased.

Regarding legal aid provided to survivors of gender-based discrimination in labour through this regional Action, Sanja Ćopić, Researcher at the Victimology Society of Serbia, spoke about their experience providing legal aid to survivors of gender-based discrimination in labour, highlighting the importance of this work during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The role of CSOs is very important in advocating women’s labour rights and their protection. Their role is very important in networking with different stakeholders, from civil society organisations to different institutions and labour unions, and I think that through this networking maybe we can do something to improve the situation in the labour market,” she said.

The event was moderated by Tamara Šmidling, Programme Officer at the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation.

The research was funded by the EU and co-funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. The research has been done in the framework of the regional action of Empowering CSOs in Combatting Discrimination and Furthering Women’s Labour Rights.

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Thanks to the Initiative of “Okarina e Runikut”, the Women of Skenderaj and Vushtrri Address their Needs to the Local Institutions

18.02.2022

The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) member organization, Okarina e Runikut, held two advocacy meetings in the Municipality of Skenderaj, where participants discussed Gender Responsive Budgeting and the role of equal participation of women and girls in local government.

The first meeting was held with Ms. Besarta Meha-Ademi, the Director of Economic Development, Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Tourism, who provided support toward women’s participation in entrepreneurship.

About 20 participants discussed together about Gender Responsive Budgeting and the importance of supporting women and young women of this municipality.

Participant Ermira Hyseni, while appreciating this opportunity for conversation, raised the need for women to be informed about holding public hearings.

“The lack of information regarding the public hearings has left us behind, so we didn’t have the opportunity to ask for our needs to be in the work plan of the Directorates. Therefore, I request that this information to be announced in the official website of the Municipality, also through the local media”, she said, among other things.

Based on the requests arising from this meeting, the representatives of Okarina e Runikut submitted the Document with Recommendations for improving and strengthening the participation of women in local politics to the Chairperson of the Municipal Assembly, Adelina Spahiu,

Spahiu vowed that this document would be reviewed by municipal councilors and the executive.

In addition to this municipality, Fetije Smakaj from Okarina e Runikut also held a meeting in the Municipality of Vushtrri where she talked with members of the Municipal Assembly, activists and local organizations to promote women’s participation in politics and decision-making processes, as well as the importance of implementation of Gender Responsive Budgeting at the municipal level.

Assemblywoman Adelina Syla-Sadiku vowed to use her voice to promote Gender Responsive Budgeting. She also expressed her support for this initiative, as well as that she will share with women the opportunities to participate in public hearings.

Among other things, they talked about the local elections of 2021 in the Municipality of Vushtrri.

This initiative was made possible thanks to the support received from the European Union (EU) Office in Kosovo, through the KWN initiative “Strengthening Women’s Participation in Politics”.

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