Kosovo Women's Network

Officials Discuss Municipal Needs for Implementing Gender-responsive Budgeting during Report Launching

03.09.2021

Today UN Women launched a report Capacity and Skills Development needs on Gender Mainstreaming, GRB, and Gender Responsive COVID-19 Interventions at the Local Government Level in Kosovo, prepared by IDRA. Key stakeholders participated, including Edi Gusia from the Agency for Gender Equality (AGE) in the Office of the Prime Minister who spoke about important allocations for gender equality and the urgency of institutionalising gender budgeting; Salvador Elmazi, Budget Director from the Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers (MFLT) who emphasized that gender budgeting is a legal obligation and requested within budget circulars; Sazan Ibrahimi, Director of the Association of Municipalities of Kosovo; and municipal officials who showcased best practices in Kamenica and Gjakova. The event was hosted by Vlora Nushi, Head of UN Women in Kosovo, supported by Sida.

On behalf of KWN, Nicole Farnsworth presented key recommendations that have arisen from KWN’s research and monitoring of institutions’ implementation of their legal obligations related to implementing gender-responsive budgeting in Kosovo. KWN’s main recommendations included:

AGE and MFLT must urgently finalize the draft Concept Document for Gender-responsive Budgeting in Kosovo, introducing it systematically into Kosovo’s public finance management system as obligatory.
Municipalities should undertake gender analyses, as per the Law on Gender Equality, best practices in gender-responsive budgeting, and budget circulars. They should use these to inform budget planning and implementation, establishing objectives and indicators towards furthering gender equality in every sector. This is not relevant only to a budget line for gender equality officers or shelters, though these are important. Additionally, furthering gender equality must be integrated into every sector, including the environment, transport, sports, culture, and infrastructure investments, among others. KWN’s Practical Guide explains how this is possible.
MFLT needs to better control budget proposals, ensuring budget organizations submit the requested gender-responsive budgeting annex and that it is of sufficient quality. They can turn back budget requests if the annex is not submitted or done properly.
Municipalities need to budget for furthering the capacities of finance officers in gender-responsive budgeting by allocating funds for officers to attend the already-established training curriculum on this provided by the Kosovo Institute for Public Administration (KIPA). This should be followed by mentoring during the budget process until officers fully understand how to undertake gender-responsive budgeting.

Based on its research, KWN has made several other recommendations for municipalities to consider for their 2022 budgets, towards furthering gender equality, available here.

KWN has been engaged in gender-responsive budgeting since 2011, including supporting KIPA and AGE in developing the curriculum on gender-responsive budgeting. KWN is part of the Gender Budget Watchdog Network, through which civil society organizations are monitoring and supporting government efforts to institutionalize gender-responsive budgeting in the Western Balkans and Moldova.

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Demolli: Decades of Activism have shown us that Women’s Unity is a Value Challenging the Surrounding Reality

30.08.2021

This month, KWN brings the profile of a women’s rights activist, Executive Director of the Kosovar Gender Studies Centre (KGSC), Luljeta Demolli. 

Since 2004, Demolli has been involved as a researcher, manager and then Director of KGSC - a journey and activism which, according to her was built undoubtedly by feminist ethics and education. 

In this conversation with KWN, Demolli talks about her work as an activist, engagement in KGSC, as well as the important cooperation between KGSC and KWN to strengthen the feminist movement in Kosovo –in more than a single direction.  

KGSC Background 

KGSC, as an organization whose mission is gender mainstreaming in all analyses, programs and policies of all sectors of Kosovo society, has been vocal since its establishment at the central and local level, in the feminist contextualized knowledge production, documenting the history of women’s political activism, and promoting feminist activism among the younger generations. 

“The missions of organizations such as KGSC, besides being vital to the development of a social dialogue between women and activists, are also to change the political status quo which goes to the detriment of women and other underprivileged groups,” said Demolli at the beginning of the interview with KWN. 

KGSC, also a member organization of KWN, has played a vital role in promoting women’s rights and gender equality, and has been and remains a defender of the women’s movement, despite challenges which have been expected considering the prevailing patriarchal culture and institutions. 

“We have created an address which, in addition to welcoming activists, also encourages and promotes feminist thinking, solidarity and political commitment to change the socio-economic and political situation of women.” 

Whereas, while talking on a personal level as an activist, Demolli considers that this experience, besides challenging her, has also shaped her even more as a feminist. 

KGSC and KWN: Together for Women’s Rights 

In this part, Demolli gives special importance to the cooperation and advocacy that were undertaken over the years together with KWN. 

She mentions some of them. 

“As a member of KWN for many years, we have joined in some very important initiatives for the country. One of them I would like to share in this article is advocating for parental leave 50/50 within the Labour Law. This activity has lasted for years and we still continue to advocate together. We collaborated on many other gender equality issues, which has strengthened our role in advancing women’s rights and the recognition of these issues by local and national authorities.” 

She recalls that KGSC and KWN stand as key actors in combating discrimination against women and girls in the country. 

This cooperation so far, she trusts, is giving signals that both organizations should focus cooperation on strategies to respond more to taboo topics that affect women’s rights. This no matter how challenging these topics will be in Kosovo.  

Among these topics are; sexual harassment, gender selective abortion, sexual assault - with particular emphasis on 13-15-year-old girls. 

According to Demolli, another dimension that should be more and more internalized within the feminist causes, both at the level of organizations and the movement, is LGBTI + persons 

As a last point, as part of the “Advancing Women’s Rights at the Workplace” initiative, KWN supported KGSC to implement the “Preventing Any Form of Discrimination at the Workplace” initiative. Finally  

She claims that this initiative, besides enabling them to deepen research on the position of women in the economy, has also provided them with possibility to continue and advance advocacy with institutions. 

“These interventions, among others, have contributed to cooperating with other institutions and organizations that deal with similar issues and to coordinate activities and work in order to advance the situation in the field for women in the labour market.” 

Decades of Activism have shown us that Women’s Unity is a Value Challenging the Surrounding Reality

Recalling the accomplishments made by women’s rights organizations, Demolli emphasizes those issues that remain the fundamental difficulties for women in Kosovo. 

“We as KGSC bring two key challenges, the slow pace of law implementation and the significant presence of violence against women and sexual harassment,” she added. 

In conclusion to this article, Demolli says that two decades of activism and work have shown that unity among women is valuable against the reality that surrounds us.  

“We should not deal with who is “more “or “less “of a feminist. We have to ask if our goals are useful to our feminist cause.” she says.  

*This article follows a series of KWN publications on the work and contribution of human rights activists in Kosovo.    

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Protest in Pristina: Murder of women must be treated as a national emergency

26.08.2021

Today, August 26, numerous citizens and activists joined the protest to demand institutional responsibility for the murder of Marigona Osmani as well as many other women.

The protest organized by the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN), Center for Information, Criticism and Action, Feminist Thinking and Action Collective (QIKA), Kosovo Gender Studies Center (KGSC) and Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR), started in front of the Ministry of Justice, continuing with a march to the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and ending at the Government of the Republic of Kosovo.

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This protest had the following demands:
1. Treatment of femicide as a national emergency;
2. Establishment of a department within the Ministry of Interior for prevention and treatment of femicide;
3. Monitoring, sanctioning and dismissal of Kosovo Judges, Prosecutors, and Police Officers who do not treat cases with seriousness and gender sensitivity, according to the Criminal Code of Kosovo and the Istanbul Convention; Accountability from the Kosovo Judicial Council, the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, and the Police Inspectorate for these cases of violations;
4. Concrete plan by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo for combating gender-based violence;
5. Safety for girls and women in all spaces.

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KWN will continue to monitor the case and hold institutions accountable until the case is resolved and the perpetrators convicted.

“Life Free from Gender-Based Violence” remains one of KWN’s key programs. Every the organisation engages both in activism and lobbying institutions so that women and girls can live a life free from violence. This includes raising awareness amongst officials and citizens in tackling gender-based violence. including domestic violence, rape and sexual harassment.

Read HERE KWN’s response regarding this case.

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MWAHR Advocates for Gender Responsive Budgeting in the Municipality of Mitrovica

25.08.2021

Mitrovica Women Association for Human Rights (MWAHR), has been working towards institutionalising gender responsive budgeting (GRB) in Kosovo since January.

Its initiative “Gender perspective for sustainable economic planning” focuses on inclusion of a gender lens in all the budgeting processes, making government budgeting, programming and planning more responsible from a gender perspective in Municipality of Mitrovica.

In order to achieve this, MWAHR has met with several representatives of the municipality of Mitrovica to advocate for a fair allocation of the municipal budget.

They recently launched their research report titled “Gender Responsive Budgeting in the Municipality of Mitrovica”. Here, MWAHR monitors the implementation of gender responsive budgeting in the Municipality of Mitrovica, and the commitment of relevant officials who adopt decisions on the fair and responsible distribution of municipal budgets for women and men.

“The budget is an important instrument for the development and transformation of a country, every unit of the local and central government, including the municipality of Mitrovica, hence without income there is no development and pre-prosperity for citizens.” said Vetone Veliu, Executive Director, MWAHR, during the debate organized on August 25 to present the recommendations of the final report to the officials of the Municipality of Mitrovica.

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“Gender budgeting is a strategy for integrating a gender perspective into municipal budgeting. With it, we aim to acquire a perspective for improving equality between men and women, based on a gender analysis in each year of budget planning of the municipality of Mitrovica.” added Adem Fazliu, Financial Officer in the Municipality of Mitrovica.

This activity and report was funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and Sida – Styrelsen för Internationellt Utvecklingssamarbete. through the Gender Budget Watchdog Network (GDWM).

KWN is a partner organization of this network, in the following link you can read about other initiatives supported by this cooperation:

https://womensnetwork.org/3348946/

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Protest in Ferizaj, maximum punishment for the murderers of the 18-year-old

24.08.2021

Today, on August 24, many citizens and activists joined the protest in Ferizaj, to seek justice for the murder of 18-year-old young women with the initials M.O.

The protest organized by the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN), Artpolis – Center for Art and Community, Kosovo Center for Gender Studies and the Ferizaj Youth Assembly, started in front of the Police Station and continued with a march to the Court and Prosecution building in Ferizaj.

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With numerous slogans and calls for justice, the protesters demanded the maximum punishment for the murderers of the 18-year-old.

“End patriarchal institutions”, “Women’s Life, a joke for the state”, “Maximum sentence for Dardan Krivaqa”, “Maximum sentence for Arbër Sejdiu”, “We want justice for Marigona “, “Justice for all murdered women”, “Maximum sentences for murderers of women”, “Police have blood on their hands”, were some of the slogans that activists held in their hands during the protest.

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The demands of the protest are:

1. Addressing the phenomenon of femicide as provided by the Istanbul Convention;

2. Maximum punishment for the murderers;

3. Security for girls and women in all spaces;

4. Fair treatment of gender-based violence by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo.

KWN will continue to monitor the case and hold institutions accountable until the case is resolved and the perpetrators convicted.

Read HERE KWN’s response regarding this case.

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KWN Demands the Maximum Sentence for the Murder of the 18-Year-Old Girl

23.08.2021

Sunday was fatal for an 18-year-old girl , whose lifeless body was brought to the Emergency Centre in Ferizaj.

Kosovo Police has described the case as “Aggravated Murder”, and so far one suspect has been arrested, while the second suspect is on the run. This case reveals once again the institutional shortcomings in treating the women’s killings and femicide.

The killing of this girl is by no means an isolated case or a coincidence – this girl lost her life in a country where every murder of women is accompanied by institutional silence, delays in investigations, and low sentences for killers. As for every murder of women by men here we have a chain of culprits within the institutions.

How is it possible to leave a lifeless body of a woman in a health institution, without any accountability?

Let us recall here that hospitals have an obligation to report to security institutions of all cases where there are signs of violence, and to ensure that perpetrators of violence do not escape.

Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) demands that the investigation of the killing of an 18-year-old girl be a priority for the investigative bodies, and that the perpetrators receive the maximum sentence. We also announce through this press release that KWN will follow the case closely and seek justice.

At the same time, we call on citizens to cooperate in finding the second suspect, and we call on the media to report with the focus on preserving the dignity of the victim – only in this way will each of us play our role in the uncompromising fight against the murder of girls and women.

KWN will not stop until the killings of girls and women are not treated only as a daily news or private matter.

Below you can find KWN’s latest research on violence against women and the institutional response to it:

From Laws to Action

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KWN with Recommendations for Municipal Budget for 2022: Implement Gender Responsive Budgeting

19.08.2021

While we are on the eve of local elections, Kosovo municipalities are dealing with the budget drafting for 2022, in which case they have the obligation to organize public consultations with citizens.

When earmarking the budget, municipalities must implement the Law on Gender Equality , which makes gender responsive budgeting mandatory for public institutions in Kosovo, including municipalities.

Therefore, based on the recommendations received from KWN member organizations, as well as our research findings, we have summarized the key points that should be addressed to municipalities during public consultations regarding budget drafting. Only by taking into consideration these recommendations can we ensure that public money contributes to the further advancement of gender equality in Kosovo, bearing in mind that the government is committed to this through several laws and policies. The main requirements are listed below, and the document with all the requirements you can find HERE.

Allocate sufficient resources, based on gender analysis and gender-responsive budgeting, to fully implement municipal responsibilities to address all forms of gender-based violence, especially in terms of rehabilitation and reintegration into society (as shown by findings from KWN’s From Words to Action”, research there were no sufficient recourses so far). For example, allocate a sufficient budget for more social service staff and implement a rehabilitation case management plan.
Provide shelter facilities / buildings in municipalities where they are not available, as well as provide social housing for persons who have suffered gender-based violence.
Allocate funds to increase the number of child care centers and pre-school centers in proportion to the number of children in need at the local level. It will also increase children’s educational performance, help create new jobs, and enable more women to enter the workforce, according to KWN research.
Provide from the budget of the Directorate of Education at the local level that teachers at the levels of Lower Secondary and Upper Secondary Education be trained on gender-sensitive teaching
Provide sufficient budget for the provision of reproductive health services in all municipalities.
Approve fiscal policies and incentives to develop women’s businesses, including in the agricultural sector. The municipality should analyze the main obstacles faced by women’s businesses during and after the pandemic, as well as develop policies that would help overcome these obstacles.
Increase the number of inspectors or build the capacity of current inspectors to develop a gender-responsive Do no Harm approach through interventions to combat the informal economy.

The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) has been striving and working for years to institutionalize gender responsive budgeting, which requires that the funds spent address the different needs and priorities of women and men, as identified by the gender analysis.

HERE you can read the practical guide developed by KWN for Gender Responsive Budgeting at the Local Level.

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Recommendations for Public Consultations On Municipal Budget Allocations for 2022

19.08.2021

Gender responsive budgeting requires that funds be spent among diverse men, women, boys and girls to address their specific needs and priorities. Law no. 05 / L-020 on Gender Equality makes gender responsive budgeting mandatory for public institutions in Kosovo, including municipalities, ministries and other budget organizations. Pursuant to this law, non-implementation of gender responsive budgeting practices is considered a violation by the competent court and sanctions are imposed accordingly. Also, the Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfers through the Budget Circular requires gender responsive budgeting to be included as an annex to the budget allocations request for 2022. The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) requests that each municipality ensure the inclusion of the required annex with gender responsive budgeting related data when submitting annual budget requests, in accordance with the Law on Gender Equality and budget circulars. According to the best gender responsive budgeting practices, also used by the Kosovo Institute for Public Administration (KIPA), this annex includes and/or is based on: 1) an analysis of the different needs of women and men in the municipality; 2) how different women and men benefited from the previous budget, and any unaddressed needs from the same; and 3) municipal targets with indicators towards increasing gender equality through expenditures in 2022, addressing any inequalities identified by gender analysis.

In addition, we request for Gender Equality Officers to be involved in municipalities and women’s civil society organizations to be included in the process of organizing public consultations, as provided by Law 03 / L-048 on Public Financial Management and Accountability, and to engage more women in all budget processes. In addition to the requirements for integrating gender responsive budgeting into all budget phases, we have some recommendations for municipal budget lines for better funding:

Gender Equality

• Ensure that economic recovery measures support men and women according to their different needs.

• Allocate funds for mandatory training by KIPA for all civil servants with relevant responsibilities related to gender equality and gender responsive budgeting.

• Allocate a budget for training and mentoring officials and for building their capacities related to gender mainstreaming in all public policies at the local level.

• Allocate sufficient budget for the Office for Gender Equality to enable the implementation of activities related to the promotion of gender equality in their municipality.

• Allocate sufficient budget to conduct ex ante and ex post gender impact assessments to inform all policies, actions, and budgets.

Women’s Economic Empowerment

• Approve fiscal policies and incentives to develop women’s businesses, including in the agricultural sector. The municipality should analyze the main obstacles faced by women’s businesses during and after the pandemic, as well as develop policies that would help overcome these obstacles. Affirmative measures could include but not necessarily be limited to facilitating the payment of utility bills, tax relief, access to loans, as well as increasing the share of municipal expenditures in subsidies for women’s businesses.

• Take special measures and make continuous efforts within the medium-term measures to identify violations of rights by the informal economy, especially, but not limited to the agricultural sector (example: increase the number of inspectors or build the capacity of current inspectors to develop a gender-responsive “Do No Harm” approach when addressing the informal economy, addressing the needs of women in this sector.

Addressing gender-based violence

• Allocate sufficient resources, based on gender analysis and gender-responsive budgeting, to fully implement municipal responsibilities to address all forms of gender-based violence, especially in terms of rehabilitation and reintegration into society (which hitherto has had insufficient resources, as shown by findings from KWN’s “From Words to Action” research). For example, allocate a sufficient budget for more social service officers and for implementing rehabilitation case management plans.

• Provide shelter facilities / buildings in municipalities where they are not available, as well as social housing for persons who have suffered gender-based violence to live independently.

• Budget sufficiently for providing obligatory basic and multi-sectoral training for government officials working within municipalities on issues such as gender equality, gender-based violence, referrals and municipal budget commitments, and providing these services.

Equal, quality education

• Allocate funds to increase the number of child care centers and pre-school centers in proportion to the number of children in need at the local level. This will also increase children’s educational performance, help create new jobs, and enable more women to enter the workforce, according to KWN’s research.

• Include in the Directorate of Education at the local level a budget for teachers in Lower Secondary and Upper Secondary Education be trained on delivering gender-transformative teaching towards reducing gender inequalities, transforming gender roles and existing gender norms on power relations.

Health care

• Provide sufficient budget for the provision of reproductive health services in all municipalities.

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Single Mother Fired Amid Isolation Measures Receives Redress

06.08.2021

“During the first interview, many employers ask you if you have children, and how you respond determines whether you will be accepted [for the job]”, A.L. recalled.

Employers’ hesitancy to hire mothers can continue affecting women even after they secure employment, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the challenges that working mothers face.

A young, single mother of two, A.L. said that the COVID-19 pandemic not only created health instability, but also economic instability for her family.

On 18 October, her employer from Cetinje city in Montenegro fired her via a “Viber” message, while she was in self-isolation because of a COVID-19 infection in her home. The employer justified its decision by stating that she was absent from work. Nevertheless, this constituted wrongful termination of her employment contract.

After hearing about her case via the media, the Trade Union of Media of Montenegro (TUMM) contacted A.L. to offer her free legal aid, and she accepted. In an interview with TUMM’s staff, she further explained the challenges that working mothers face with their employers.

“The employer did not understand that my child was sick and that I had to be with her at home or in the hospital. Due to these absences, my salary was reduced”, she said. “Motherhood is not protected at all. If children are the greatest wealth of this world, how can these things happen?”

Women facing labour rights violations suffer both financially and psychologically, she said.

“A woman feels guilty when her child has fallen ill, when she cannot go to work or when her salary is reduced. Surviving the month becomes a stress that effects the whole family”, she said.

To help her address these challenges, TUMM assisted A.L. in preparing a complaint against her employer. The organization also advised her regarding the appearance of her legal representative during the process of finding a peaceful settlement to these labour disputes.

Due to the media exposure of this case, the employer contacted TUMM to present their side of the story. As a result of this conversation, the employer consented to resolving this labour dispute peacefully through the Agency for the Peaceful Settlement of Labor Disputes. The case was solved through a settlement, and A.L. received all of her prior, missed wages owed to her since she was wrongly fired.

Her employment ended on the day of the dispute resolution, before the Agency, and she was paid for arrears from the period of dismissal until the resolution of the dispute as well as the reduced salaries while she was on sick leave. The employer has taken all actions necessary to rectify the dispute.

Meanwhile, A.L. has begun her search for a new job. She used her right to register with the Employment Bureau as an unemployed person and job seeker.

A.L. received support, including this free legal aid, through TUMM’s action, supported by the Kosovo Women’s Network, Women’s Rights Center and their partners through the Action “Furthering Women’s Labour Rights”. It is financed by the European Union and co-funded by Swedish International Development Cooperation (Sida).

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KWN members discuss the content of the EU Work-Life Balance Directive and Family-Friendly Workplaces

05.08.2021

Today, August 5, the Kosovo Womens Network (KWN) organised a workshop with KWN members who applied to the Kosovo Women’s Fund to work toward introducing and implementing the EU Work-Life Balance Directive in Kosovo.

Participants discussed the content of the EU Work-Life Balance Directive and strategies for working with employers to design family friendly policies that would enable employees to better balance life and work, as provided for in this EU Directive.

Indeed, evidence suggests that establishing family friendly policies at the workplace can contribute to increased employment of women, men having more time with their children and directly to a country’s economic development through the increased employment of women and more successful companies.

Activists plan to use these skills gleaned through this workshop to support employers in Kosovo to improve their internal policies and practices so that employees can better balance life and work.

Kaltrina Veliqi, a representative of NGO Drugëza, emphasised that local cooperation is very important to achieve a work-life balance and to create family-friendly jobs.

“We need to use the directorates in our municipalities and assembly members who can provide support in pushing forward these strategies to get employers engaged and to implement the EU Work-Life Balance Directive,” she said.

Participants discussed paternity leave, working from home, flexibility for breastfeeding mothers, employer incentives for fathers, and childcare spaces at work, among other potential policies that employers could introduce.

They discussed positive examples of companies that have created some such policies already.

“This workshop helped me learn more about what we can call Family-Friendly Workplaces and that we should incorporate these practices as soon as possible in our country as well,” said one of the representatives of the organizations.

This workshop is supported by UNFPA as part of a regional initiative funded by the Austrian Development Agency.

01.04.26