Kosovo Women's Network

Nobel Recognizes Mukwege, Murad Fight against Sexual Violence

06.10.2018

The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) congratulates Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad, the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

Mr. Mukwege is a Congolese gynaecologist who has helped thousands of persons who have suffered rape. Nadia Murad, an Iraqi Yazidi sold into sex slavery by ISIS, refused to remain silent, speaking out about crimes perpetrated against her and other women.

The Nobel committee said: “They have both put their own personal security at risk by courageously combatting war crimes and securing justice for victims.”

We thank the Nobel Peace Prize committee for utilizing this prestigious award to bring attention to sexual violence as a war crime and to those brave human rights defenders who consistently fight for justice. For too long, victims have remained silent due to public pressure and insufficient support. Finally the world is speaking out to support victims and to say, ‘We stand with you for justice. We stand with you for recognition. We stand with you.’

As many women and some men in Kosovo continue to seek justice for the sexual violence crimes that were perpetrated against them, we are pleased that the government of Kosovo finally has taken steps to recognise and support them. We continue to stand with all women and men who have suffered such crimes in Kosovo and beyond. We hope that the recognition given with the most recent Nobel Peace Prize will bring further international awareness and action towards supporting you, too.

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KWN members hold their regular meeting

05.10.2018

On 10 September 2018, at the Sirius Hotel, Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) held its regular membership meeting, which was attended by the representatives of KWN member organizations and supporters.
Igballe Rugova, KWN Executive Director, welcomed the present, especially the new members of the Network, pointing out that the number of member organizations has reached 138.
She informed the attendees that KWN staff was working on a summary of the new strategy and that a one-day meeting with member organizations and the Lobby on Gender Equality would be held to work on Strategy 2019-2022.
Further on, she shared the information that, during this time, the Kosovo Women’s Network has supported the protests against gender-based violence with the motto #BollMa, which was used to say enough to the murdering of women and children, enough to injustices, enough to selective justice.” To date, such protests were held in Gjakova/Äakovica, Pristina, Ferizaj/Uroševac, Gjilan/Gnjilane, Kaçanik/KaÄanik, Prizren and Vushtrri/VuÄitrn”, Rugova said. She also stressed that the protests have already started to yield results, taking as an example a murder case in Gjakova/Äakovica, where a mother and her daughter were killed by her former husband and father respectively. “Our institutions have not responded to their cry for help, and, as a result of the protests, police officers that were on duty have been suspended now”, she continued.
Later on, Nertila Qarri Gërguri, Kosovo Women’s Fund (KWF) Coordinator, reported on the first point of the KWN strategy, related to the development of member organization capacities. She shared information about the 12^th round of the Kosovo Women’s Fund, which was open from 26 June to 10 July 2018, with a total of 58 applications received, out of which 50 were individual and 8 in partnership. Out of a total of 58 applications, 56 have met the KWF criteria. In this KWF round, the total amount for the grants will be €49,000, of which a maximum amount of €4,000 can be awarded to individual grants, and a total amount of €8.000 can be awarded to partnerships for change. This round will be funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).
In the last part of the meeting, the members had the opportunity to share information about their recent activities and initiatives planned for the future.

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7 Cities protest #enough (#BollMa)

05.10.2018

During the months of August and September, the civil society organizations, supported by the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN), have organized several protests in several municipalities of Kosovo.
The first protest was organized in Gjakova, after the last case of domestic violence that had a tragic end and in which a woman and a child were killed. According to media reports, the murder has occurred in Brekoc of Gjakova, where the killer, having threatened the victim, a 40-year-old woman, on the phone first, has gone to her home and killed her and her 9-year-old daughter. The same was the husband of the 40-year-old woman.
According to KWN sources, the murderer had been held in detention before (in May 2018) for domestic violence against the late under the charge of criminal offence of “Light Bodily Injury”. Kosovo police were aware of his criminal background, and the court has released him after a month in detention. According to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo, the minimum sentence provided for this criminal offence is 3 months to 5 years of imprisonment. His release has resulted in the murder of the woman and the girl. KWN believes that had the same been convicted in advance, we would not be writing this response today and a woman and a child would still be alive. On the day of the murder, the late has warned the police of the threats that she had already received from her killer, but, as reported in the media, the police have failed to get hold of him.
Angered by the irresponsibility of the law and order authorities, concerned about the indifference to the lives of women and girls in our country, horrified by the macabre killings of women and girls in Kosovo, protests were organized to say #Boll [Enough] to the violence against women and girls in Prishtina, Ferizaj, Vushtrri, Kaçanik, Gjilan and Prizren, in which hundreds and thousands of citizens from all over Kosovo have taken part.
Through these protests, the society has demanded an impartial and objective inquiry into the cases of violence against and killings of women, a meritorious punishment for the murderers and an institutional responsibility in relation to the handling of cases of domestic violence and violence and killings of women in general.
The KWN has through the media conveyed the message: “It is high time for us to react against the killers of women and girls”. It is more than important to bring perpetrators to justice. It is more than important for responsible institutions and individuals acting in these institutions to get the proper punishment from the society. Moral punishment and legal punishment for the defenders of murderers, for the keepers of a patriarchal order, for whom the lives of women and girls have no value.”

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Austrian Delegation visits KWN Offices

05.10.2018

On September 4, an Austrian delegation comprised of Minister for Internal Affairs, Ms. Karoline Edtstadler; Office of the Secretary of State, Mr. Gernot Maier; Dr. Elisabeth Lemmerer form Unit for Bi- and Multilateral Affairs within the Ministry of Internal Affairs; Amb. Gernot Pfandler, Austrian Ambassador to Kosovo; Mr. Gunther Zimmer from ADA; Ms. Dalia El-Hennawi, Police Attaché at the Austrian Embassy and Ms. Martina Berger, Press Officer met with President of Republic of Kosovo Ms. Atifete Jahjaga and activists from KWN. The latter spoke about their work, activities and challenges they face towards women’s empowerment and gender equality in Kosovo expressing the gratitude for Austrian Development Agency that supports the implementation of many KWN Strategic Programs.
During this meeting President Jahjaga spoke about current political affairs in Kosovo, emphasizing the need for justice for approx. 20,000 women who suffered sexual violence during the war in Kosovo, visa-liberalisation to broaden perspectives for youth and attention to domestic violence. While activists talked about their work, activities and challenges they face towards women’s’ empowerment and achieving gender equality in Kosovo.
KWN Executive Director, Igballe Rogova expressed her gratitude for Austrian taxpayers, respectively for Austrian Development Agency, that believes in women’s rights and women’s lead organizations. Through this support it was made possible implementation of many KWN strategy programs towards improvement of life women’s and girls in Kosovo and furthering gender equality in Kosovo.

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Remembering an Inspirational Activist: Dua Dauti Kadriu

05.10.2018

On 6 July, an angel departed from our earth Dua Dauti-Kadriu (36). KWN always remembers her with respect and love for her contribution and hard work. To honour the memory of Dua, on 17 September KWN organized a visit in Prizren, and paid tribute at her grave together with other activists and family members.
Dua’s name means love. In all her acts and words, she fulfilled the prophecy of her name. Dua was always patient, kind, honest, caring and ready with an encouraging word. Full of light and life, she refused to dwell on anything negative and constantly emphasized the positive aspects of every situation.
Dua’s life was full and her contributions many, likely far more extensive than those that we know. Here we humbly recount only some of her contributions to the women’s rights movement.
In 2005-2006, she worked as a researcher at the Kosovar Gender Studies Centre, where she contributed substantially to researching History is Herstory, Too. She spent several days (and nights) conducting oral history interviews with leading women’s rights activists and artists from Prizren, Krushe e Madhe, Vushtrri and Prishtina, documenting and preserving their stories of activism for generations to come.
In 2011-2012, she joined the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) as a staff member, researching and writing At What Cost? Budgeting for the Implementation of the Legal Framework against Domestic Violence in Kosovo. Dua was an intelligent and perceptive researcher, skilled at gathering information from diverse institutions and actors, with a flair for insightful analysis.
In the years that followed, whenever KWN was in need, of peer reviewers or last minute researchers (because someone had dropped out), Dua would jump in, travelling to Mamushe, Prizren and other municipalities at a moment’s notice. A skilled communicator, she conversed freely with diverse women in men in Turkish, Bosnian, Albanian and Serbian, including with regard to difficult topics like domestic violence. She volunteered regularly for KWN, donating thousands of hours to contribute to furthering women’s rights. She attended nearly every KWN bimonthly meeting, actively following the network’s initiatives.
In 2015, Dua became an individual member of KWN. She was a constant promotor of KWN and its work, recruiting several friends, family members and co-workers to join KWN as individual members, as well.
In 2015, KWN member organizations elected Dua as a member of the KWN Board of Directors, where she served in 2016 and 2017, including briefly as Chair of the KWN Board. In this position, she continued contributing substantially to KWN’s work with her positivity, encouragement and ideas.
With her unwavering energy and commitment, Dua was an inspiring role model for other women. While caring for her two children as a dedicated mother, she also worked full-time. Meanwhile, she simultaneously continued her own education. For years, she studied late into the night in order to finish her degree in psychology, as well as to finish in Law, passing the Bar exam.
Dua always divided time from her busy schedule to support others. She utilized her degree in psychology for counselling, not as paid work, but by lending a friendly ear to anyone who needed one, always ready to listen and offer support. She was an exceptional friend, and she always brought life, light and joy to social gatherings.
Dua served her community in many other ways. She was a member of the Independent Media Commission in 2017, and advocated for children’s rights, in her own way, for years. For example, after enrolling her children in school, she was concerned by the poor diets of children and the negative impact that it had on academic achievement. She worried for children who could not afford “cool” (albeit unhealthy) snacks and soda during recess, as they were teased by other children; and for the negative impact that consuming sugar has on children’s ability to focus and learn. She advocated both within schools and on television for parents and teachers to ban junk foods from school, promoting a healthy diet for all children. She also appeared regularly on television, discussing parenting techniques and child health.
Dua has left behind her wonderful and supportive husband, Halit; children Diella and Alpi; and the Kadriu and Dauti families from Prishtina, Gjilan and Prizren. We share our most heart-felt condolences with her family. Dua will forever live on in our hearts, memories and work.

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27.02.26

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25.02.26

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13.02.26

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EU, Kosovo Women’s Network Launch Kosovo Gender Analysis

03.10.2018

Today, on October 3, the European Union Office in Kosovo / European Union Special Representative in Kosovo, represented by Ambassador Nataliya Apostolova, launched the Kosovo Gender Analysis in cooperation with the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) at the National Library of Kosovo, from 14:15.
Researched and written by the Kosovo Women’s Network at the request of the European Union Office in Kosovo, the Kosovo Gender Analysis provides current information on the situation of men and women in different sectors, ranging from agriculture, to economy, to energy, to environment, to justice, among others.
Ambassador Nataliya Apostolova, Head of EU Office in Kosovo / EU Special Representative, during her opening remarks on the importance of the Kosovo Gender Analysis and the European Union’s Efforts towards furthering Gender Equality in Kosovo, expressed her pleasure to officially launch this report while acknowledging the Network’s extensive experience with gender analysis as a qualified partner implementation of this ambitious endeavor.
“Gender equality is crucial to ensuring security, to establishing political stability, and achieving to economic development. Substantial evidence shows that countries in which women and men are more equal and participate equality in decision making, are countries that are more developed, more secure, more stable. It is proven that there is less corruption when more women participate in political life,” stated Ambassador Apostolova.
Meanwhile, Minister Dhurata Hoxha, Minister of European Integration, on her speech she expressed that „I want to congratulate the Kosovo Women’s Network in conducting this important research. This research will help everyone, especially us a small number of women in the Government, to support each other and to promote a greater participation in politics. Only through this path we can make a positive change in our society“.
Afterwards, Mehdi Geci, Deputy Ombudsperson spoke about Ombudsperson’s efforts towards fighting gender discrimination through investigating complains and implementing the law.
„The complains of various cases received at our institution related to violation of women’s rights at workplace, as well as violation of women’s property rights, are now being processed by the competent courts,“ said Mr. Geci.
Further, Nicole Farnsworth, Program Director / Lead Researcher at KWN, and co-author of this report, presented the key findings which included:

Governance and Democracy: Women, including ethnic minority women, remain underrepresented in governance compared to men;
Rule of Law and Fundamental Freedoms: women still own substantially less property (17% of properties) than men; Men are far more likely than women to commit crimes and be convicted (in 2015, of adults convicted, 95% were men); Gender-based violence, particularly domestic violence, remains widespread. Contributing factors include socialized gender norms and power relations that underpin male violence; and untreated trauma. Institutional response remains weak.
Education: Pre-school attendance is low and far from meeting the EU Barcelona Objective targets due to insufficient affordable pre-school facilities; Women are underrepresented among university professors as well; Children with disabilities lack access to education, and girls with disabilities face more challenges than boys;
Employment: Officially, only 13% of all women are employed, compared to 47% of men; A key factor contributing to women’s low labour force participation is care responsibilities, primarily childcare; 32% of women state that this hinders their employment;
Competitiveness and Innovation: In 2017, women owned 13% of all enterprises and 18% of new businesses registered in 2014-2016;
Women remain underrepresented in the sectors of Agriculture, Energy, Environment and Transportation;
Health: More women work in health institutions than men. Gender-disaggregated data on occupations is lacking; sociocultural boundaries and access to finances undermine women’s access to healthcare in particular.
This Analysis also includes concrete recommendations for EU’s future support to the Government of Kosovo, particularly related to Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA) programming and future political dialogues.
The event was attended by a diverse audience, including representatives of the Government of Kosovo, Embassies, Civil Society Organizations and students.

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KWN Shares Experience Costing Domestic Violence with Arab States

21.09.2018

On 20-21 Sep., the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) invited KWN Lead Researcher Nicole Farnsworth to share Kosovo’s experience Kosovo costing domestic violence, as part of an experts’ meeting on “Step by Step towards Costing Violence against Women in the Arab Region”, held in Beirut, Lebanon.

The meeting sought to provide best practices from an array of experts from academia, civil society, and governments from Ireland, the UK, Spain, Ukraine, Palestine, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Norway that would support the development of a handbook to guide Arab states methodologically in costing domestic violence.

After explaining the process, actors in involved, methodology, and key findings from the KWN publication At What Cost? Budgeting for the Implementation of the Legal Framework against Domestic Violence in Kosovo(UNDP, 2012), Nicole presented key lessons learned from this experience, including:

It’s a process: Changing mindsets, building capacities and putting in place systems for data collection all take time. This work requires a long-term process. One-off studies are insufficient in themselves. Costing exercises must be embedded within comprehensive, holistic approaches to improve prevention, protection, prosecution and rehabilitation services.
Institutionalized systems: Regular collection and reporting of data must be institutionalized within the regular roles, responsibilities, systems and procedures of institutions, such as within the budget process and the Standard Operating Procedures of institutions treating domestic violence cases.
Local ownership: Costing should not be carried out for but rather with responsible institutions, so that they learn how to undertake costing independently and they understand the importance of doing so as part of regular budget processes.
Engagement of local organizations and movements: In the absence of state services, in many countries women’s rights groups have provided services for persons who have suffered domestic violence for several years or even decades. They possess extensive knowledge and expertise. They should be fully engaged, and their expertise recognized and compensated. Sustained support to women’s rights groups to work on these issues over time can contribute lasting change.

She provided specific examples from KWN’s ongoing research and advocacy work related to both domestic violence and gender responsive budgeting, since 2006. This, in cooperation with other civil society actors like shelters and the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network; key institutions like the Agency for Gender Equality, Victim Advocates, and Police, among other institutions, as well as international actors like UN Women, OSCE, UNDP and UNFPA, when coordinated well, have contributed to important progress in Kosovo with regard to addressing domestic violence and institutionalizing gender-responsive budgeting.

19.03.26

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25.02.26

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13.02.26

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Nita Rudi Supports KWN Initiative to Address Discrimination at Work

06.09.2018

Nita Rudi is a lawyer who recently graduated from the University of Prishtina. She is currently interning as a Legal Assistant with the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN), where she is involved in a myriad of initiatives but focusing on monitoring cases of gender discrimination at work.
The project she currently is assisting is focused on Combatting Discrimination and Furthering Women’s Labour Rights. Her responsibilities include monitoring media and court cases related to gender-based discrimination at work. Further, she has helped to prepare guidance and materials that will facilitate providing legal advice to women who may have experienced discrimination at work.
Previously, Nita has engaged in various apprenticeship programmes through which she gained knowledge about participating in public policy and decision-making processes. She also has contributed to research on the challenges that youth face in securing employment within Kosovo’s Public Administration by surveying youth. She feels that working with marginalized people through a non-governmental organization has contributed to preparing her as a young professional.
Nita is passionate about gender equality and therefore she saw the opportunity to work at KWN as a perfectly fit for furthering her career. She hopes to help Kosovo society by furthering gender equality and providing equal working conditions for all women and girls. Moreover, after joining the KWN team, Nita has developed further interest in supporting women and girls who have suffered gender-based violence and discrimination.
“I saw this opportunity to be an exciting challenge that I would pursue, which in turn would be beneficial for my career prospects,” she said. “Further, I am very interested in implementing all my accumulated theoretical knowledge and all of my skills gained during my education and working experience towards serving as a model for younger girls who want to change the society through law and justice.”
She looks forward on to continuing to help advance women and girls’ equal participation in all spheres of Kosovo society.
Nita’s internship is supported by Altrusa International Foundation. Altrusa was established in 1962 as the charitable arm of Altrusa International. It funds the development and implementation of effective community services and leadership programs around the world. In total, over three million dollars have been given in community service grants and educational scholarships through our international outreach, committed to improving economic well-being and quality of life.

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25.02.26

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13.02.26

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KWN Presents on EU Enlargement and Western Balkan Women

06.09.2018

The Global Progressive Forum, in cooperation with the S&D Group, the CEE Network for Gender Issues and Party of European Socialists (PES) Women organizeda seminar entitled “Making the EU enlargement process deliver for Western Balkan women” in Korcula, Croatia on 24 August 2018. The event brought together women politicians from the Western Balkans and from the European Parliament, as well as men supporters.

For the workshop on “Gendering Employment and Social Policies: EU Accession and work/life balance”, they invited Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) Lead Researcher Nicole Farnsworth to present the situation in the region. Focusing on Kosovo, she spoke about key challenges to women’s participation in the labour force, where only 1.3 in 10 women are employed officially. She discussed the informal employment of women without contracts, Kosovo’s problematic maternity leave provisions, the related discrimination in hiring and the unavailability of childcare, among other issues. She suggested policy amendments related to non-transferable maternity, paternity and parental leave; improved social services, particularly available, affordable, quality child and elderly care; and better education that challenges traditional gender norms that keep women at home and put too much pressure on men as “breadwinners”. She also called for: better attention to how taxation impacts women and men differently; a gendered “do no harm” approach in addressing the informal economy; and flexible working hours. To Members of the European Parliament, she recommended continued political pressure for Western Balkan countries to further gender equality as a prerequisite for EU accession; to ensure gender mainstreaming in the implementation of all IPA programming; and to support specific efforts to further gender quality, such as supporting the institutionalization of accessible, affordable, quality childcare and pre-school.
The presentation was informed by KWN’s prior work on parental leave provisions, childcare accessibility, gender budgeting for social welfare and monitoring of the European Union’s (EU) implementation of the EU Gender Action Plan II, as well as current regional research related to gender-based discrimination and labour (forthcoming 2019), supported by the European Union.
Maja Stajcic Riza Aragon, Senior Programme Officer from the Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation also had a presentation on “Women’s Rights in the Western Balkans”, drawing from their research. She spoke about the importance of recognizing the expertise of women’s rights activists; defending them amid shrinking space, including government attempts to silence vocal activists; meaningfully involving activists in policy discussions; and providing long-term institutional financial support for their work, which has proven to contribute to lasting change.
Other important issues discussed during the seminar included access to affordable abortions; the impact of fascist populist policies on women’s rights; and the dangers to women’s rights affiliated with the state capture in several countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
The European Parliament supported KWN’s participation in this event. The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation provided the opportunity for parliamentarians to become familiar with KWN’s work and expertise on these issues, through prior speaking engagements in Brussels.

Notes

Hungary (2030) Conscious objection to performing abortions (Croatia)

Serbia – How does this impact women’s participation in work?

Macedonia – Conditionalities don’t work – it depends on the country
Institutionalization vs. political will (Minister of Finance)
The state will pay for women who pay

Feminist policy on environmental policy

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25.02.26

Breaking the Silence: Gender Justice in Northern Kosovo

13.02.26

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State Fails to Protect Women and Children

15.08.2018

Outraged by the recklessness of law enforcement authorities, concerned by the lack of interest for the lives of women and girls in our country, appalled by the ongoing gruesome killings of women and girls, the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) calls out the Kosovo society No More Killings of Women and Girls.

No more excuses for violence, no more tolerance for violence, no more setting free violent offenders, no more failures in delivering justice and protection for the citizens of Kosovo.

Last night we were informed of the most recent case of domestic violence with a tragic outcome, where a woman and a child were killed. According to media reports, the homicide occurred in Berkoc village, Municipality of Gjakova, where the perpetrator, after having initially threatened the victim – a 40-year old woman – by phone, went to her home where he killed her and her 9-year old daughter. The perpetrator is allegedly the spouse of the 40-year old victim.

According to KWN sources, the perpetrator was previously detained on remand (May 2018) on charges of domestic violence against the deceased, for the offense of “Light Bodily Injury”. Kosovo Police were aware of his criminal background, while the court released him after one month in detention on remand. According to the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo, the minimum punishment provided for such a criminal offense is imprisonment of 3 months up to 5 years.

His release led to the murder of the woman and her daughter. At KWN, we believe that if the perpetrator had been previously convicted for the above offense, we would not be writing this release today, and a woman and her child would still be among the living. On the day of the murder, the victim had warned the police of the threats she had received from the person who is now alleged as the perpetrator, however as reported in the media, police failed to establish contact.

The time has come for us to respond to the murderers of women and girls. It is of paramount importance to bring the perpetrators to justice. It is of paramount importance to have the responsible institutions and persons in these institutions receive due punishment from the society. We call for moral punishment and legal punishment for the defenders of murderers, guardians of the patriarchal order, to whom the lives of women and girls are not worthwhile.

19.03.26