From the outside, violence against women might seem like a problem that affects everyone equally. But in reality, some women are doubly discriminated against, both by gender and by their different abilities. In silence, in the corners of the system and society, blind women and girls in Kosovo live a dual reality: excluded, invisible, and often without hope for protection. 

This is precisely the reality that the Committee of Blind Women of Kosovo (CBWK) is challenging through a bold and sensitive initiative that aims to build bridges towards knowledge, awareness, and safety for blind women and girls living in Kosovo. 

We have previously informed you about the CBWK’s initiative through the story Empowerment through Education: The Committee of Blind Women and the Endeavor for Support, and now we want to highlight its achievements. 

Considering the daily challenges of this community, CBWK has planned a program that aims to ease the lives of blind women and girls, raise awareness among institutions, and improve societal consciousness. 

“Our objective is clear: to protect and prevent violence against blind women and girls, who are doubly discriminated against; first because of their gender, and second because of their disability,” says Korab Jetullahu, a representative of CBWK. 

The project began as a result of many stories heard over the years from women facing various forms of violence, without institutional support or access to basic information. 

“Considering that blind people have limited access to information, due to scarce materials in Braille or audio, and on the other hand, they don’t have access to technology, we deemed it reasonable to conduct meetings directly with these individuals,” he further explains. 

As part of the project, CBWK engaged a psychologist and a sociologist to conduct training sessions in four regions of Kosovo: Prishtina, Mitrovica, Suhareka, and Gjakova. In each city, three training sessions were held, with the participation of approximately 45 blind women and girls in each city. 

The first and most sensitive topic addressed in these training sessions was violence: what it is, how it manifests, and how blind women and girls can protect themselves from violence. 

“Many women lack knowledge about violence, they don’t know its forms, they don’t know who the perpetrators usually are, what psychological or economic violence is. For this reason, we started from the basic steps,” explains Jetullahu. 

The training sessions also discussed legal frameworks and institutional protection mechanisms, although, as Jetullahu emphasized, the system in practice remains almost closed to women with disabilities. In Kosovo, there is still no shelter with staff trained to work with blind people, so CBWK aimed to inform these participants about protective mechanisms and places where they can seek help. 

“Besides telling you what violence is, I’m also telling you where you can protect yourself,” he says. 

“Violence usually starts in the family,” he begins to explain. 

“It can also happen on the street, but the systematic kind, the one that gnaws at you from within, usually happens at home. And the person who does it is often also the one who accompanies you – you can’t tell them ‘take me to the police,’ or ‘take me to a shelter.’ You are dependent on them,” he recounts with pain. 

Despite these limitations, the project has shown concrete signs of change. One of the participants, a blind woman who experienced physical and psychological violence for years, found the courage to tell her story to a Swedish medium collaborating with the National Association of the Blind of Sweden, a partner of CBWK. The story was published with her identity fully protected. 

She was left alone with her young daughter, excluded from her husband’s family after the violence she had experienced. She lived on only 250 euros per month, which is basic support for first-category blind individuals. Her courage to speak out is not just a personal story; it is a political act, a message for all women who feel they have no voice. 

CBWK’s initiative has shown success, and through the participants’ stories, the organization aims to continue with this idea and approach in other areas of Kosovo, as despite the participation of only some individuals, a large number of blind girls and women still need to be informed about violence and protection from it. 

CBWK’s ongoing work consistently aligns with the work and Strategy of the Kosovo Women’s Network.