On 23-24 Feb., the Group of Women Deputies in Kosovo organised a regional conference entitled “Parliaments and Resolution 1325: Perspectives from the Western Balkans” in Prishtina. The conference brought together parliamentarians from different countries in the region to discuss their experiences with implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

In the second panel, Igballe Rogova, Executive Director of the Kosovo Women’s Network, spoke about civil society’s role in implementing Resolution 1325. She provided examples as to how activists have collaborated with women parliamentarians in using Resolution 1325 to push for women’s participation in the negotiations and later dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. She emphasised the importance of solidarity among women, including women parliamentarians and civil society activists. “We can only change and move the agenda forward if we are together,” she said.

In this regard, she also spoke about wearing red shoes on Tuesdays as part of the Red Shoe Movement that KWN continues to endorse. Red shoes symbolise the solidarity among women and the commitment not to speak negatively about other women, but rather to seek to empower. Wearing red shoes on Tuesdays is a visual sign of one’s commitment to solidarity and encourages others to join this movement. She encouraged women parliamentarians to join the movement and to demonstrate their support for solidarity among women, building each other up and bringing about changes together.