On Feb. 6 the Women’s Association “Aureola”, a member organisation of the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN), hosted a discussion table on “Advancing the Law of Inheritance aiming to guarantee the economic sustainability from the family inheritance to the female heirs”, within the framework of the four-month initiative “Advancement of the Inheritance Law”.

Part of this discussion were Albulena Haxhiu, Member of Parliament and Chairwoman of the Parliamentary Committee on Legislation, Mexhide Mjaku-Topalli, Member of Parliament and Chairwoman of Women Caucus, Igballe Rogova, Executive Director of KWN, Flora Durmishi, Editor at Radio Kosova, Leonora Selmani, Agency of Gender Equality, and other representatives of organizations who work on the right to inheritance and property.

In her speech Haxhiu stressed that she continually follows the reports drafted by KWN and other organisations too.

“Women refuse to inherit a property due to the fear of being “excluded” from the family. We can see the impact of patriarchal mentality also in the court, where judges often put some kind of pressure for the woman/girl to give up her inheritance,” she said.

Whilst, Rogova said that the problem are not the laws, but the lack of their implementation.

“Previously the right to property was a taboo, while now we have some positive moves to this regard. KWN has been campaigning in 5 municipalities, we went door to door and asked women if they need to register the property, in which case we have provided assistance to cover administrative costs,” Rogova said.

Further, Mjaku-Topalli appreciating the work carried on this issue by the organizations, she emphasized the importance of the media for raising public awareness on this subject.

The participants agreed that the realisation of the women’s and girls’ inheritance rights would impact their economic empowerment and improve their lives.

This initiative is supported by Kosovo Women’s Fund (KWF) of Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) and financed by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA).