The Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) and the Kosovo Lobby for Gender Equality (Lobby) express their deep concern regarding the unfair treatment and pressure applied against Zahrie Podrimqaku-Subashi, Coordinator of the Municipal Human Rights Unit and Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities Officer in Drenas, by the Mayor of this Municipality, Ramiz Lladrovci.

Since his arrival, he has pressured Podrimqaku-Subashi to leave her position. In January, the Mayor called her into his office, pressuring her to resign from her workplace. This was illegal and without respect for Kosovo laws pertaining to recruitment and transfer. Lladrovci’s exerted this pressure with the intention to replace Podrimqak-Subashi with his sister’s daughter-in-law.

After news broke regarding this case, Mayor Lladrovci decided on 1 Mar. to temporarily transfer Podrimqaku-Subashi to the position of Head of Assembly Services in the same functional category.

Podrimqaku-Subashi challenged this decision, based on Law No. 03/L –149 on The Civil Service of the Republic of Kosovo.

Among the reasons for refusing this transfer, Podrimqaku-Subashi referenced that her transfer was “intentional, unreasonable, without a time limit, violent, and forced”.

Recalling Podrimqaku-Subashi’s work and activism in defence of human rights, particularly towards women’s rights, a contribution affecting all periods of Kosovo’s recent history, KWN and Lobby express unreserved support for Podrimqaku-Subashi.

Moreover, they demand that the Municipality of Drenas, as well as other relevant institutions, immediately stop pressuring Podrimqaku-Subashi and allow her to continue exercising her merited public function and the benefitting citizens, as Podrimqaku-Subashi has done to date.