The Mitrovica Women Association for Human Rights (MWAHR) is a member organization of the Gender Budget Watchdog Network (GBWN) in the Western Balkans and the Republic of Moldova. Through this network, MWAHR has conducted detailed budget monitoring in the Municipality of Mitrovica, marking an important step toward ensuring equitable and fair budget distribution.  

As part of the “Strengthening Transparency and Accountability for Gender Equality in Western Balkans and Moldova” initiative, MWAHR’s specific objective was to enhance women’s participation in public hearings organized by the municipality to gather recommendations for drafting the annual budget circular. 

“There is often a misconception about gender budgeting. Many people believe it solely prioritizes women or that it should always benefit them. We explain that gender budgeting and gender equality aim to ensure equality between genders,” says Vetone Veliu, Executive Director of MWAHR. 

Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB) is a strategy designed to integrate gender considerations into government planning and budgeting processes. It is a key priority for MWAHR, which has spent nearly three years monitoring the work of relevant municipal directorates in Mitrovica to assess the implementation of budget policies from a gender perspective. 

Based on these monitoring efforts, MWAHR has drafted two detailed reports analysing budget allocation and the extent of gender mainstreaming, contributing to increased transparency and accountability, as well as fair access to financial resources. 

The purpose of this monitoring is to evaluate the implementation of gender-responsive budgeting in the Municipality of Mitrovica and assess the commitment of relevant officials in approving decisions for the fair and responsible distribution of the municipal budget between women and men. The report, released at the conclusion of the MWAHR initiative, aimed to enhance the efficiency and transparency of municipal budget spending. 

The hearing sessions organized with the directors had a greater impact, as the directors were required to present the budget they allocated in front of 20 participants, explain the funding allocated for projects and subsidies, and describe how the budget was allocated in terms of gender.  

The directorates that were monitored include: the Directorate of Agriculture, the Directorate of Administration, the Directorate of Health, the Directorate of Social Welfare, the Directorate of Finance, and the Employment Agency. 

“Mitrovica is doing well with gender budgeting; it follows it because it makes an effort to comply with the law. Otherwise, it is probably not something they prioritize, but the good thing is that they respect the law and must distribute subsidies properly,” says Vetone Veliu. 

In addition, she highlights the importance of such initiatives in addressing the needs and demands of women. “Women often expect someone to take the initiative. If no one steps up as a leader, they wait for someone to guide them and take the lead. Therefore, it is hard to imagine them willingly and voluntarily going to ask for something that rightfully belongs to them,” she adds. 

According to Veliu, when discussing gender-responsive budgeting, it is important to focus on areas and aspects that can advance women’s financial well-being. She emphasizes the essential role of fairs, as they provide opportunities to promote women’s products, increase visibility, and strengthen their economic independence. 

Organizing fairs provides a great opportunity for women to benefit economically by selling food and clothing they make themselves. Even a short time at these fairs can bring them significant benefits. 

“For us, success stories are the fairs that give ordinary women the opportunity to provide material goods for their families through the sales they make,” says Vetone Veliu. 

During the fairs, at least 30 women entrepreneurs achieve significant benefits and visible successes. 

“We had around 335 participants in the activities, and I believe they gained a lot of information from these meetings,” says Veliu. 

To further extend its impact on the public, MWAHR has collaborated with TV Mitrovica and presented its work on their YouTube channel. To learn more about the work MWAHR has done through research, you can read the full report at the following link. 

The initiative “Strengthening Transparency and Accountability for Gender Equality in Western Balkans and Moldova,” supported by the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) as part of the GBWN, is funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).