On May 27, the Kosovo Women’s Network joined a symbolic civil society action in front of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, on a day that marked the 22nd consecutive failure to constitute the Assembly. 120 empty chairs lined up at the entrance of the country’s highest representative institutions were not merely a symbol of the absence of MPs in their seats—they reflected the void created in the daily lives of women and girls for every day the Assembly remains non-functional. 

Each chair carried a message: a call for accountability, political cooperation, and immediate action. 

Among these messages was the voice of the women of Kosovo—a voice that for years has been calling for the adoption of key laws that directly impact their lives: the labor law, the civil code, the law on public finances, and many others. These are not just legal texts gathering dust in drawers—they are being held hostage by a system that, through a lack of political will, withholds the rights, safety, and well-being of half the population. 

For the Kosovo Women’s Network, this blockade is not a temporary crisis—it is a symptom of a deeper reality, where political interests are placed above the lives and rights of citizens, especially women. For three consecutive months, the Assembly has failed to fulfill its most basic duty—representation. And where there is no representation, there is no decision-making. Without decision-making, there is no progress. And in this vicious cycle, it is women who are affected first and most—at work, in access to justice, in the provision of public services, and in every aspect of daily life. 

The clocks placed among the empty chairs were not only an alarm—they were a reminder of the time we are losing, of the opportunities slipping away, of the rights that are being endlessly delayed. It was a call for awareness, for action, for the restoration of democratic functionality in our institutions. 

The Kosovo Women’s Network, together with other civil society organizations, will continue to be present in every action, in every voice that demands accountability, in every step that seeks equality. Because for us, every empty chair is not merely a physical absence—it is a vacant seat at the table where decisions are made about the lives and futures of women and all the citizens of this country. 

The organizations supporting the action were: Advocacy Training & Resource Center (ATRC) Assist Kosovo, Asociacioni i Mediave të Pavaruara Elektronike të Kosovës (AMPEK), Balkan Green Foundation (BGF), CEL Kosova, Center for Eduction and Community Development-Friends, CIPOF Childproof, Community Building Mitrovica (CBM), Community Development Fund (CDF), Democracy Plus (D+), Demokraci për zhvillim (D4D), Dylberizim, Ekovizioni, Fondacioni Kosovar për Shoqëri Civile (KCSF), Fondi për të Drejtën Humanitare Kosovë, Forumi Kosovar i Aftësisë së Kufizuar, Forumi për Iniciativa Qytetare (FIQ), Hyjneshat, Iniciativa për Progres (INPO), Iniciativa Qytetare Skenderaj, Instituti Demokratik i Kosovës (KDI), Instituti GAP, Instituti i Kosovës për Drejtësi (KLI), Instituti i Prishtinës për Studime Politike (PIPS), Instituti Kosovar për Hulumtim dhe Zhvillim të Politikave (KIPRED), Instituti për Politika Sociale “Musine Kokalari”, Instituti për Politika Zhvillimore (INDEP), Instituti Sekhmet, Këshilli për Mbrojtjen e të Drejtave dhe Lirive të Njeriut, Kosovo Advocacy & Development Centre K-W4W, Leadership Development Association Europe, Lëvizja FOL, New Social Initiative (NSI), Nisma e të Rinjve për të Drejtat e Njeriut – Kosovë, OJQ “ACCESS”, OJQ “Vision02”, OJQ EC Ma Ndryshe, OJQ Fortesa, OJQ Mundësia, OJQ Politeia, OJQ Zana, OJQ Pishtarët, Organizata Bubble, Organizata ÇOHU!, Organizata për Rritjen e Cilësisë në Arsim – ORCA, Qendra Kosova për Rehabilitimin e të Mbijetuarve të Torturës (KRCT), Qendra Kosovare për Studime Gjinore (QKSGJ), Qendra Kosovare për Studime të Sigurisë (QKSS), Qendra Kosovare për Zhvillim të Qëndrueshëm – QKZHQ, Qendra për Arsim e Kosovës – KEC, Qendra për Avokim dhe Kulturë Demokratike (ACDC), Qendra për Barazi dhe Drejtësi, Qendra Për Politika dhe Avokim (QPA), Qendra për Zhvillimin e Grupeve Shoqërore – CSGD, QIKA, Rrjeti i Grave të Kosovës (RrGK), Rrjeti i OJQ-ve AVONET, Rrjeti Qeliza, SHL – Kosova, Syri i Vizionit, The Foundation House (ish-IPKO Foundation), YMCA Movement.