Young women in Prizren strategize to address the challenges they face during a Young Women’s Empowerment Initiative meeting.
Dynamic lifestyles sometimes make it difficult for young women to meet and discuss issues impacting their rights. The Young Women’s Empowerment Initiative (YWEI) provided space for young women in Prizren to gather and strategize how to address some of the challenges they face in their municipality.
During the meeting, they developed an advocacy strategy for furthering women’s right to education and towards reducing discrimination against women at work.
In discussing women at work, they realized that most of the work that women do is not considered “work”, but rather “women’s responsibility.” As such, women do not receive any financial compensation for house work, childcare and caring for the elderly in their families, for example.
“The meeting helped us see things in a different perspective,” one participant said.
Young women also discussed other issues they face, including access to education.
“A very concerning issue, for example, is when a young woman’s family tells her that they have done everything for her, and education is not necessary for her,” said a young woman. “In this way they decide for their daughter without giving her the possibility to decide for her own future.”
After discussing these challenges, young women split into groups, creating strategies that they will use to advocate for changes within their municipality.
“This meeting is very interesting,” a young woman said. “I have never experienced something like this before. In Prizren, there are a lot of activities organized for youth, but not specifically to empower young women to fight for their rights.”
Follow young women’s discussions and advocacy initiatives on the Young Women’s Empowerment Initiative Facebook page.
