Kosovo, concerns about the low level of representation of women in political and public life

2024-11-01 19:32:37, Kosova & Bota CNA

Kosovo, concerns about the low level of representation of women in political and

Representatives of institutions and organizations that deal with women's rights in Kosovo said on Friday that they continue to be underrepresented in political and public life in the country, while emphasizing that women who are part of these fields also face discrimination and abusive language. hatred.

These comments were made during a consultative meeting organized by the Agency for Gender Equality and the Kosovo Center for Gender Studies, with the aim of aligning their policies to advance issues related to women in Kosovo.

"Political and public travel is no longer easy, sabotage and obstruction are more crude, language is cruder, messengers or broadcasters of insults against women are more sophisticated, hate speech against women is excessively hardened globally ", said Edi Gusia from the Agency for Gender Equality of Kosovo.

In the European Commission's annual report on Kosovo, which until recently was known as the progress report, it is stated that women still remain underrepresented and that their number in high positions is unsatisfactory.

"Discriminatory language and verbal attacks continued, including women in public life, such as MPs in parliament," the report states, underlining that the Commission's recommendations from last year have been partially implemented and remain largely valid.

The Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Kosovo, Saranda Bogujevci, said that despite the progress that the country has made over the years in improving the role of women, there is still a lot of work to be done, especially in changing the mindset.

"And this is where we need to have greater focus if we want to eliminate inequality. Recently, we have seen harsh attacks on women in politics and the public sphere, and this unfortunately comes from men and not from women. I can give countless examples in my own experience and I believe that all of you have similar experiences. So what are our actions that ensure that such actions against women in public positions do not discourage other women and girls from getting involved," she said.

Luljeta Demolli from the Kosovo Center for Gender Studies said that the European Commission's report clearly shows that the responsibility of institutions to promote gender equality still remains at an unsatisfactory level.

"Continuous state investments in gender equality in terms of the legal framework but also its practical implementation are absolutely necessary, therefore it is much better for the state of Kosovo that they be done with our initiative than after requests from our EU partners- of. "Gender equality is a condition for the realization of human rights, therefore the society and the institutions of Kosovo find it necessary to continuously invest in the promotion of gender equality", she said.

Ms. Demolli emphasized that Kosovo's laws guarantee gender equality in political and public life, but the low level of their implementation remains a problem.

The law on elections foresees a gender quota of at least 30 percent women in the parliament of Kosovo, while the law on gender equality foresees the participation of women of 50 percent. In the report of the European Commission, the need for the harmonization of these two laws is emphasized, which has been continuously requested by civil society organizations in the country.

The Law on General Elections in Kosovo, which was approved in June last year, left the 30 percent quota in effect.

People's Advocate Naim Qelaj at the beginning of this year sent this law to the Constitutional Court to clarify this inconsistency, estimating that the quota of 30 percent justifies the unequal treatment of women.

Organizations dealing with issues of gender equality express concern with the low involvement of women in politics and especially decision-making, calling for a change in this culture as a necessity for the development of democracy in the country./ VOA