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Gender Task Force |
SPOT REPORT
The Situation of Women in Politics in Kosovo
GTF
Background
The Gender Task Force (GTF), an initiative sponsored
by the OSCE and the Central and East European Network for Gender
Issues, was born out of the Appeal to the Stability Pact for
Southeastern Europe, July 29,1999. Signed by more than 100
prominent Southeast European women activists and distributed during
the Stability Pact Summit in Sarajevo, the Appeal called
for an equal and active role for women in the development and
implementation of the Stability Pact. Kosovar women activists
signed the Appeal in the summer of 1999 from refugee
camps in FYRoM. Their call was heard. At the inaugural meeting
of the Stability Pact Working Table One in October 1999,
the political empowerment of women was named as a top priority.
The Gender Task Force Inaugural Meeting, held in November 1999,
works through a combined government and non-governmental network
of focal points that combine to form an Advisory Board, headed
by a representative from Southeast Europe. Established to coordinate
projects to improve women’s political representation and
participation across Southeast Europe, the GTF operates in ten
Southeast European Countries; Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, FYR of Macedonia, Greece, Hungary, FRY (Montenegro,
Vojvodina and Serbia), Romania and Slovenia.
The timing of the Stability Pact Gender Task Force initiative
coincided with the arrival of a large international presence in
Kosovo, including international governmental and non governmental
organizations with a strong gender equality mandate. The UN MIK
Gender Unit established in Kosovo includes gender equality machinery.
In July 2000 Sonja Lokar, GTF Chair initiated a fact-finding mission
to explore Kosovo/a’s participation in the SPGTF. This is
especially significant given the October 28, 2000 local elections
and 30% quota for women candidates.
Sonja Lokar, Stability Pact GTF Chair Visits Kosovo
Sonja Lokar’s visit was organized by the OSCE Mission in
Kosovo and consisted of meetings with Kosovar Albanian, Roma and
Serbian women leaders of major women’s NGOs, political party
women’s organizations, as well as international NGO’s
active in gender equality issues. She visited women in the Roma
camp in Obilic, met with Afredita Kelmendi, editor of Radio 21,
and attended the first Kosovo Women’s Union meeting.
The meeting was staged following a Regional Albanian Women’s
Conference that was held in Pristina the weekend before Lokar's
arrival.
Conclusions
Despite a complex environment, international and domestic organizations
have managed to assess the economic, social and political situation
of Kosovar women. Work with future women politicians has begun.
Women’s groups in political parties are weak and traditional
values are an obstacle to women’s participation. Women work
day and night for mere survival; Kosovo/a political life is hectic
and can sometimes even be dangerous. Political party work does
not pay in comparison with the engagement within donors’
established and donors’ priorities driven women’s NGO-s.
- The rules
and regulations for local elections include a 30% women’s
quota amongst the first 15 candidates. Women in political
parties are reluctant to support quota regulations, they do
not see that there is enough really qualified women politicians
to get the posts – so they are afraid of the repeating
of the token women model from the past. Their awareness of
the gender aspects of politics is very low.
- International
donors generously support women’s NGO-s dealing with
domestic violence, economic and political empowerment of women,
and the first initiatives of cross cutting cooperation of
all women’s groups has just been started. The first attempt
of Roma women to get solidarity and help from Kosovar Albanian
women to be able to leave displaced persons camps and start
to move back to their homes without harassment was presented
at the Albanian Women NGO-s conference and well received.
- NGO women
are reluctant to support the establishment of governmental
gender equality machinery. They are afraid of the possibility
that this machinery will kill their initiative in the civil
society, as was the case in the past.
GTF Follow-up
- The SP
GTF offered know-how and trainers to the UNMIK Gender Unit
and to a network of political women’s groups which resulted
out of the SP GTF Chair’s visit to Kosovo/a.
- The SP
GTF helped two Kosovo/a gender equality activists to take
part in the Women Can Do It (WCDI) train the trainers seminar
in Tirana, Albania (August 18-20, 2000).
- Sonja
Lokar, SP GTF Chair will visit Kosovo/a for a second mission
(September 2-5, 2000).
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