Women in Kosovo are women are from the Republic of Kosovo or who live in Kosovo.
Traditional views on gender roles have left women in Kosovo under represented in decision-making at all levels, including the security sector, although some major improvements have led to more women in the Kosovo Police.
Survivors of conflict-related sexual violence remain stigmatized, and a culture of shame and silence surrounds the issue.
Recently, significant progress has been achieved in this field and in March 2014 the Kosovo Assembly approved Law No. 04/L-172, which legally recognizes victims of sexual violence during the armed conflict in Kosovo.
Below are 10 things you should know about women in Kosovo:
1. As citizens of a post-war nation, some Kosovan women have become participants in the process of peace-building and establishing pro-gender equality in Kosovo’s rehabilitation process.
2. Women in Kosovo have become active in politics and law enforcement in the Republic of Kosovo. An example is the election of Atifete Jahjaga as the fourth President of Kosovo. She was the first female, the first non-partisan candidate, and the youngest to be elected to the office of the presidency in the country. Before becoming president, she served as Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police holding the rank of major general, the highest among women in Southeastern Europe.
3. Women in Kosovo are technically equal to men in terms of the right to voting, property rights, and work. However, less than 10 percent of all businesses in Kosovo are led or owned by women and less than 3 percent of all business loans go to women.
4. Due to cultural customs, women in Kosovo are often excluded from property inheritance or are expected to give up their inheritance to male relatives. Only 18 percent of women own property and 3.8 percent inherited property.
5. During armed conflict in the region from 1998-1999, systematic rape was reported. According to Human Rights Watch in their 2000 report on the violence, there were 96 reported cases of rape committed by Serbian and Yugoslav forces against Kosovar Albanian women. Many people believe that this number is much lower than the actual number of victims, with estimates being in the thousands.
6. Rape during this time took three forms: rapes in the women’s houses, rapes during flight, and rapes in detention. The first form largely occurred in the villages of survivors, where they were raped in front of their families and neighbors at times.
The second category applies to rapes committed against women who were internally displaced and therefore away from their homes. The last category applies to women who were raped while in temporary detention camps.
Almost all of the reported rapes were gang rapes, with the majority committed by Serbian paramilitaries to deliberately terrorize civilians, extort money from familiar, or force people to flee the area
7. Following the end of the conflict, many survivors had their husbands leave them and some had to then raise their children alone. These survivors then had no legal recognition of their suffering, so, in 2006, efforts began to give legal recognition to survivors of sexual violence during the conflict. It was not until 2014 that this law passed.
8. Recently, legal measures have begun to implement reparations programs for women survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. In September 2017, the Kosovar government allocated a budget for recognizing and verifying the status of survivors. As such, these women gained the status as civilian victims of war and receive monthly pensions.
9. Domestic abuse is common throughout Kosovo. In 2016, police received 870 reports of domestic violence that subsequently lead to 243 arrests. However, sources estimate that 90 percent of domestic violence incidents go unreported.
10. In a survey done in 2015, 68 percent of women reported that they had suffered from domestic violence at one point in their lives. The survey also found that 20 percent of male and female respondents thought it was acceptable for a husband to beat his wife. This overall acceptance towards domestic violence could contribute towards the high incidence rate.
UN Women has worked in Kosovo since 1999 to foster gender equality, women’s empowerment and make gender equality central to the work of other UN agencies in Kosovo.
UN Women contributed to the existing legislation on gender equality and women’s empowerment and to the establishment of gender mechanisms at local and central levels.
In recent years, UN Women in Kosovo has collaborated closely with civil society, government and women’s groups to support activities and programmes that focus on ending violence against women as well as peace and security and engendering humanitarian action.
It has also helped the Kosovar Agency for Gender Equality (AGE) develop a strategic working plan and organize gender related trainings for government institutions.
“When women first joined the police, there was only small number of women, and there was prejudice, stereotypes and mistrust. Women in the police force were expected to demonstrate their capacity much more than men in order to be successful,” recalls Colonel Taibe Canolli, President of the Association of Women in the Kosovo Police (AWKP).
Established in partnership with UN Women in Kosovo, the Association of Women in the Kosovo Police trains and supports women to take on leadership roles, and break the stereotypes and cultural barriers that discourage women from joining the security sector.
Since the establishment of the group in 2013, the percentage of women in the Kosovo Police has risen to 15 per cent. But managing police work and family responsibilities can be difficult for women police officers.
For women, policing comes with dangerous situations and long working hours that take them away from their families. They may be called upon to patrol the streets during holidays and elections and to maintain public safety and order during times of unrest. The burden and expectation of care work at home that women traditionally provide, can create additional challenges.
Over the years the Association has created a network of support systems for women in the Kosovo Police. It has completed several projects on promoting gender equality; encouraged more women to apply for security positions; facilitated healthcare for women, as well as provided professional trainings on gender, leadership and management, in order to retain and assist women officers in advancing their careers.