Gender Equality in terms of legislation
Keriman SADIKAY (Kosovo)
Kosovo is a new state, and as such has attached great importance to gender equality.
Awareness of the society about this issue is important to create legislation. Given thatwar brings great suffering for both men and women, they have had to carefully
overcome these experiences. Women in particular have experienced severe suffering as
mothers, sisters and wives. But, with the emergence of a new era in education andemployment after the war, women have rebuilt the state of Kosovo, side-by-side withmen.
Since the war, the government of Kosovo has taken concrete steps to reachmeaningful equality in society. To achieve this aim, the government of Kosovo has
drafted its own legislation concerning gender equality. The Law on Gender Equality andFamily Law include provisions for the protection and care of women in family andsociety, as well as the Law of Nonviolence and the Anti-Discrimination Law.
To better execute legislation, the government of Kosovo established both
implementation and monitoring mechanisms. An assembly framework was established
for the Parliamentary Commission for Human Rights, Gender Equality, MissingPersons and Petitions, and the Agency for Gender Equality, Office for Good Governance,
Human Rights, Equal Opportunities and Gender Issues was created under the PrimeMinister. Human Rights Units have been established in each ministry, in which GenderEquality Officers within the Ministry report directly to the Secretary General. Theseunits are coordinated by the Office for Good Governance. These mechanisms have also
been well established in municipalities, with one human rights unit formed in eachmunicipality. Officials in these units provide assistance in the implementation,coordination and monitoring of legislation, as well as address complaints made in
implementing the legislation.
The Government of Kosovo has applied a quota of a 30% increase of women indecision-making processes. As a result, the number of women in Parliament hasincreased and even exceeds the quota of 30%. Presently in Parliament therepresentation of women is 40%.
It should be noted that the President of Kosovo is a young woman, and the Kosovo
government has two female Deputy Prime Ministers. Women are also in positions asMinisters and Deputy Ministers, as well as female Counselors. The Ministry also has aconsiderable number of female department heads.
As well, the government also organizes trainings and campaigns on women's rights

for officials, non-governmental organizations and the media.
The government of Kosovo has also had good cooperation with non-governmentalorganizations on gender equality. In Kosovo, there are a great many of theseorganizations, which have also created networks of women. These organizations havetaken active part in drafting legislation and monitoring.
The government also gives priority to women, minorities and persons withdisabilities when applications are submitted for employment.
In Kosovo's society women have a more favorable position in education andeconomic decision-making. This does, of course, leave room for improvement, as there
still is a great deal of work to do, in particular raising awareness in the private sector
with regard to employing more women and creating favorable positions indecision-making. However, given that Kosovo, as a new state and with a very young
population, still faces high unemployment, women continue to face problems whichhave been created by the economic situation.
The Kosovo government and society continue to move forward with efforts related
to gender equality. Today, as the International Day against Violence against Women, we
see city billboards that say “Stop Violence against Women” and “Communicate withWords, not Violence.” As well, Kosovo marked October, the month of breast cancer
awareness, with a number of awareness raising activities, including free breast checks(mammography) at clinics and hospitals and billboards around the country.
In this way, the Kosovo government and the society in which I live are taking theproper steps to ensure gender equality.