Assembly Support Initiative in Kosovo meets on gender equality
(Lubomir Kotek/OSCE)The OSCE promotes gender equality. (Lubomir Kotek/OSCE) Photo details
PRISTINA, 6 June 2002 - The members of the Assembly of Kosovo together with representatives of the Government and civil society leaders are gathering today and tomorrow to participate in a seminar on gender equality. The event, organised by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, aims at providing skills and knowledge about legal and institutional framework of equal opportunities for men and women.
The participants will discuss democratic standards regarding non-discrimination and human rights for men and women, and how it would be possible to improve gender equity in Kosovo using experiences of other countries.
According to an OSCE report on the gender situation in Kosovo, women in the region are disadvantaged from socio-economical, political and institutional perspective. The report, which will be used as a working document during the seminar, notably states that:
"...Some 10 per cent are illiterate; among families with only one child, male children outnumber female children by three to one. Village councils do not have women representatives; less than five per cent of the 245 lawyers in Kosovo who are members of the Bar Association are women. Although 28 per cent of parliamentarians are women, there are presently no women ministers, and only very few in senior positions. Women rarely own or inherit property and are hence unable to secure financial credit"
The conference is the sixth event of the Assembly Support Initiative, a multi-agency support programme that comes in response to the many challenges facing the Kosovo Assembly.
Representatives of the media are invited to attend a press conference, where the participants of the two-day seminar will present the discussions they have held. The press conference will be held on Friday, 7 June, at 13:00 in the Press Room of the Kosovo Assembly Building in Prishtina/Pristina.
"The report on gender situation in Kosovo", launched by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo can be viewed in the Mission's website.
The participants will discuss democratic standards regarding non-discrimination and human rights for men and women, and how it would be possible to improve gender equity in Kosovo using experiences of other countries.
According to an OSCE report on the gender situation in Kosovo, women in the region are disadvantaged from socio-economical, political and institutional perspective. The report, which will be used as a working document during the seminar, notably states that:
"...Some 10 per cent are illiterate; among families with only one child, male children outnumber female children by three to one. Village councils do not have women representatives; less than five per cent of the 245 lawyers in Kosovo who are members of the Bar Association are women. Although 28 per cent of parliamentarians are women, there are presently no women ministers, and only very few in senior positions. Women rarely own or inherit property and are hence unable to secure financial credit"
The conference is the sixth event of the Assembly Support Initiative, a multi-agency support programme that comes in response to the many challenges facing the Kosovo Assembly.
Representatives of the media are invited to attend a press conference, where the participants of the two-day seminar will present the discussions they have held. The press conference will be held on Friday, 7 June, at 13:00 in the Press Room of the Kosovo Assembly Building in Prishtina/Pristina.
"The report on gender situation in Kosovo", launched by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo can be viewed in the Mission's website.