Kosovo Mission supports empowerment of women at the local level

The women of Kosovo continue to face difficulties that hamper their full participation in public life. For example, in Prishtinë/Pristina region, only a few women hold leadership positions, while in Lipjan/Lipljan municipality, all 13 departmental directors are men.

According to Lumturije Bytyqi, a municipal assembly member in Lipjan/Lipljan (a town some 20 km south-west of Prishtinë/Pristina), female residents' participation in public life is also close to negligible.

But things are starting to change. On 9 July, Bytyqi got together with 19 other women at the local hall to establish the municipality's first informal women's caucus. Participants came from various layers of society, from municipal officials to civil society representatives and members of different ethnic communities.

The establishment of the new caucus is part of a project in Prishtinë/Pristina region by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo designed to improve communication and co-operation between female residents and elected representatives, and to improve gender equality in municipal structures, policies and practices.

Identifying needs

A round of debates conducted by the OSCE Mission with women in five villages in Lipjan/Lipljan identified a number of their needs and concerns. Among the things they asked for were the provision of vocational training, support for start-up businesses and more health facilities, as well as regular training on reproductive health and breast cancer detection.

"All their needs have existed for years," says Bytyqi, "and the caucus will now serve as a lobbying mechanism that can help to resolve issues of concern."

Kimete Jashanica, an OSCE Mission municipal team member in Lipjan/Lipljan, notes that prior to the creation of the caucus, the only focal point for gender issues was the municipal officer for gender equality.

"It was hard for one person to deal with all the issues raised by women, and it was even harder for that person alone to convince the assembly members or the mayor to take action," she says. "As a group, they will be stronger, and their vote will count in decision making."

The caucus members, adds Jashanica, will discuss their concerns and define priorities which will be included in an action plan and presented to the municipal assembly for consideration and funding by the end of the year.

An informal caucus of women has also been established in Gllogoc/Glogovac, while the other five municipalities in the region, Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje, Obiliq/Obilic, Podujevë/Podujevo, Prishtinë/Pristina, and Shtime/Stimlje plan to establish theirs in early September.

Preparing the ground

The creation of the caucuses was preceded by a survey of 1,635 female and 435 male residents and 75 debates organized by the OSCE Mission in 34 villages in the region.

In the debates, women talked about their problems - the first step in encouraging their active participation in public life. As a result, women from Janjevë/Janjevo, a village in Lipjan/Lipljan municipality, were able to successfully advocate the repair of the village water network with the deputy mayor.

"Sewage networks, village centres for family medicine and road safety, including bus transport and underpasses, were some of the additional concerns the women brought up," says Jashanica.

In June and July, the OSCE municipal team members also gave 195 assembly members a one-day human rights training session, to improve their awareness of human rights in general, to enable them to make more gender-aware decisions.

"We take decisions that affect people's lives, so it's important for us to be able to look at them from the human rights and gender perspective," notes Jakup Ternava, chairperson of Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje municipal assembly, who received human rights training for the first time on 7 July.

To further help female municipal assemblies' members and key female municipal officials, the OSCE Mission also provided them with a two-day training course on public presentation, leadership and negotiation skills.

Speaking with one voice

"Bringing all these women together is the first success of this initiative," says Bytyqi.

Jashanica agrees: "Voting and speaking with one voice in the assembly will have an impact on decision-making. It will empower women and will make municipal authorities think from a more gender-sensitive perspective."