Women leaders from Belgrade and Pristina collaborate on women’s empowerment

Eighteen women, members of the Serbian women’s parliamentary network and of the Assembly of Kosovo women’s caucus, as well as female representatives of other decision-making institutions and women leaders from academia, civil society and media came together in an OSCE-facilitated meeting in Budva, Montenegro, to exchange experiences and identify joint initiatives to foster women’s empowerment in all sectors of society.

From 6 to 8 July 2013, participants discussed strategies to enhance women’s active participation in public policy making, to strengthen their voice within political parties, to increase media attention to women’s topics and to actively support a stronger position of women within society.

“Women’s empowerment is not the privilege of any one political party or single stakeholder. Joining our efforts in support of women is a crucial tool to achieve tangible results,” stressed Teuta Sahatqija, Chairperson of the Assembly of Kosovo Women’s Caucus. “We were discussing a wide variety of gender issues in our meetings, and we found many similarities. I like that!” said Gordana Čomić, member of the women’s parliamentary network in the Serbian Parliament.

“Strengthening the role of women in political decision making is a necessary precondition to improving living conditions of women across all sectors of society. Our aim is to enable women to stand up for their rights and make sure their voice is heard,” added Sonja Lokar, Head of the Central and Eastern European Network for Gender Issues and moderator of the meeting.

Participants agreed to continue their dialogue, starting with a follow-up meeting on the empowerment of women in political parties. They also discussed initiating public campaigns to promote equality of women and men with regards to inheritance and the implementation of property rights in an effort to enhance the financial independence of women.