17 January 2020 – Balkans Group organised the sixth and final consultation as part of the project “Fostering the Women Caucus’s role through regional outreach & establishing their relationship with the media”. The roundtable promoted a constructive debate among participants on enhancing the institutional cooperation between Municipal Assemblies and the Kosovo Assembly in promoting effective policy-making related to gender issues.
The debate brought together women municipal assembly members from the region of Prishtina, municipal gender equality officers (GEOs) and newly elected Kosovo Assembly MPs, Mrs. Mimoza Kusari, Mrs. Eliza Hoxha, Mrs. Fatmire Mulhaxha Kollçaku and Mrs. Valdete Idrizi.
Mrs. Mimoza Kusari Lila – MP from Alternativa- rightly argued for more comprehensive mechanisms in enforcing Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) at both the local and national level. Mrs. Kusari highlighted the failure of municipal bodies to identify projects and capital investments that target the gender disparity gap. In addition, Mrs. Kusari urged women municipal members to prioritize and work towards addressing women issues throughout their tenures.
Mrs. Eliza Hoxha – MP from PDK- attributed the lack of women empowerment to the most basic family level. She highlighted that women are often omitted from assuming decision-making roles in the public sphere as a result of their personal undertakings in their families.
Mrs. Valdete Idrizi on the other hand – MP from PDK- shared her experience as both a civil society member and political figure on the struggle towards achieving gender-equal policies. In particular, Mrs. Idrizi underlined the political struggle for the appointment of women Ambassadors. According to Mrs. Idrizi, the persistency of women MPs in pushing for women Ambassador appointees was an issue that went beyond party affiliations.
Mrs. Fatmire Mulhaxha Kollçaku- MP from LVV- shared constructive advice to women municipal members on how to achieve greater consensus on gender issues. Among others, Mrs. Mullhaxha Kollçaku urged women municipal members to deepen cooperation among each other despite the party affiliations they may have.
In addition to the points raised by the women MPs, the roundtable served as a platform for municipal assembly members to raise specific women issues related to the existing legal framework that require amendment.
The project aims to further strengthen the Women Caucus’ impact and expand its reach throughout Kosovo by also liaising with the women representatives at municipal levels. The project will help women MPs and women municipal assembly members work more closely with media and help initiate public dialogue at the local and central level, forging a sustainable relationship between the caucus and the media through continuous activities. Other project activities supporting the Women Caucus include: an intensive training on the use of social networks for women MP’s, meetings with media representatives, and a concluding conference.
The project “Fostering the Women Caucus’s role through regional outreach and establishing relationship with the media” is funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) – an initiative of the Government of Canada”.
