33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

12 Kosovo does have an impressive track record of advancing women to positions at the leading edge of domestic and international policy initiatives. President Atifete Jahjaga was elected in April 2011 by members of the Parliament as Kosovo‘s first female, and the youngest ever, Head of State. Jahjaga previously served as Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police, holding rank as Major General. She finds herself among only a handful of female leaders at comparable levels of decision-making power in the region. Kosovo‘s President symbolizes what panelist Venera Kabashi called a ―mentality change‖ in their society that ―countries in transition‖ are in need of, and which Kosovo so far seems to be modeling quite well. The panelists each individually spoke on an issue among the many facing themselves and their fellow countrywomen, elaborating on modern conditions and the associated regulations in place or in the process of being altered. These areas included affirmative action and quotas for female political representation, advancing women in local governments as Mayors, addressing violence against women in private as well as public spheres, and the rise of women in diplomacy across disciplinary fields. Underlying the logistics of their presentations though was a message that surfaced repeatedly throughout the talk: that rhetoric does not give rise to action. Panelists lauded the country‘s ―highly advanced legislative framework‖ with a 30 percent quota for female members of all political parties, but acknowledged ―advantages and gaps‖ in the system, endorsing the ultimate goal of changing attitudes towards women in such a way that at some point quotas will no longer be necessary. Even with its flaws the quota system produces material results, with compliance by a majority of municipalities—a shortcoming apparent in other points of the discussion. Blerta Miftari spoke on the difficulties of enforcing the 2004 Law for Gender Equality adopted under the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). The law