33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

13 aims to establish equal participation for women and men in local governments by designating those administrations themselves to organize institutions and activities that tackle inequality between the sexes, intended to lead naturally to equality in political representation. However there is no federal budget allocated to gender equality measures, so local governments are responsible for determining their own budgets. At first this placement of responsibility seems reasonable, but Miftari pointed out that only 23 out of 37 municipalities have elected an official for gender equality; those presently in charge of the budget for much of the country have no engagement with the issues for which they are planning alleviative measures. How can they be expected to enforce them? Linda Abazi-Morina of the UN Populations Fund discussed domestic violence and policies aimed at better addressing the issue, touching on the basic but important problem of defining the term. Previously, Kosovo law recognized domestic violence as any such behavior between a cohabitant couple, only recently expanding the definition to cover violence against the elderly, children, and those with disabilities. Abazi-Morina echoed Miftari in pointing to budget issues as a major constraint on improving life situations of those subjected to violence, but happily shared an increase in shelters and investigation rooms equipped to comfort victims and, if present, their children. These measures are changing the culture surrounding the sensitive issue, allowing for a more appropriate treatment of victims in relation their perpetrators and creating a society that won‘t accept the behavior as routine. Representative Haradinaj echoed her colleagues in reaffirming the importance of having living laws instead of meaningless statutes, calling for the ―voluntary implementation of principles of gender equality‖ as necessarily preceded by a change in sociocultural mentality shift. As Kabashi mentioned at the beginning of the talk, laws can hasten the speed of this shift, building channels for success and producing role models—not just for aspiring female youth in Kosovo, but for their families as well. Kabashi noted a recent study citing an indirect symbolic impact that females in leadership positions can have for fathers with daughters: when fathers see females elected to leadership positions in their country, they want their daughters to achieve the same. Without a place at the decision-making table for women, half of the population is robbed of a voice. This phenomenon is a human rights issue, not a gender role misunderstanding; value changes that go beyond writing laws will cement generation- spanning change. Kosovo‘s female population is poised to help continue to close the already-waning gap in equality between women and men. Their male colleagues‘ willingness to carry their weight in the struggle will determine its success.