UN Women, in partnership with the government, launched a three-year initiative to empower women in rural northern Albania by strengthening governance, promoting economic opportunities, and combating gender-based violence in Shkodër, Bulqizë, Malësi e Madhe, and Dibër.

More than 40 women entrepreneurs participated in the “Women’s Entrepreneurship EXPO 2024” satellite event, held for the second consecutive year in Tirana, Albania, on November 18-19, 2024.

“Golden Hands” incubator will be used for processing fruit and vegetables, as well as packaging artisanal products from Southeastern Albania for distribution in the domestic market.

A woman going to work is not a common sight in Prrenjas, a small town in Eastern Albania, about 100 km from the country’s capital. In this area, particularly among people living in villages, women often work the land or take care of their families, constrained by a lack of employment opportunities, limited public transport, and prevailing societal attitudes. Alketa Haxholli, however, has challenged this mindset.

Over the past decades, women and girls around the world have demolished barriers, dismantled stereotypes and driven progress towards more just and equal societies. Women’s rights were recognised as fundamental and universal human rights.

On International Women’s Day, the People’s Advocate in cooperation with UN Women launched the ‘Femicide Watch’. This first of its kind initiative will collect and analyze data at the national level to promote more effective policies and mechanisms to prevent gender-based killings of women.

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, UN Women and students of the Faculty of Social Sciences in Albania launched a campaign to tackle gender stereotypes and discrimination, in partnership with Sophie Caffe, a popular coffee shop chain in the country. The initiative won first prize in a student “bootcamp” organized by UN Women as part of the joint UN programme "Leave No One Behind”.

How a women’s rights organization and the National Employment and Skills Agency in Albania are joining forces to support women survivors of violence integrate in the job market.

Forty one percent of Albanian women active online have experienced some form of technology-facilitated violence in their lifetime – the new research “The Dark Side of Digitalization: Technology-Facilitated Violence Against Women in Eastern Europe and Central Asia” shows.

They are asking for increased long-term, sustainable investments from government, private sector, foundations, and other donors to prevent violence against women and girls.

On October 27, 2023, more than 40 women-led businesses from Albania participated in the “Women’s Entrepreneurship EXPO” satellite event in Tirana, alongside partners from the private sector, government, and various stakeholders.

Silvana Subashi is a 47-year-old woman entrepreneur from Albania who is the administrator of Subashi Olive Oil, a cultivation and production oil company that has won many gold medals. A finance graduate with two children, Silvana will participate in the upcoming Women’s Entrepreneurship EXPO 2023 satellite event, taking place on October 27 in Tirana, Albania.

In a dedicated effort to promote gender equality and eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, Albania is preparing for its fifth report to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), scheduled for October 18, 2023.

A two-day workshop on gender participatory budgeting and community outreach practices brought together civil society organizations, local government representatives, activists, and gender-responsive budgeting experts from Albania and North Macedonia.

Ejona Zaimaj, recalls her challenging journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur in Albania and explores her new possibilities.

After six years of dedicated work, the UN Women regional programme Ending Violence Against Women and Girls in the Western Balkans and Turkyie “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds” comes to a close. Civil society organizations, government representatives and partners met to take stock of achievements, challenges, and the way forward.

Supported by a small grant from the UN Trust Fund, the Center "Shelter Edlira Haxhiymeri", in close partnership with the Streha Center for LBT women survivors of domestic violence, runs a project to end violence against women and girls in four remote areas of Albania.

Verie Tahiraj is a strong and determined woman, who has been supporting her family through economic hardship for years. When the opportunity to secure a source of income by becoming a part of the artisan value chain presented itself, she seized it without hesitation.

Interview with Michele Ribotta, Head of the UN Gender Group and UN Women Representative in Albania

Women artisans engaged in the handicraft value chain and market now better equipped to earn higher incomes.