Adivije Hoxha is a dedicated advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities. As the chair of the Association of Para- and Tetraplegics for Durrës, and a former local council candidate, she continues to push for greater representation and equality, inspiring others with her unwavering commitment to change.

Women and girls with disabilities in Albania are not only faced with physical and structural barriers but also with the often less visible yet pervasive threat of gender-based violence. On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, they shared their stories of resilience, despite numerous challenges.

The UN’s November 2024 Flagship Report on Disability and Development calls for accessible services, better data collection, and inclusive policies.

“Women and girls in Albania face significant underrepresentation and limited participation in sports due to rooted gender stereotypes, inadequate funding, and biased media portrayal”. These are some of the key findings from the "Gender Equality and Women's Participation in Sports in Albania" assessment, conducted by UN Women.

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.

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.

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.

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

Aferdita Kote’s* old Nokia phone had only one contact: that of her husband of 10 years. He called her constantly to know her whereabouts. But she did not tell him when she got a new smartphone equipped with a mobile application (Bright Sky) to report violence.

Fabiola Laço Egro is the founder and leader of the “Today for the Future” Community Center as well as a member of National Council of Civil Society in Albania and the Monitoring Network against Gender-Based Violence. One of the most prominent civil society activists in Albania, Ms. Laço Egro shares her perspectives and lessons learned on building networks and alliances to advance the gender equality agenda.

Anjeza Bojaxhiu is the local coordinator of the domestic violence referral mechanism – a dedicated mechanism that aims to protect and support survivors of violence, composed of a team of community professionals in Tirana, Albania. With extensive experience in good local governance and social services for women and girls from disadvantaged groups, Ms. Bojaxhiu shares the most promising practices related to establishing and operating local referral systems as well as ways to address challenges that may arise.

The UN Women office in Albania teamed up with the government, civil society organizations, international partners, and other UN agencies operating in the country to mark this year's 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence with a variety of public events, university lectures, trainings, social media campaigns and much more.

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection and UN Agencies in Albania launched the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” campaign supported by UN Women. The event brought together government and international partners, feminists, women’s rights activists, as well as many others who work every day to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls.

More than ninety women and girls from four regions of Albania participated in a fair event organized by UN Women and supported by the Albanian Network for Rural Development. They discussed the challenges faced by women in the agri-food sector in the presence of representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and Municipality of Elbasan officials.