As Albania celebrates three decades since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration, the country continues to make strides in gender equality. An inspiring intergenerational dialogue at a recent event brought together key stakeholders from the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, United Nations Albania, the EU Delegation, and other partners, alongside passionate feminist activists from all generations.

Interview with Flutura Xhabija on attending the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 and how the Beijing Platform for Action remains relevant today.

In a groundbreaking event, delegates from Europe and Central Asia committed to accelerating progress on gender equality and making the lives of women and girls across this region better. The international conference “Charting the Future 30 Years after Beijing: Effective Institutional Mechanisms for the Advancement of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment” brought together over 80 officials from across Europe, Central Asia, and beyond.

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.

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.

The local government elections on 14 May are an important opportunity to strengthen local democracy in Albania, and to consolidate past achievements in promoting women leadership in decision-making. Ahead of the start of the campaign, the United Nations in Albania reached out to political party leaders, advocating for women’s full and meaningful participation in local elections, and presenting a set of recommendations in three key areas.

Around 20 journalists and media experts joined the media forum on "Media and Violence Against Women in Politics and Elections" organized prior to Albania’s Local Elections taking place on the 14th of May, by UN Women and its partner organization "Together for Life". Participants in the event discussed the various challenges faced by women in politics and elections and the crucial role of the media in addressing them.

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.

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

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.

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.

The plans were adopted following broad-based and inclusive consultations with public and nonpublic institutions, the civil society, academia, youth, and private sector representatives. The entire process was technically supported by UN Women, as part of the Joint Programme “European Union for Gender Equality in Albania,” financed by the European Union through the Albania SDG Acceleration Fund.

Klodiana Mere* has more than 30 stitches on her head, the same number as the number of years she lived in terror of her life and the lives of her two children. She survived a deadly attack by her ex-husband four years ago but the agony did not end there.

A joint position paper by United Nations in Albania identifying four key areas and strategies to accelerate gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the country.

Building back better from COVID-19 needs investment in feminist, grass-roots leadership. Yet, direct funding to women’s organizations accounts for less than one per cent of the global official development assistance provided for gender equality. In six stories, learn about the critical support that grass-roots women leaders and their organizations bring to their communities.

UN Women is intensifying its preparations for the 2021 Generation Equality Forum amidst a back-drop that shows women’s rights and leadership are under threat, and even more exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Current projections show that gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years. This year’s International Women’s Day rings the alarm on rising threats to gender equality and highlights the need to build back better for a more gender-equal future.

In this new intergenerational series for Generation Equality campaign, young people take the lead to shape the conversations. Xheni Karaj, a 34-year-old LGBTI activist from Albania is talking with Delina Fico, who was part of the Albanian delegation in the Fourth World Conference on Women, in Beijing.

25 years after the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, as much has been achieved, we are still far from realizing the promise made in Beijing. No country in the world has achieved gender equality, we see painfully slow progress or even worse, pushback.