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.

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.

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

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.

The Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, Åsa Regnér, visited Albania to meet with high level government representatives, civil society organizations and international partners.

The initiative aims to engage young creators and artists from all around Albania practicing photography and illustration, who will use their artworks to convey messages and help spark a conversation around this theme.

The United Nations in Albania and the Swedish Embassy signed today a two million-euro programme that will support the protection and recovery of children, women and girls affected by November 2019 earthquake.

Flora Leka* had an arranged marriage at the age of 17. She dropped out of school and lived with her violent husband and father of her four children for more than 15 years.

Billions of people across the world stand on the right side of history every day. They speak up, take a stand, mobilize, and take big and small actions to advance women’s rights. This is Generation Equality. Fatmira Dajlani has been working as an activist for 14 years in Albania and is leading “Roma Gateway for Integration” organization in Fushe Kruje.

Albania has submitted the country report after an all-inclusive, two months consultation process with line ministries, independent institutions, civil society organizations, UN agencies, international development partners, media, academia, private sector.

Luljeta Kaculi, 49, has been the Administrator of Labinot-Fushe, an Administrative Unit in Elbasan region, in central Albania, for four years. Together with 11 local administrators of Elbasan, she recently participated in a UN Women-led training on the legal obligations of administrators to manage cases of violence and refer them to the relevant institutions.

Global Goals Week in Albania brought together students, youth, local governments, civil society and businesses to raise awareness about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to build partnerships to drive concrete action for achieving the new 2030 sustainable development agenda.