International Women’s Day in Albania – from youth campaigns to government commitments
The week leading to International Women’s Day buzzed with various activities, ranging from a youth-led campaign addressing gender discrimination in the workplace to the launch of Albania's Femicide Watch. An interesting panel featuring only men offered intimate insights into their experiences with patriarchy, feminism, and women’s rights. These events, held in collaboration with governmental bodies, UN agencies, private sectors, and academia, underscored a collective effort to tackle gender inequality from various angles.
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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. The initiative won first prize in a student “bootcamp” organized by UN Women as part of the joint UN programme "Leave No One Behind”, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
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.
The ‘Femicide Watch’ will cooperate with relevant actors who play a role to collect and analyze data on femicide in Albania. The data will be collected and analyzed in line with the Statistical Framework approved by the United Nations. This initiative is undertaken in cooperation with UN Women, as part of the UN Joint Programme "Ending violence against women in Albania", financed by the Government of Sweden.
A Letter to Men! - An unusual discussion between an author, a journalist, a doctor and two diplomats about their personal experiences of living in a patriarchal society. Inspired by Lis Bukuroca’s books 'Letter to Men', this event was part of FemFest, the feminist festival organized each year around International Women’s Day by Bash Art. UN Women supported this event by highlighting the crucial role that boys and men play in breaking stereotypes and advancing gender equality. “Too many men nowadays are trapped in the cage of toxic masculinity. They need help to unlearn aggressiveness and controlling women. Instead, they should learn empathy as key to happiness and self-fulfilment,” Michele Ribotta, UN Women Representative in Albania said.
Bukuroca’s books “Letter to Men” aims to teach young boys, men and elder men how to love women and how to apologise to them.
The Ministry of Health and Social Protection hosted a high-level conference on International Women’s Day under the theme "Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress." The event served as a platform to review the outcomes of the National Referral Mechanisms, which are operational in 61 municipalities nationwide. Minister Albana Koçiu, emphasizing the importance of protecting and empowering women and girls who are survivors of domestic abuse, highlighted the significance of such mechanisms. “Mira's story is one of those stories that make us think about the role of our institutions, and especially on the role of our society in fighting every day against violence”, said Minister Koçiu after a resilient live confession of a survivor of violence during the event. The conference received support by the joint UN programme, “Ending violence against women in Albania”, financed by Government of Sweden.
UN Women and the International Labour Organization (ILO) hosted an informative session in Albania for private sector representatives and employees. The session focused on ILO’s convention concerning the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work. Participants, including members of companies committed to Women’s Empowerment Principles, learned about the importance of fostering a culture of respect and dignity in the workplace. Panelists noted that violence and harassment in the world of work not only affects a person’s psychological and physical health and dignity but also affects the quality of public and private services, and may prevent persons, particularly women, from accessing, and remaining and advancing in the labour market. Participants expressed a keen interest in the topic and provided valuable insights into potential strategies for engaging the private sector in the collective effort to eliminate workplace violence and harassment.
UN Women in Albania in cooperation with the Faculty of Social Sciences conducted a revealing social experiment. Students of the Faculty of Social Sciences were interviewed by a journalist purposely embodying a patriarchal mindset. The students were not aware that they were already being recorded. Check out their reactions. The video was part the UN Joint programme on “Ending violence against women in Albania”, financed by the Government of Sweden.
On International Women’s Day, Representatives of UN agencies in the country called on institutions, civil society, businesses, and citizens - together to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and support their potential by leaving no one behind.
On the same day, UN Resident Coordinator in Albania, Fiona McCluney and EU Ambassador to Albania Silvio Gonzato, issued a joint op-ed calling on the Government to invest in women and accelerate progress in achieving the SDG gender targets and the objectives of the EU Gender Action Plan.