UNMIK/PR/1324
Today, I pay tribute to all Kosovo women, from all communities and from all walks of life, for their great contribution to the political and economic developments in Kosovo, and for their resilience and perseverance over the years – in the face of violent conflict, of adverse economic conditions, of hardship in daily life.
I also pay tribute to the women of many nationalities who are serving here as civilians, as police officers and as soldiers in order to help build a better future for Kosovo.
International Women’s Day offers us an opportunity to look at the progress already achieved and, more importantly, the occasion to renew our commitment to empowering women and improving their condition in all spheres of life.
In his latest report to the Security Council the Secretary-General notes that women occupy nearly 30% of seats in the Kosovo Assembly and in municipal assemblies. Women’s participation in the KPS and KPC compare favourably with other European countries. Women are also present in the judiciary, in the correctional service and in civil administration. This is encouraging.
But we still have a lot more work to do. We have for example too few women in political appointments and in the senior ranks of the civil service. There are also significant gaps in employment and in education. Women make up only 30% of the workforce in the cities and barely 20% in the rural areas. And they are paid significantly less than men. While over 90% of girls attend primary school, only 50% of them move on to secondary school.
Gender-oriented goals and actions are an integral part of the Standards for Kosovo and, as such, the forging of the conditions for the achievement of gender equality in Kosovo is one of UNMIK’s top priorities.
Let us celebrate International Women’s Day by renewing our commitment and re-doubling our efforts to ensure that all women of Kosovo, from all communities, are empowered to play their rightful role in shaping the society we all want to see in Kosovo – a peaceful, multi-ethnic, tolerant, stable and prosperous society in which full gender equality is not a ‘target’ or an aspiration – but a way of life.