Championing women’s rights through increasing their access to justice, promoting their economic empowerment and by telling their stories – efforts of UNMIK staff were recognized in the second edition of the UNMIK Gender Awards on International Women’s Day.

The second edition of the UNMIK Gender Awards was hosted by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and Head of UNMIK Caroline Ziadeh on March 8, to commemorate mission staff who have made extraordinary strides to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women, in line with UNMIK’s mandate.

Reporting and Programme Officer Jehona Dragaj from UNMIK’s Rule of Law, Justice, and Corrections Office received the Individual Award for her exceptional contributions to integrate a gender perspective into all aspects of her work, particularly through activities aimed at combatting domestic violence and increasing women’s access to justice.

The Mitrovica Regional Office’s Dialogue and Reconciliation Unit received the Team Award for their unwavering commitment to amplify the voices of women from civil society and diverse communities, and their continuous advocacy for women’s economic empowerment.

SRSG Ziadeh also used the opportunity to recognise the efforts of Public Information Officer Amanda Fisher for her brilliant storytelling, specifically on films promoting gender equality and raising awareness about gender-based violence and early and forced marriage.

SRSG Ziadeh also launched the second edition of the UNMIK Mentorship Programme for Young Women Leaders by announcing the names of three young women from diverse communities selected to be mentored by the three senior-most women in the Mission.

“I reaffirm UNMIK’s commitment towards gender equality and women's empowerment and underscore the importance of continuing to make our world fair, just and equal, in the spirit of International Women’s Day.”

The selected young women were chosen from a field of impressive candidates and will be supported in a variety of ways to advance their professional and personal goals by their UNMIK mentors.

SRSG Ziadeh underlined the importance of continuing to strive for gender equality in the spirit of International Women’s Day and thanked all staff for their steadfast efforts to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in all Mission activities.

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day was “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality” in recognition of the importance of women and girls being included equally in the design, development, and deployment of technology to better meet their needs.