In 2025, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security will be adopted for the 25th time.Day The anniversary was celebrated in an environment of growing uncertainty about gender equality and women’s security. The landmark resolution provides tools to improve women’s representation in Kosovo’s political and peace processes, but despite some progress, the ongoing ethno-nationalist narrative risks hindering progress toward gender equality. Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani announced that the next parliamentary elections would be held in February 2025. This is the sixth election since Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. The previous elections in 2021 marked significant changes in Kosovo politics, with prominent political parties turning away. The party led by Albin Kurti during and after the 1999 war and towards leftist Vetëvendosje (self-determination). However, despite the election results, ethno-nationalist claims promoted by Pristina and Belgrade continue to undermine gender equality and threaten the peace and security of women in Kosovo.
The 2012 elections occurred as war crimes trials were brought against some of Kosovo’s leading politicians, including former President Hashim Thaci, who resigned from his position at the time. Against this background and the limited progress in EU-facilitated talks between Kosovo and Serbia, Kurti used this opportunity to push an ethno-nationalist narrative during the election and throughout his term as prime minister.
Kurti and Vetëvendosje’s hard stance on dialogue with Belgrade had a clear impact on internal relations between Pristina and Kosovar Serbs, especially in the northern region of Kosovo. Once in power, Kurti de-prioritized talks with Belgrade and demanded recognition of Kosovo’s independence as a precondition for negotiations. This position is rooted in the origins of the Vetëvendosje party as an activist movement, whose slogan was famously painted on the UNMIK building in 2005: “No negotiations – self-determination!” (JO NEGOCIATA – VETËVENDOSJE!). Kurti, who has a history as an activist, was banned from running as a member of the lower house of parliament in the last parliamentary election because of his involvement in tear gas protests in Kosovo’s parliament.
However, this did not change public support for his campaign, which won by a landslide over Kosovo’s historic political parties such as Thaçi’s PDK (the political wing of the Kosovo Liberation Army) and the LDK party (which led the peaceful resistance movement in the 1990s). As prime minister, he took a hard line against parallel institutions in Kosovo-Serbian municipalities. Moreover, Kurti continues to focus his efforts on establishing a federation of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo, a key condition of the 2013 Brussels Agreement.
It is surprising that the upcoming February 2025 elections will focus on security issues that have dominated news and politics in Kosovo, particularly new tensions between Pristina and Belgrade, withdrawal of Kosovar Serbs from Kosovo institutions, and election boycotts and installations. It won’t be this. The ban on the Serbian dinar in a northern Albanian market sparked protests, the Banjska shooting and an explosion damaging vital water supplies. As North Korea grapples with its own democracy, including whether its main political party, Srpska Lista, will participate in the election (although Serbian President Vučić has recently criticized Kurti’s opposition to the parallel system in particular), Although there has been no active opposition to Srpska Lista (despite Srpska Demokratije gaining attention), gender security, especially women’s security, remains absent. It’s important to note. This conversation.
There has been little discussion among domestic and international leaders about the gender implications of major events over the past few years, particularly those regarding the security of women in North Korea. For example, the Central Bank of Kosovo’s decision to ban the dinar dominated the media at the time, as did Prishtina’s narrative of fighting organized crime by reducing illicit cash flows and its campaign of “ethnic cleansing” in Kosovo. This was done against people. Additionally, Prishtina was criticized by the international community for the lack of consultation with the Serbian community when making decisions.
The discourse around the dinar ban reached its peak when I was conducting fieldwork in Kosovo in March 2024. There, northern residents described the ban’s impact on local businesses and services funded by Belgrade, such as hospitals and schools. . Others were concerned that many people would have to travel to Serbia to earn income. Recognizing the euro as Kosovo’s only currency will have far-reaching implications for Kosovar Serbs, but women often perform higher levels of unpaid care work alongside formal employment. This means they will be more burdened if they do not have access to income or have to travel to Serbia. Moreover, people in vulnerable situations will be particularly disturbed by the sudden call ban, which will increase women’s anxiety. But the dinar ban is just one example of how political tensions between Pristina and Belgrade have had often-overlooked sexual consequences, sparking discontent among political parties as many people feel unrepresented by both governments.
Although there were changes in the PDK and LDK parties in the last election, the preference for nationalist (and masculinizing) leaders remained, with elections having little impact on the status quo. The National Democratic Institute found that misogyny was widespread throughout the last election and that women were targets of misinformation and sexist campaigns. The risk of this happening again is high, especially given the stories we have received in the media about smear campaigns against civil society and political leaders in Kosovo. These misogynistic campaigns don’t just happen during election periods – they’re ongoing and often threaten women’s safety online, especially impacting female journalists.
Election coverage and discourse are likely to be dominated by state-centric security, especially given Vučić’s recently announced call for a return to the “status quo” and recognition of Kosovo as a “special social protection area.” However, greater efforts must be made to include conversations about gender anxiety, which are often marginalized in state-centric security discourses. For example, gender-based violence remains a significant problem in Kosovo, mostly affecting women of all ethnic groups (as well as other demographics), and women from minority groups including Serbs, Romani and Ashkali. There are additional barriers to reporting and support faced. Egyptian community. Moreover, unemployment is widespread throughout Kosovo and disproportionately affects women. In the first quarter of 2023, 18.6% of job-seeking women were unemployed (compared to 8.6% of men). In addition to paid work, women spend almost twice as much unpaid work in Kosovo, averaging 6.2 hours a day, while men spend 3.5 hours a day on unpaid work.
Despite the feminist narrative adopted by the current government, including President Osmani’s annual Women, Peace and Security Forum and Kurti’s International Women’s Day claim that Kosovo is a feminist country, a disconnect remains between the government’s rhetoric and efforts. To listen and meet the needs of the public. For example, clashes broke out during Kurti’s speech on International Women’s Day, when the march (which played an important role in wartime and post-war situations) was prevented from reaching government buildings. Harmful homophobic and misogynistic language has also been a problem for the Kosovo government, as seen in its recent rejection of a draft civil law proposing civil unions in same-sex relationships. Another bill was recently proposed that would support more couples accessing IVF by allowing single women to receive it and reducing costs through public hospitals. However, this was largely defeated by Vetëvendosje members (along with others) who spoke out against it because single women accessing IVF would ‘threaten’ family institutions and (Albanian) national identity.
Although there has been some progress toward women’s political representation, Kosovo remains a patriarchal society in which national (usually Albanian male) identity is privileged over gender identity. As a result, women’s safety/security is often overlooked in political discourse and decision-making. The 2025 Kosovo elections will be dominated by a state-centric security narrative that will fuel ethnic tensions and divisions between Kosovar Serbs and Albanians, further undermining peace and, especially, women’s security. Moreover, given that this election will be held simultaneously with the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the results of this election will reveal how Kosovo’s domestic and international politics will be shaped over the next four years and what priorities will be prioritized.
Kosovo’s politicians must shift the narrative from state-centric security to making elections about human security, especially women’s security, and building a meaningful and inclusive peace in Kosovo for all gender identities, ethnicities, sexual orientations and other demographics. . . As civil society continues to work towards gender equality, politicians must listen to the concerns and needs of local communities and overcome ethnic divisions to ensure peace and security for all people living in Kosovo.
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