The 8th Legislature of the Kosovo Assembly will have a total of 44 female deputies. This is a significant success of these elections. Moreover, considering that 35 of them were elected without the help of gender quotas, this indicates the beginning of the emancipation of Kosovo voters regarding gender representation. More importantly, it shows that the performance of female deputies has contributed to breaking taboos and prejudices against women’s participation in public, political, and social life.
Despite the success in these elections, social inequality based on gender remains significant and harmful. Forty-four female deputies are still not enough. To break it down into percentages, they represent only 36.66% of the Kosovo Assembly, which means that 63.34% of the Assembly is still made up of men. Meanwhile, the situation in economic and social life in general is much worse.
Efforts for equality do not end because equality is not satisfied with improving representation alone, but with addressing the discriminatory and oppressive aspects against women embedded in our social and political system as well as in our patriarchal cultural tradition. Nevertheless, equality in institutions is a necessity and a good starting point.
In this regard, the 30% quota has shown extraordinary success, evident in every electoral process, especially in the one on February 14, 2021. Therefore, it is essential that the new Assembly prioritize amending the Basic Law on General Elections, specifically Article 27, to harmonize it with the Law on Gender Equality, thereby guaranteeing equal gender representation in the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo. This would mean raising the quota to 50%, which would result in an Assembly with 60 female deputies.
The Institute for Social Policies “Musine Kokalari” welcomes and supports the initiative of the Balkans Policy Research Group to achieve this change and calls on political parties to adopt this amendment.
March 6, 2021