March 8th is a day that should be commemorated because it symbolizes an important step in the struggle for gender equality, and through it, for social equality. It is not simply a day when women stood up to insist on their rights – it is a day when working women demanded equal conditions and equal treatment. Thus, it is a day that manifests the awakening of the oppressed against the exploitative system long established. March 8th does not only fight against the inequality of women within the system of social inequality; it fights the social structure that is generally built upon inequality.
For several years now in Kosovo, this day has been marked through protest, under the slogan “WE MARCH, WE DO NOT CELEBRATE”. This slogan must be well understood. It is the best way to evoke the spirit of March 8th a spirit of protest and resistance, expressed through marching. At the same time, it serves to highlight the inequality still present in our society by rejecting celebration as a moment of satisfaction for achievements, while insisting that we still need equality. That is why WE DO NOT CELEBRATE. Because we continue to be dissatisfied. Because we continue to be unequal.
The Institute for Social Policies “Musine Kokalari” fully supports tomorrow’s march. Just as we support all activities by any social organization that highlight inequality and insist on gender equality as a crucial dimension of social equality. Because there are many reasons not to celebrate. Kosovar society continues to suffer from a pronounced tradition of patriarchy that sees women as instruments to be used, not as human beings. She is the machine of household chores, childbirth, and child-rearing, but also a tool for venting the husband’s frustration. Meanwhile, this patriarchal mindset combined with the fiercely neoliberal approach of commodifying every aspect of social life an approach that rationalizes everything through the lens of financial profit has created an extremely dehumanized social reality. Under the conditions of market and profit, it has become unprofitable to employ women because they have to give birth to children. Despite the fact that today in Kosovo the percentage of women with university qualifications (52.1%) significantly exceeds that of men (47.9%), women generally participate very little in the labor market (only 12.7%) compared to men (46.6%).
Thus, women work at home, but this work is not valued. In Kosovo, there is still no accurate measurement of unpaid work, the number of hours spent on these tasks, or the monetary value of this work invested in society. In fact, our society and laws do not even recognize this as work. Meanwhile, it represents the largest part of aggregate social productivity, considering its large volume and the multidimensional nature of this work (childcare, hygiene, food preparation, education, care for the elderly, care for the sick, etc.). But that’s not all. Women are also effectively excluded from the appropriation of wealth, despite participating in its creation and maintenance. The inheritance of shared family wealth by women remains very low, despite the fact that the law guarantees them equal participation.
It is precisely these exclusions that make women unequal. Thus, the economic system on one hand exploits the cultural deficiency of patriarchy the prejudices it holds against gender while at the same time, by exploiting it, also reinforces it. Both become a vicious cycle of inequality.
This is what must be protested against. Just like on March 8th, when we will MARCH because we cannot CELEBRATE.