Παρασκευή 3 Δεκεμβρίου 2010

Female Political Participation in Albania: Interview with Filoreta Kodra


balkan analysis


November 30, 2010
In this new interview, Balkanalysis.com contributor Aida Dervishi gets the perspective of Filloreta Kodra, Albania’s Deputy Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, regarding what strategies the government in Tirana is undertaking to foster gender equality and achieve greater female participation in social and political life.
Aida Dervishi: After the elections, you were appointed Deputy Minister of Labor, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. Since then, have there been any particular reforms taken by the Ministry of Labor in order to empower women in Albanian society?
Filloreta Kodra: In 2007 a national strategy for equal opportunities and anti-domestic violence was adopted, a strategy that has brought significant changes to the recognition of gender issues, identifying problems and barriers in women’s development as well as illustrating priorities and tools for their realization.
An important milestone in implementing the strategy was the increase of women’s participation in decision-making in more direct way, by setting quotas for the participation of women in lists of MPs, a measure that brought the immediate doubling of the number of women in the Albanian Parliament. The strategy in question, however, was very wide in corresponding with the problems people deal with, especially women. In addition it contained many priorities. For that reason, along with the fact that the strategy was three years old, we started reviewing it in order to focus better in some directions and define more precisely some priority areas, which will directly affect the rapid change of the status of women and the development of society in general.
Furthermore, in an attempt to answer your question, I feel that this is a very important reform for changing society’s mindset toward gender issues, as well as for changing the status of half of the population.

About the interviewer
*Aida Dervishi is a native of Albania, who holds a BA in International and European Studies from the University of Piraeus. She has been working with the NGO Vote Women in Politics, a non-partisan organization dedicated to helping women to run for office, and to be elected, in countries around the world, while also inspiring young women to participate in politics. Her interests include government, project management and media outreach.

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