Progress for Women is progress for Albania, MoLSAEO on 8 March

Progress for Women is progress for Albania, MoLSAEO on 8 March – International Women’s Day

Discussion panel on “Progress for Women is Progress for Albania”

On 7 March, in Tirana International Hotel there was held a discussion panel with the topic “Progress for Women is Progress for Albania”. This activity was supported by the UNFPA and participants included Members of Parliament, representatives of central institutions, and focal points of NGOs, media and international organizations. The scope of this activity was to guarantee the rights of girls and women, in accordance with the implementation of the laws, strategies and concrete activities in the field.
The key speaker in the opening address was the Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Mr. Anastas Duro, who, dwelling on gender equality and the fight against domestic violence, gave special emphasis to the introduction of the women quota and thanked the international organizations for their support to the implementation
of the National Strategy for Gender Equality and Against Domestic Violence. In conclusion, he said that the MoLSAEO is committed to tackle within the set timelines and correctly the issues of gender equality.
This activity was conceived in three discussion panels:
Panel I - Women and the right to representation in decision-making where it was especially discussed on the introduction of the neutral gender quota of 30% and the mechanisms of its implementation ahead of the parliamentary elections.
Also, a special attention was paid to the role of political fora in the observation of the quota and in the encouragement of newcomers.
Panel II - The right to social and health protection and to protection from domestic violence.
After the introduction of the topic, the discussion and debates focused on the issue of domestic violence, the implementation of the legal framework, and the establishment of and support through services for victims of domestic violence, and especially on the work done for the establishment of the first national shelter.
Panel III - The right to employment, professional development and business.
At this roundtable the participants assessed the policies and achievements of the Ministry and of the Labour Inspectorate with regard to employment and professional qualification for women and their special categories. An element that was seen as a tool for the economic empowerment of women was the place that women occupy in private entrepreneurships. Representatives of the NGOs that operate in the rural areas raised the need to give priority consideration to the employment of women living in rural areas.

TV spot on the respect for the rights of girls and women
In the context of the 8th of March, the International Women’s Day, the Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, with the support of the OSCE produced and transmitted for one week on the Public Broadcaster a TV spot with the slogan “Progress for women, progress for Albania”, which aimed at raising the awareness of the public opinion about the respect for the rights of girls and women.

Mini-fair
The book mini-fair on 8 March 2009, held in the context of the 8th of March by the DPEO, was organized with the aim to support, promote and encourage creative women, poets, novelists and publishers, as well as to introduce their works.
Among the attendees there were well-known authors, such as Vojsava Nelo, Flutura Açka, Rita Filipi, Evis Qaja, Meri Lalaj, Adriatike Lami and Zenepe Dibra. In this fair there were displayed also materials by NGOs, such as leaflets, magazines, newsletters, which contained mostly information about the challenges of girls and women, gender equality, domestic violence, etc. The DPEO introduced Bulletin no. 3, which was distributed to all
the participants.