Pristina, March 6, 2024 – Ombudsperson, Naim Qelaj participated in a panel organized by the National Audit Office which presented the report “Gender equality and empowerment of women from rural areas through their inclusion in the labor market”.

The Auditor General, Vlora Spanca, said that the objective of this audit is to assess the effectiveness and impact of policies and programs aimed at promoting the inclusion of women from rural areas in the labor market, with a focus on increasing their participation and identifying opportunities for improvement.

Spanca said that in practice gender equality remains unimplemented. She added that positive results have not yet been achieved even though the authorities have taken steps to improve the situation.

Ombudsperson, Naim Qelaj said that as an equality body and based on the work done in the investigations of cases related to gender equality, it turns out to be a bad situation.

He added that some of the challenges that continue to be problematic for women are the issues of inheritance, which a small number of women enjoy, and the division of wealth acquired in marriage.

“Women have no land. They need to rent land, and apply for grants and subsidies. We need to change laws and mindset,” he said.

The Ambassador of Sweden in Kosovo, Jonas Westerlund, Ambassador and director of the UN Women Office in Kosovo, spoke on the occasion.

This audit covered the period 2019-2023 and the audit was carried out in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development (MAFDR), the Agency for Agricultural Development (AZHB), as well as the Employment Agency (APRK), where the main focus was the Agriculture Program and rural development,

Some of the findings of the report emphasize that the selection criteria for subsidies do not ensure the support of gender equality, the Ministry of Agriculture should ensure the inclusion of women in the information about Rural Development Programs.

The report contains eight recommendations for the Ministry of Agriculture and two recommendations for the Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfers, namely the Employment Agency.

The publication of this report is supported by UN Women Kosovo and funded by Sida.