When Ilirjana Gafurri, a political party activist in Peja, Kosovo, won a seat on her local council six years ago, she became an advocate for issues such as better health care and women’s equality in her community. But Gafurri had to struggle to make her voice heard in the predominantly male body, where women are often perceived as being passive or not as qualified.
To improve her political skills and gear up for reelection, Gafurri decided to attend Kosovo’s Week of Women (WoW), March 25-29, where she joined more than 100 women from business, political parties, parliament, local government, the media and civil society in the capital, Prishtina, to talk about women’s political careers, how parties are organized, making the decision to run for office, and running successful campaigns.
Even though Kosovo is led by a female president, women there continue to face economic, political and social disadvantages. In politics, their representation is seen more as a requirement for political parties than a benefit. This often discourages women from running for office. NDI hosted the first WoW last year to address this problem. The goal then was to create a network for women leaders and to help them gain skills to further their careers. This year’s WoW focused on elections, with an emphasis on local polls, which are planned for the fall.
We invite our users to read the complete article published May 28 1013 here
When Ilirjana Gafurri, a political party activist in Peja, Kosovo, won a seat on her local council six years ago, she became an advocate for issues such as better health care and women’s equality in her community. But Gafurri had to struggle to make her voice heard in the predominantly male body, where women are often perceived as being passive or not as qualified.
To improve her political skills and gear up for reelection, Gafurri decided to attend Kosovo’s Week of Women (WoW), March 25-29, where she joined more than 100 women from business, political parties, parliament, local government, the media and civil society in the capital, Prishtina, to talk about women’s political careers, how parties are organized, making the decision to run for office, and running successful campaigns.
Even though Kosovo is led by a female president, women there continue to face economic, political and social disadvantages. In politics, their representation is seen more as a requirement for political parties than a benefit. This often discourages women from running for office. NDI hosted the first WoW last year to address this problem. The goal then was to create a network for women leaders and to help them gain skills to further their careers. This year’s WoW focused on elections, with an emphasis on local polls, which are planned for the fall.
We invite our users to read the complete article published May 28 1013 here