EXPERTS IN WOMEN’S ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COMMITTEE EXPRESS CONCERN AT DECLIN

Concern over the sharp decline in the situation of women in Albania, following its transition to a market economy, was expressed today by experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, as the Committee considered that country's combined initial and second reports on compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

Introducing the report, Lavdie Ruci, Chairperson of the Committee for Equal Opportunity of Albania, said the decline had affected women's status in the economic, social and political spheres.

According to the 1998 Constitution, she said, men and women had equal rights, and they were afforded equal education. However, there was no equality in the control of resources, opportunities, benefits and representation. Prior to the transition, considerable progress had been made through programmes in a number of important areas, including guaranteed employment, child care and government representation. However, social relations underlying gender differences were ignored.

With the collapse of communism, therefore, women’s participation in various aspects of life had been considerably reduced, she said. Women had also lost more jobs than men during the cultural adjustment process. The abolition of social services had, in addition, re-imposed the full domestic burden on women.

To redress the situation, “gender governance” had become the priority issue for Government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and some donors, following years of focus on economic factors. Greater participation of women in decision making, it was hoped, would lead to progress in all areas.

State machinery established thus far, she said, included the Committee on Women and Family, under the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office. A National Platform on Women’s Advancement promoted women’s participation in decision-making, as well as establishing rights-awareness programs and a micro-finance program for rural women. Work was also being done towards establishing a gender institute within the University of Tirana.

There was, however, still a lot to be done to make women’s rights in Albania practical reality, she said. In particular, challenges remained in influencing the societal attitudes that hindered women’s advancement.

Women’s Anti-Discrimination Committee – 1a – WOM/1375

594th & 595th Meetings (AM & PM) 15 January 2003

Following the presentation of the report, Committee experts expressed deep concern over the regression of women's progress in Albania, while realizing the country as a whole had gone through a difficult decade. Many found that the report provided a broad and analytical picture of the problems, without laying out concrete, proactive measures the Government was taking to redress the situation.

It seemed to some experts that violence against women was pervasive. Some noted that there was a resigned attitude, in the report, toward such violence, toward the lack of women’s participation in the political sphere and in regard to social inequality in general.

A major concern was the revival of customary law in the country. An immediate and powerful response by both the Government and civil society was needed to deal with such reactionism at an early stage, one expert said, to prevent further harm to the possibility of women's advancement.

The problem, others suggested was not only attitudinal; there were also problems in the legal system. To some, it appeared women were not able to resort to judicial authority when their rights were violated.

There also seemed to be an assumption in official matters that men were the heads of households, which led to many other implications, including property being only registered in the names of men. In light of indications in the report that Albanian laws were not always compatible with the Convention, experts urged the Government to make a comprehensive review of legislation.

Replies to the experts’ questions and comments will be given by the Albanian delegation on Friday, 24 January.

The Committee will meet again tomorrow, 17 January, at 10 a.m. to hear replies from the delegation of Switzerland to questions and comments posed by experts on Tuesday, 14 January.