Kosovo Human Development Report 2010 - UNDP Kosovo - United ...

political dialogue. Some are a legacy of
Kosovo’s ethnically-fractured past. Ethnicized
democracies (i.e., democracies
where voting patterns are determined
by ethnic identities rather than by political
values) tend to be particularly
hard for ethnic minorities to penetrate.
Kosovo’s enclaves are, in this way, isolated
from a wider political process
and ethnic minorities within the enclaves
(for example, a Kosovo-Albanian
in a Kosovo-Serb enclave) might struggle
to participate on an equal footing
at the local level. Kosovo’s ongoing
population movement is aggravating
tensions between communities rather
than resolving them, as families seek to
resettle from areas where they are no
longer wanted. Minority groups such
as the Kosovo-RAE have for too long
been seen as a threat to social unity,
rather than an important and welcome
part of social diversity. These ongoing
divides threaten Kosovo’s deeply cherished
goals of a stable and prosperous
future as a full partner at the European
table.
5.3
Who is affected by
exclusion from political
participation?
(i) Women, particularly the rural
poor: the cultural norms that keep
many women at home, without
jobs (the unemployment rate for
women is 55 percent compared to
39 percent for men), looking after
children and often out of education
mean that women struggle
to assert their political rights. 185 Illiteracy
rates are three times higher
among women than among men.
While the absolute numbers of illiterate
people are decreasing, the
rate remains unchanged for women.
The apathy of the unrepresented
applies particularly to the most
excluded women; they must overcome
exhausting cultural and family
barriers before even reaching
82 | KOSOVO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2010
a political system that has made
much noise but shown little real
determination to bring more fairness
and opportunty to their lives.
Nearly a third (30 percent) of seats in
Kosovo’s central and municipal Assemblies
are reserved for female members.
186 However, the reality of participation
contrasts starkly with their legal
rights. A bare one fifth (20 percent)
of public administration jobs are held
by women – only a marginal increase
since 1999. Implementation of legislation
promoting the role of women
in political and economic spheres remains
weak, without sufficient institutional
accountability to provide the
requisite budgetary support and oversight.
187 Gender equality officers have
not been appointed in all ministries
and gender equality committees have
only been established in two out of 30
municipalities. The President of Kosovo
appointed a woman as chairperson of
the Central Election Commission (CEC)
on 14 May 2009. However, the ninemember
Presidency of the Assembly
does not have a female member, and
the President’s seven-member Cabinet
has only two women. Only two of
the 13 committees of the Assembly of
Kosovo were chaired by women. No
woman sits on the 11-member Committee
on Foreign Affairs. The Committee
on Internal Affairs and Security and
that on Legislation and Judicial have a
single female member each. Overall,
out of 144 members of various assembly
committees, only 31 percent are
women.
Representation of women is little
better at the local level. Women held
between 22 and 28 percent of the
seats in each municipal assembly in
2009. No municipal assemblies were
led by women, and only ten vice chairs