Prishtina, 2 October 2026
Honourable Ms Atifete Jahjaga, President of the Republic of Kosovo,
Honourable Mr Nik Gjeloshaj, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policy and Minister of Economic Development of Montenegro,
Honourable Ms Justina Shiroka-Pula, President of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo,
Honourable Ms Irene Fellin, Special Representative of the NATO Secretary General for Women, Peace and Security,
Honourable Ambassadors and other representatives of diplomatic missions accredited to our country,
Dear colleagues from the Government of Kosovo, from the Assembly of the Republic, and representatives and leaders of state institutions,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear participants,
For the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, the women of Kosovo have always been a pillar of the history, development and resilience of our country. Today, our responsibility is to increasingly transform their contribution into opportunities, participation and decision-making.
Equality in rights and opportunities means that the rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the law are implemented in every court, in every municipality, in every workplace, at every police station and in every institution.
It means that violence against women and girls is neither tolerated nor accepted, neither justified nor concealed, but prevented and punished. It means that every girl and woman has equal access to education, employment and opportunities to build her future.
Equality in rights and opportunities also means that women are not merely voters who are included, but citizens who participate, become decision-makers and leaders. Because a democracy cannot be complete when half of society remains underrepresented.
Empowering women, for us, is not only a matter of gender equality. It is also an investment in the country’s economic, social and democratic development.
And as an executive, we have supported this through public policies, an adequate budget and concrete results.
We have directly supported the employment of more than 12,000 women. Through Superpuna, of the nearly 23,000 young people employed, 51 percent are women and girls. Through the “Government for Families” programme, of the more than 4,000 people who have been employed from families where no one had previously been employed, 55 percent are women.
Through Kosovo Generation Unlimited, of the more than 3,000 young people who have benefited from work placements, around 60 percent are women and girls.
We have also invested in education and the professions of the future. A total of 7,277 scholarships, approximately 40 percent of all scholarships, have been awarded for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM, of which 97 percent have gone to girls.
Thus, the Government of the Republic of Kosovo considers that there is nothing masculine about Mathematics, Engineering or Natural Sciences. Girls often perform even better than boys, and we saw this yesterday when we visited the faculty, which was also inaugurated with investments from the European Union, together with President von der Leyen.
We have also provided financial support to mothers and children, because we know that women bear the greatest share of the burden within the family. Around 80,000 new mothers have received allowances, while more than 400,000 children benefit from child allowances. Through these measures, around 100,000 women have opened a bank account in Kosovo for the first time.
We have increased women’s access to property. From only 105 properties registered in the names of both spouses in 2016, the number reached 17,592 in 2024, while by the end of last year, 2025, the number had reached 31,124. So, the registration of property in the names of both spouses has increased by 300 times in less than a decade.
We have invested in women’s entrepreneurship and agriculture. Because farmers and agricultural workers are generally perceived to be men, the reality is that a very large number of women are farmers, particularly in rural areas. Yes, as you can see in the Albanian language, the Albanian language is very suitable for gender equality, but not the word for farmer. A total of 5,655 women farmers has been supported with around 11 million euros through subsidies and grants. In addition, 711 businesses with export potential have received grants worth €20.5 million, 30 percent of which are owned by women.
We have undertaken special measures for women survivors of violence: free legal aid and wage subsidies for women survivors of violence, as well as 7.3 million euros in support for shelters.
In healthcare, we have increased the budget by 57 percent and expanded access to free mammography services. October is also the Pink Month (Breast Cancer Awareness Month), dedicated to the fight against breast cancer, followed by HPV vaccination, new diagnostic equipment, and more than 70 new medicines added to the essential medicines list.
We are also investing in childcare. The number of children enrolled in childcare facilities has increased from 5,555 in 2021 to 7,429 in the 2024/2025 school year, while 75 childcare facilities have been built or are currently under construction across Kosovo, because we know that, as a state and as a society, we need to do more to support women, because they bear the main responsibility for raising children, and this gives them more time for themselves, whether to continue their studies, enrol in a new degree programme, find a more suitable job, or enter the workforce for the first time, as is the case for many women.
The results can also be seen in the data of the Kosovo Agency of Statistics and in the MICS 2025 report, published in cooperation with UNICEF. The participation of children aged 3-4 in early childhood education increased from 15 percent in 2020 to 36 percent in 2025, meaning it has more than doubled.
And I mention these things because, as each of us knows from our own experience, the mother is the first teacher and the teacher is the second mother, but alongside all these measures, and naturally with this financial support, we have also worked extensively on empowering men and boys and promoting the role and recognition that women should have in society.
This is important because investment in early childcare is creating more opportunities for parents and also for their future professional careers.
We have also seen significant changes in public institutions. Sixty-three percent of newly recruited employees in the administration in 2024 were women, while women’s representation on boards and in independent institutions has increased. In public enterprises, 50 percent of appointed board members are women.
In the Kosovo Correctional Service, during the period from March 2021 to December 2025, 83 women were employed, compared with only 16 during the same period previously.
But, dear participants, these are not merely statistics. They are also new opportunities. They are women who work, build businesses, lead institutions and contribute to the future of the country.
But, of course, our work and our responsibility do not end here.
Equality is not only about how many women are in an institution. It is also about how many opportunities they have to lead, to be heard and to influence the decisions that are made.
And to the women who are already in leadership positions, we say: Your success should not be the end of the road. It should be the beginning of the road for someone else. Open doors. Mentor. Support the women and girls who come after you. Because leadership is not measured only by the position we hold. It is also measured by the opportunities we create for others.
We need increasingly better infrastructure and budgeting for gender equality, but at the same time we also need greater gender solidarity, more women’s organisations and more feminism, because we know that, regardless of how hard we try, there will nevertheless be a woman somewhere who is exploited or oppressed, who is not equal to men, even though perhaps formally it may sound and appear that way.
Women’s contribution, of course, is not only economic and institutional. It is also a contribution to peace and security. Kosovo knows from its own experience that peace is not built only at the negotiating table. It is built in families, communities and institutions. The women of Kosovo have been and continue to be peacebuilders, protectors of families and communities, professionals in security institutions and voices for justice,” he said, adding that women’s participation in peace and security is not merely a matter of representation, but a matter of the country’s long-term stability.
Kosovo has advanced in this regard through institutional engagement in implementing the “Women, Peace and Security” Agenda and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. And we have a particular responsibility towards women survivors of sexual violence, of whom we know there are around 20,000.
These women are not only part of our history. They are part of our conscience as a society and of our responsibility for justice.
Therefore, women should be not only beneficiaries of peace and security, but co-builders and leaders of peace and security.
Dear women and girls,
We cannot build a stronger Kosovo by leaving out the potential of half of our society. Therefore, we must continue investing in education, employment, entrepreneurship, healthcare and institutions that create equal opportunities.
Equality is not merely a promise. It is work, decision-making and budgeting. I know that we cannot become identical in any situation. One could even discuss whether a person is identical to themselves, but precisely because we are different, we must be equal. Equality is therefore the starting point. We should not be equal at the end. We should be equal at the beginning. And precisely the human rights that bring together universality and equality, which are the greatest invention of the 20th century, are highly important in the 21st century, particularly gender equality as the essence of social equality.
And when women in general, and particularly in Kosovo, move forward, Kosovo moves forward, as does the whole world.
I express appreciation to President Jahjaga for organising this event and for the contribution she is making to women, peace and security.
Thank you!