In 2025, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security will mark its 25th anniversary.th anniversary in a climate of growing uncertainty for gender equality and women’s safety. The historic resolution provided a tool to advance women’s representation in political and peace processes in Kosovo. Yet despite some progress, ongoing ethno-nationalist discourses risk derailing progress toward gender equality. Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani has announced that the next parliamentary elections will be held in February 2025 – the sixth since Kosovo’s disputed self-declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008. Previous elections in 2021 saw a significant shift in Kosovo’s politics, moving away from parties that gained prominence. during and after the 1999 war, and towards the left-wing Vetëvendosje (Self-Determination) party led by Albin Kurti. Yet, despite the election result, ethno-nationalist narratives pushed by Prishtina and Belgrade continue to undermine gender equality and threaten the peace and security of women in Kosovo.
The 2012 elections took place amid war crimes trials against some of Kosovo’s leading politicians, including former President Hashim Thaçi, who later resigned from his post. In this context and in the face of limited progress in the EU-facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Kurti used this opportunity to promote an ethno-nationalist discourse during the elections and throughout his term as Prime Minister.
The harsh stance of Kurti and Vetëvendosje towards the dialogue with Belgrade had obvious consequences for internal relations between Prishtina and the Kosovo Serbs, especially in northern Kosovo. Upon coming to power, Kurti sought to downplay the priority of dialogue with Belgrade, demanding that Kosovo’s independence be recognized as a precondition for negotiations. This position is rooted in the origins of the Vetëvendosje party as an activist movement, including the famous slogan painted on the UNMIK building in 2005: “No negotiation – self-determination!” » (JO NEGOCIATA – VETËVENDOSJE!). Himself an activist within the movement, Kurti was barred from running as an MP in the last parliamentary elections due to his involvement in a demonstration which saw the Kosovo parliament being tear-gassed.
However, this did not alter public support for his campaign, which won a landslide victory over Kosovo’s historic political parties, such as Thaçi’s PDK (the political wing of the Kosovo Liberation Army). and the LDK party (which led the peaceful resistance movement of the 1990s). As prime minister, he took a strong stance towards parallel institutions in Kosovo’s Serbian municipalities. Additionally, Kurti continues to drag his feet on the creation of the Association of Kosovo Serb-majority Municipalities, a key condition of the 2013 Brussels agreement.
It would not be surprising if the upcoming elections in February 2025 focus on security issues that have dominated news and politics in Kosovo, including: renewed tensions between Prishtina and Belgrade, withdrawal of Kosovo Serbs from institutions of Kosovo, electoral boycotts and the installation of northern Albanian mayors, which sparked protests, the ban on the Serbian dinar, the Banjska shooting and explosions damaging reserves essential water. As the North struggles with its own democracy, it is notably wondering whether the main political party, Srpska Lista, will participate in these elections (although Serbian President Vučić recently called for participation, in part to counter Kurti’s efforts against parallel institutions), and whether there will It is important to note that gender, and particularly women’s safety, remains absent from these conversations.
There has been little discussion from national or international leaders about the gendered impacts of key events in recent years, particularly regarding women’s security in the North. For example, the Central Bank of Kosovo’s decision to ban the dinar dominated the media at the time, with commentary focusing on Prishtina’s stories about fighting organized crime by reducing illegal cash flows, and from Belgrade claiming that a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” was underway. committed against the Serbs in Kosovo. Additionally, Prishtina has been criticized by the international community for its lack of consultation with Serbian communities when making decisions.
The discourse on the Dinar ban was at its peak when I was conducting my fieldwork in Kosovo in March 2024, where northerners described to me the impacts of the ban on Belgrade-funded services such as hospitals and schools, and on local businesses. . Others feared that many of them would have to travel to Serbia to access their income. Although the recognition of the euro as Kosovo’s single currency will have far-reaching consequences for Kosovo Serbs, women often take on higher levels of unpaid care work alongside formal employment, meaning they would be even more burdened if they could not access an income or had to travel to Serbia. In addition, people in vulnerable situations will be particularly bothered by a sudden currency ban, thus increasing the risk of women’s insecurity. The Dinar ban is, however, just one example of how political tensions between Prishtina and Belgrade have gendered consequences that are often overlooked, leaving many feeling unrepresented by both governments and fueling the discontent within political parties.
Although recent elections have seen a shift away from the PDK and LDK political parties, a preference has remained for nationalist (and masculinized) leaders, with the elections doing little to challenge the status quo. The National Democratic Institute found that misogyny was prevalent throughout past elections, with women being targets of misinformation and sexist campaigns. There is a high risk that this will happen again, especially given the information I have received about smear campaigns in the media against civil society and political leaders in Kosovo. These misogynistic campaigns do not only occur during election periods, but continue, frequently threatening women’s safety online, particularly affecting female journalists.
Media coverage and election discourse will most likely be dominated by state-centric security, particularly in light of Vučić’s recent announcement calling for a return to the “status quo ante” and recognizing Kosovo as a “zone of special social protection”. However, greater efforts are needed to include dialogue on gender insecurity, which is often left out of the state-centric security discourse. For example, gender-based violence remains a critical problem in Kosovo, primarily affecting women of all ethnic groups (as well as other demographic groups), with additional barriers to reporting and support faced by women from minority groups , notably Serbs, Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian Communities. Additionally, unemployment is widespread across Kosovo and disproportionately affects women, as 18.6 percent of women seeking work in the first quarter of 2023 were unemployed (compared to 8.6 percent of men ). In addition to paid work, women do almost twice as much unpaid work in Kosovo, spending an average of 6.2 hours per day, while men spend 3.5 hours per day on unpaid work.
Despite the feminist rhetoric employed by the current government, including President Osmani’s annual Forum on Women, Peace and Security, and Kurti’s assertions on International Women’s Day that Kosovo is a As a feminist state, there remains a gap between the government’s rhetoric and its efforts. listen and respond to the needs of the public. For example, clashes marred Kurti’s speech on International Women’s Day, when the march (which played an important role in the war and post-war context) was prevented to reach the government building. Harmful homophobic and misogynistic remarks are also a problem within the Kosovo government, as evidenced by the recent rejection of a draft civil code that proposed civil union in same-sex relationships. Another bill was recently proposed that would allow single women to pursue IVF and help more couples access IVF by reducing costs at public hospitals. However, this proposal was widely rejected by members of Vetëvendosje (along with others) who strongly criticized single women’s access to IVF, as it would “threaten” the family institution and (Albanian) national identity. .
Although there has been some progress towards women’s political representation, Kosovo remains a patriarchal society where national identity (usually Albanian male) is privileged over gender identities. As a result, women’s in/security is often overlooked in political discourse and decision-making. Kosovo’s 2025 elections will be dominated by state-centric security narratives that will fuel ethnic tensions and divisions between Kosovo Serbs and Albanians, further undermining peace and particularly women’s security. Additionally, given that this election will also take place at the start of Donald Trump’s presidency, the outcome will reveal how the next four years of domestic and international politics in Kosovo will be shaped and which priorities will be prioritized.
Kosovo’s politicians must abandon the narrative of state-centric security to organize these elections around human security – and particularly women’s security – and build a meaningful and inclusive peace in Kosovo for all identities. gender, ethnicities, sexual orientations and other demographics. . As civil society continues to work towards gender equality, politicians must listen to the concerns and needs of communities and overcome ethnic divisions to ensure peace and security for all who live in Kosovo.
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