Dear Rector Professor Qerimi,
It's so good to see you present here among professors and students!
Dear Minister Haxhiu,
Dear representatives of the institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, including representatives of the University of Prishtina and International Organizations,
Dear Mr. Frank Power,
Dear activists,
Dear participants,
Dear representatives of the media,
Every time I return to the spaces of the University of Prishtina I feel very happy because for me this is a second home. For years, it has been the place where we have engaged together with many professors that I see today and unfortunately many of the challenges that we dealt with many years ago still continue to exist, so we need to join forces in order to fight the inequalities that exist in our society.
Today I returned to the University of Prishtina for some other reason, namely for a cause that deals with a phenomenon that has shaken the foundations of our society. We are coming to the end of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence and I feel that this should be one of the most successful campaigns but, in fact, it has turned into one of the most hurtful campaigns we have ever had.
Within an extremely short period, from the first day when we met with the Minister of Justice to launch the 16 Days campaign against gender-based violence until today, we have lost two more women. Two men killed their wives in diabolical and macabre ways and they are no longer with us. As a result of these misfortunes, the campaign itself for the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, as well as awareness about it, become increasingly important.
In our efforts to address the causes and consequences of femicide, domestic violence in general and gender-based violence, the commitment and active involvement of educational institutions is of particular importance.
I don't say this simply because it sounds like the most appropriate thing to say in an activity like this in the premises of the University of Prishtina, but I say it fully convinced that the formation of thought, the formation of a person's judgment and evaluation is deeply dictated by what we read and what we learn, and it is projected to us as early as in the school classrooms and then later also in the university spaces.
Today I started the day with a group of students between the ages of 8 and 12 and I was extremely pleased that a 9-year-old boy said that one of the main lessons they learned these days in the reading club was the importance of gender equality, and this shows that only such a mindset of educating the generations, be they young or not, can lead to success, and in particular, the eradication of gender-based violence will be possible only when they are educated in such a spirit, both, boys and girls.
Families are just as important as educational institutions and their role. Families can play an extraordinary role in our struggle to eradicate patriarchal norms that result in violence, as well as in the development of social and emotional skills, which are extremely important so that this is done in a synchronized and well-thought-out spirit, and then this should be done with our educational institutions, both at the pre-university and university levels.
I now believe that it is clear to everyone that when we talk about femicide, in general about gender-based violence, we are actually talking about a common wound where the victims are individuals, but the wound is collective, the despair is collective, but also the failure is collective.
It is disturbing to see how femicide is accompanied by numerous cases of domestic violence and numerous cases of sexual harassment and sexual violence, which unfortunately in the vast majority of cases is against minors. All these phenomena, apart from the fact that they are named as separate phenomena, actually have a common origin. Their origin is rooted in our collective failure as a society to clearly understand that the life of a girl, of a woman, is equal to the life of a man or a boy. But we have seen many examples, including decisions of our justice institutions, which have alluded to the opposite.
The merits of women, their capacities, and their potential is best expressed precisely in school and university spaces. School institutions make us clearly understand that gender inequality is a phenomenon installed through the creation of social norms that give life to inequalities. Otherwise, if performance, diligence, intellect, skills, and miracles that girls and women manifest – especially girls from pre-school institutions to university – were to be taken as a basis throughout their entire academic journey, the message would be clear – girls and women are a transformative force that can only be undermined in conditions where inequality and insecurity prevail.
And precisely the existence of the conditions for inequality and insecurity gives rise to the conditions for gender inequality and for the violation of this extraordinary potential that girls and women offer. It is precisely the lack of economic and financial security, the lack of equal access to inheritance, sometimes also the lack of access to justice, and the lack of security provided by responsible institutions, which in some cases, as I already said, feed inequalities and harm our ambitions for equal societies that develop and advance on the principle of dignity and integrity.
The 16 days of activism against gender-based violence represent the period during the year when the attention of all relevant institutions and actors is focused precisely on the identification of common mechanisms and methods for combating this phenomenon. But the question is, are the messages clear enough, are the platforms created sufficient, are the collaborations and interactions sufficient and useful, and above all, are we managing to go beyond the circle of ordinary actors with whom we talk about on this topic, are we reaching every layer of society. And the answer is that reaching out only to this narrow circle should not be considered as doing enough.
Reaching out to this circle with which we talk, approve platforms, discuss activities and ask for activity from now onwards must be done in a much, much wider circle and we should always aim for that. Our everyday goal should be that these messages and discussions that are made here today and throughout these days reach every corner of the Republic of Kosovo. These words, these conversations, these activities, should be accessible to everyone and reach out to every citizen because, in the fight against a national emergency such as this gender inequality, no stone should be left unturned and no mind should be left unfed.
Therefore, the role of educational institutions is irreplaceable. You are the temple of education and knowledge and also the home of minds eager for progress and development. You have the potential to transform an entire society by ensuring that the values that are imparted, the lessons that are taught, and the messages that are communicated, best promote the spirit of equality and strongly combat the sexist and patriarchal mentality.
The days ahead are busy with a lot of work; work, which, despite any political development, is centered on the well-being of our society, the guarantee of dignity, and the protection of every life.
We are doing this within the framework of the Council for Democracy, through which we have already prepared a platform for inter-institutional cooperation with the aim of combating femicide, domestic violence, and gender-based violence. But as in this action, every day we have to ask ourselves what can we do more, beyond platforms, beyond activation, beyond uniting voices and uniting the competencies and functions we have. We must make sure that we help every family, every citizen of ours who feels unequal or at risk.
Therefore, I invite you to do this as educational institutions in cooperation and coordination with all of us in the steps we are taking. Because, faced with this national emergency, it is necessary to act and work without sparing means, time, and commitment.
I wish that as a public university, the University of Prishtina, which has had a historic role in every national and state challenge we have gone through, steers the wheel towards this challenge and emergency, and leads the academic community towards a continuous and sustainable commitment against fighting the phenomena that are disturbing and painful nowadays.
As we move forward, I say it again: we have no girls and women to lose. The fight against femicide, the fight based on gender must and will continue to be uncompromising, therefore I ask each of you, regardless of whether you have an academic or state function, to become an ally because only with such an alliance, we can manage to protect life and dignity of all our citizens without distinction.
Thank you!