I am very pleased to attend the second edition of the event “Not a quota, but an asset” organized as part of the Jahjaga Foundation’s endeavor to advance women’s rights and representation in Kosovo.

Switzerland very much welcomes the steady increase in the number of women involved in politics in Kosovo and the fact that, since the last elections, the National Assembly actually comprises of 40% of women, which is well above the foreseen quota!

Switzerland is now also actively promoting a better representation of women at the local level, where women are still facing many challenges. (only 36% of women in local assemblies and only 2 out of 166 mayors elected in Kosovo were women).

The issue of women’s underrepresentation is however not only a Kosovo matter.

Worldwide women hold only 22 percent of national parliamentary positions, a reality often triggered by social-cultural barriers, deeply ingrained stereotypes and the absence of training and resources for the promotion of women’s political careers.

In Switzerland too it has proved essential to adopt and adjust laws to better protect women’s human rights, address inheritance inequality and protect women from sexual violence.

Thanks to these measures, the representation of women in my own country has drastically improved over the last decades:

As a representative of Switzerland and as a woman, I am proud to emphasize that from only 12 women in the parliament in 1971 – when women’s right to vote and to be represented was at last introduced – our lower Chamber in the Parliament counts now 96 women, that is 40%. Our higher Chamber counts 12 women,that is 35%.

In the French speaking part of Switzerland where I come from, the objective of equal representation has been reached in 2019. This has been the direct result of an organized campaign called “Helvetia’s call” articulated around three actions:

First, women’s empowerment: women have been encouraged to join political parties and to run for elections, whilst parties were encouraged to nominate more women.

Second, the movement launched a mentoring programme for women in politics.

Third, political parties have been called upon to include women candidates higher in their respective lists.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Events such as this one are essential to make women’s voice heard, to enable women to connect in a cross party dimension as well as to raise awareness about the opportunities for women to take a more active role in politics.

I am intrigued by the stories of six women in particular that we will hear today.  I trust that the testimonies we will discover today will be an inspiration to many women and girls and possibly a stepping stone for more women to feel empowered to enter the sphere of politics in Kosovo.

I hope that in the next editions of events such as “Not a quota, but an asset”, we will be able to welcome more Female Mayors thanks to a more gender diversified political landscape.

Thank you for your attention.