According to a lot of research studies of civil society organizations of Kosovo, after the war of 1999, sexist rhetoric and sexism are very common in politics and the media. For different reasons, a lot of cases like these remain bad personal memories for some.
Fikrete Çoçaj, responsible for public relations in the Independent Media Commission, claims that cases of sexist language in the media haven’t been treated because nobody has reported them.
However, Lirije Kajtazi, deputy of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) says that the sexist comments from some of their colleagues in the Assembly of Kosovo, has made them feel offended and insulted.
“They (colleagues MPs) have simply shown their true selves and damaged the prestige of the Assembly of Kosovo. They have broken the trust of the citizens with a vocabulary like that, which is unacceptable,” Kajtazi says. She also believes that the Assembly of Kosovo has a role in educating the public. “We need to behave in such a way that leads us to the European Union,” she adds.
But, there are no complaints or report sof gender discrimination or sexist language in the Assembly.
Violeta Kurti Islami, expert on gender equality issues and founder of Women Media Center (WMC) admits that new names of women have entered the election lists.
“Righ before the pre-election campaign of 2017, for the first time has shown the position of Kosovo’s major parties on potential election votes for women,” Kurti Islami says.
According to Kurti Islami, the approach of the alliances and forums of party women, right before the electoral campaign and now from a number of women listed as potential deputies, is inert.
“In general, this inertia (of women) is neatly folded and feels comfortable with the quota and doesn’t care to ‘stand up’ outside of it. For example, with the increased number of women in the electoral lists of 2017, or even in more severe cases like when the integrity of colleague women adhering in parties was violated,” she says.
As an example Kurti Islami mentions the lack of comments from the Women Forum of the Democratic League of Kosovo in the case of Vjosa Osmani or some other objections from the women of the Democratic Party of Kosovo against the attacks of the editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper “Zëri”, Arbana Xharra, now a member of this party.
According to the director of the Press Council of Kosovo, Nehat Islami, the sexist language in the media is mainly evident in the comments of the readers, particularly in online media.
“The sexist language is not only used in politics but in electoral campaigns, in the assembly sessions etc. We haven’t gotten any complaints; we haven’t had any reported case. I believe that people are accepting gender equality,” he says.
The news editor of RTV 21, Antigona Baxhaku says that she hasn’t encountered any sexism where she works.
She believes that the institutions should have measures they believe to be adequate and use them in cases where sexist language is used.
“We speak of human rights a lot, and we consider this advancement. If we say that we are a ‘democratic state’, all our laws need to be in order and we should abide by them,” Baxhaku says.
On the other side, Ilire Zajmi Rugova, editor and trainer at Radio and Television of Kosovo (RTK) is convinced that there is lack of women in the media who moderate important programs, debates in general, the political ones in particular.
She believes that the media has created the impression that women and men are treated equally, but most of the time they are hired to fill the quota.
“Sexist language also needs to be eliminated by not allowing any gender stereotypes. The media should set non-discriminating standards that stop the objectification of women,” Zajmi says.
Njomza Berisha
