Data from the World Bank show that Macedonia leads the western Balkan region in terms of gender equality when it comes to the percentage of women MPs in parliament.
According to the World Bank, 34.1 per cent of Macedonia’s parliament is made up of women MPs - the highest quota in the region.
Serbia comes second in the region with 33.2 per cent, while Kosovo is close behind, with 31 per cent.
In Bulgaria, 24.6 per cent of MPs are women, in Croatia, 23.8 per cent, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 21.4 per cent, and in Albania, 17.9 per cent. Romania comes bottom. Only 13.3 per cent of Romanian MPs are women.
Although the number of women MPs in the Western Balkans has increased dramatically in the past two decades, mainly due to gender quotas that have been included in electoral laws, women still do not enjoy parity in decision-making processes, experts say.
Speaking in Albania’s parliament on March 8, on international women’s day, Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Edita Tahiri, noted that despite the progress made, more needs to be done to create an equal society.
“Our efforts have delivered results, but we have a long road in front of us in order to build the kind of democracy that grants equal access in decision-making to both genders,” she said.
Most Western Balkan countries seeking European Union membership have passed legislation on gender equality in accordance with EU standards, but implementation of these rights in practice is widely seen as less satisfactory.
In a resolution passed in April, the European Parliament said women need to enjoy equal participation in decision-making at all levels of government, describing it as of "high importance" for the integration process.
“In the process of building properly functioning democratic institutions, securing the active participation of women – who comprise over half of the population in the Balkan countries – is crucial for democratic governance,” the resolution said.
Autor: Besar Likmeta
Source/Fuente: http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonia-leads-balkans-in-women...
