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According to them, women still struggle for economic, political and social equality with men while not being paid like men even though do the same job. They have major objections to the textile industry where, according to them, the violation of women's rights is more pronounced.
“They are not paid for the work they do on weekends, are not paid for overtime work. They are not identified by employment agencies. We do not have enough engagement of labor inspectors to investigate or oversee the observance of worker rights. We aim to improve this serious situation through independent trade union organizations,” says Kristina Ampeva, president of the Voice of Textile Workers Association.
In high-level political and decision-making positions, women are under-represented, says Tanja Tomic, a gender equality expert.
“There are also a number of problems that need to be addressed, including their involvement in politics in executive functions. There are quotas for representation in the Assembly and must be respected, but in other executive bodies, such as in government, local government, running state-owned and publicly-owned enterprises, there are no quotas and the situation is unpleasant,” Tomic says.
Of the 81 mayors, only six are women. In the Assembly, out of 120 MPs, 47 are women, thanks to a law that obliges parties to have 30 percent of women MPs. Of the 25 cabinet members, only 5 are women. Of the dozens of political parties, only one is led by one woman.
Gender equality legislation has been advanced thanks to lawmakers and women's associations, but the implementation of these rights requires serious commitment.
Gender equality also dominates the political parties' election campaign for the April 12 elections. All parties pledge to give to women equal opportunities even though they have such promises at every election cycle but have never been fulfilled.
Albanian parties also say that priority will be given to the representation of women in all decision-making institutions.
With the demand to improve the situation of women's rights, a march was organized long ago by various associations. They require the strengthening of control mechanisms to advance the position of women.
“In general, gender equality is not at the right level, we are not satisfied. If we look at the side of the legislature, the conditions are in place, so we have institutional mechanisms that will fight gender inequality, but they don't work,” says Gjynere Nebiu, head of the Antiko association.