Empowering women through tourism and economic development

In the vicinity of Gadime/Gadimlje Marble Cave in Lipjan/Lipljan municipality, a group of local women - owners of small-scale businesses - have come together bearing handiwork and good spirits. The tent set up to host them for a mini-fair seats several tables, all filled with various products, from knitted clothes to traditional food, waiting for potential visitors.

As they make final preparations, another group of women gathers, ready to hit the tent and mingle. This group includes members of Local Women Caucuses (LWC) from Lipjan/Lipljan and Obiliq/Obilić, informal groups mainly comprising members of municipal assemblies advocating for the advancement of gender equality and removal of barriers for access to employment opportunities for women and girls.

In the centre of all this is Hyra Bytyqi, Chairwoman of the LWC in Lipjan/Lipljan and municipal spokesperson, hosting both groups and welcoming a third delegation from the municipality.

She carefully picked and planned the location, the guests and the agenda.

Joining forces for maximum impact

"Through today's activity, ahead the International Women's Day on 8 March, I wanted to support women and their economic empowerment through promotion of tourism. This is why we picked the marble cave; to promote our main natural resource in the municipality, but also to give women businessowners from the area a chance to showcase and promote their work and network with municipal officials and guests from other municipalities," says Bytyqi.

True to her words, Bytyqi invited senior officials of her municipality to visit the fair, including Deputy Mayor Diamant Bytyqi, department directors, and LCW members from Obiliq/Obilić for a discussion and exchange of experiences.

"I wanted to bring them all in one place, to share experiences, learn from one another, coordinate activities and, equally important, know each other and network."

"I believe the event has an added value, as it will prompt thinking of potential investments; the local restaurant and cave management will get to know women businessowners, and I am sure they will have the possibility to co-operate in the future and support one another. There could be many - maybe small but impactful - ideas, like seasonal products or traditional food and souvenirs that could be offered to the visitors by the cave during the tourist season," Bytyqi says.

Institutional support

Bytyqi, like the women she is hosting, also needs support in her work, and for this activity, she had the backing of Lipjan/Lipljan municipality and the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

Over the years, the OSCE Mission has supported the LCWs and women-led NGOs, to offer them a platform to discuss policies related to gender equality, access to property, violence against women, and other related issues.

"The primary objective of the Mission's activities has been to enhance the capacities of local women so that they could effectively address the challenges in their environment and lobby with the municipal administration for change," says Biljana Nastovska, Gender Advisor at the OSCE Mission in Kosovo.

"Women at the local level, particularly in rural areas, face various barriers if they lack institutional support; they work without any labour benefits and find it difficult to access public life. For instance, the most recent report by the Kosovo Women's Network confirmed that 42% of residents engaged in some form of informal work, with women being nearly twice as likely as men to work informally, particularly rural women and women aged 46-64. Although informality exists in different sectors, agricultural work involves widespread informality, primarily carried out by women," she adds.

Valon Pacolli, Director of Economy and Development Department in Lipjan/Lipljan municipality, says his visit to the fair as a municipal representative shows the municipality's moral and institutional support for local women entrepreneurs.

"Last year, we supported over 30 beneficiaries - mostly women - with equipment and grants, as part of our efforts to support entrepreneurship, be it new businesses or existing ones. We have over 500 businesses owned by women in our municipality and we continuously support activities like today's fair that impact the development of entrepreneurship. In my work, I see an immense interest and so much potential among women of Lipjan/Lipljan to open their own businesses and be economically, financially and in every other aspect independent," he says.

"We can do it"

The women participating in the fair echo this sentiment. Behare Gashi, a mother of four, running an online catering business, says baking sweets was always her passion, since she was a little girl. "This is what I started and this is what I keep doing, with my daughters beside me, trying to show them what it means to have your own income. I tell them if you have a job, you are all right, you are independent, no one can supress you, you are not under anyone's shadow."

For Valbona Sopa, working in agriculture for 20 years, support is also important. "I have made my living from scratch with this job. It was hard at first to start a business, like for every woman, and it is hard work, but with a little support, we can do it," she says.

As Bytyqi wraps-up the day, she is pleased to add today's successful activity to countless other efforts and initiatives to empower women. In a unique way to mark 8 March, with the ultimate goal to improve gender equality and advance women's position, she brought all the stakeholders together: women businessowners, municipal officials, municipal assembly members and the management of the marble cave, to start a potential fruitful co-operation.

"Economically empowered women can sustain themselves and their families and are able contribute to give more to the society, they know their rights and seek gender equality, and we need to work continuously to achieve it," she says.