Even when laws guaranteeing gender equity are firmly in place, local customs and traditions can exert subtle pressure favouring male ownership in land purchases and inheritance practices. A two-day workshop starting tomorrow in Durres, Albania – “Success stories of gender mainstreaming in the Western Balkans: Brainstorming for future support” – will explore this and related issues.

Supported by FAO, The World Bank, UN Women and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the meeting will bring together participants from six countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Serbia. Participants will discuss progress in “gender mainstreaming” in the Western Balkans and strategies for gaining additional support.

A joint FAO-World Bank initiative for the Western Balkans was launched in 2013 to tackle the problem. The regional initiative on Gender-Informed and Inclusive Land Administration aims to build country capacity to generate gender-disaggregated reports for evidence-based policy making.

The countries involved each established a team of land administration specialists, notaries, government policy makers, gender officers, and local NGO and private-sector representatives. The teams received training on the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure and a technical guide on “Governing Land for Women and Men.” Each team conducted a pilot project to raise awareness and encourage both women and men to register their property.

Country facts

In Albania, an awareness campaign on women’s and girls’ property rights targeted eight municipalities (Vlorë, Fier, Shkodër, Malësi e Madhe, Durrës, Shijak, Tiranë and Lezhë). Legal counselling was provided to 44 women during 2014 through partnership with the Centre for Legal and Civic Initiatives. Some 167 lawyers, property registration specialists and notaries received training on legislation.

In Kosovo, 15 percent of properties are owned or co-owned by women. A pilot campaign to exempt the service charge for property registration for couples who jointly register their property was implemented last year with positive results. Building on this initiative, legal aid service has been provided to women in rural areas including war widows, Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian minorities, and the elderly.

In Serbia, where there is a significant discrepancy in women’s land ownership between regions (ranging from 13 to 51 percent), the country team actively participated in the design of a World Bank-financed real estate management project (2015-2020) to address vulnerable groups and promote equitable property rights.

In FYR Macedonia, household surveys conducted in three municipalities revealed a significant gap between people’s perception of tenure security and actual reality. Some 95 percent of survey respondents believed their tenure rights were secure and that girls and boys had equal rights to inherit their parents’ property, while the data showed that only 16 percent of properties were registered to women as owners or co-owners.

Durres, Albania, 16 September 2015