The United Nations, which works for gender equality and women's empowerment, known as UN WOMEN, compiled a list of the 10 countries where government cabinets have a balance between men and women.
As you can see in the list below, Albania ranks fifth and is followed by Rwanda, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica and El Salvador. The top four countries are Spain, Finland, Nicaragua and Sweden.
Half of Prime Minister Rama's cabinet is made up of women: Olta Xhaçka (Ministry of Defense), Anila Denaj (Ministry of Finance and Economy), Belinda Balluku (Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy), Besa Shahini (Ministry of Education, Sport and Youth), Etilda Gjonaj (Ministry of Justice), Elva Margariti (Ministry of Culture), Ogerta Manastirliu (Ministry of Health and Social Protection) and Elisa Spiropali (Minister of State for Relations with Parliament).
If we take a look at the ten states listed above, we will find that it is a mix of government cabinets that is by no means evidence of the empowerment of women in society.
Nicaragua, for example, ranks higher than developed countries such as Sweden and Canada, but statistics show that the country has increasingly faced violence against women as well as attacks on the LGBTQ community, which the police have not responded to. The same goes for Rwanda , which in 2016 ranked first. In real life, the women of this state are by no means powerful.
With regard to Albania, in recent years there has been an approach to promoting gender equality, which is also seen in leadership positions in various ministries. However, the country still faces problems regarding the potential of women in the labor market as well as increasing violence against women.
Naming capable women in leadership positions is not a remarkable achievement when, on the other hand, according to data published by the United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs (UNODC) in 2018, the number of women killings by partners intimacy in Albania was the highest in Europe.
In a report by the United Nations Development Program, the number of women victims of violence has increased. For example, in 2005 there were 95 cases reported, and 10 years later 3,866. The figure went to 4,163 in 2016.
Likewise, other INSTAT data indicate that the gift to women in Albania remains high, with the most problematic being the situation in large districts such as Durres and Vlora.
So in government, it takes people, whether women or men, to work to build a system that strictly protects women's rights.
