ALBANIA - Over the past 30 years, Albania has evolved at breakneck speed from an extreme communist dictatorship to an unbridled neoliberal democracy. This makes the country an interesting laboratory for contemporary social developments, such as migration, identity construction or gender and the social role of women. There is a lot to be said about this, because Albanian society has always been very patriarchal. Equality between men and women is hardly an issue.
Albania is - literally and figuratively - a blank spot on our map of Europe. We hardly hear anything about the Balkan country in South-Eastern Europe except when it comes to disaster or the country's European ambitions.
Over the past 30 years, Albania has evolved at breakneck speed from an extreme communist dictatorship to an unbridled neoliberal democracy. This makes the country an interesting laboratory for contemporary social developments, such as migration, identity construction or gender and the social role of women. There is a lot to be said about this, because Albanian society has always been very patriarchal. Equality between men and women is hardly an issue.
But that is not counting on a young generation of Albanian feminists, who claim women's rights and equality: on the street, via social media and their own news channels. For Knack.be Klara Van Es spoke in Tirana with Entenela Ndrevataj and Liri Kuçi, two of the very first feminists, about their all-in activism for women, the LGTBQI community, workers, students, monuments and the environment.
Photo: ©Deni Sanxhaku
ONLINE (in Dutch)
Jonge generatie feministes op de barricaden in Albanië: 'Als vrouw word je hier dubbel getroffen', Knack.be, 04/10/2021.
