When it comes to partitioning, the environment is not paid and it's known as a job.

1072 couples in Kosovo have ended their marriage during 2017, according to official data from the Kosovo Statistics Agency. And over the past two years, although there are still no official statistics, from the Pristina Foundation Court say the number of divorces has marked increases.

However, the problem is not to separate couples but to divide common wealth.

So far, the Law on the Family of Kosovo, as a common wealth of adultery, has considered wealth acquired with work during the continuation of the marriage, the contribution of both mates, including the wealth acquired through the games of fate. In judicial practices, however, work inside the home is not considered equivalent to a housework paid for on pay.

According to the research report “who cares? Demands, offers and options for increasing child care opportunities in Kosovo” implemented by the Kosovo Women's Group Network, only 18.1 per cent of women are part of the workforce. So without a monthly salary, and with a household as unknown work, this suggests that most women (mainly a household) have been economically damaged in sharing common wealth.

Some studies have shown that responsibilities for providing home care contribute to this low female participation. In most cultures, women are assigned traditional gender duties and responsibilities of free care work. Free care can negatively affect the level of women's education, their participation in the workforce, political involvement, and poverty levels during life”, the report further says.

But at the Pristina Foundation Court for Civil Affairs, the Department of Civil Affairs says that in divorce cases the property created by the marriage union is equally divided. They even say that they make the contribution to household chores.

<x) In all the cases we've dealt with, for the wealth created from the moment of marriage connection from now on, the court based on evidence offered by the inter-trial parties, has made equally participating, so just as the lawmaker has determined”, it is said in their response.

However, research reports and other sources speak differently.

Lawyer Arianan Koci, based on his experience, says that in the process of divorce, the serious problem continues to be the division of wealth where women are in many cases injured. Koci says some of the blame lies with the justice system, which, according to him, is not effective enough in such cases.

The newly created “property is often not registered properly, for example, by the woman invests from her salary in the renovation of the house which, in all cases, is the property of her husband's father. Or there are times when a wife rears her children and cares for her family and marriage mate, and my spouse eventually denies the contribution that I feel is essential. According to my experience, in almost every case, there are exceptions, the woman is affected by the case of sharing the common property”, Koci says.

Also, in research “gender analysis in Kosovo” conducted by RGGK, it is said that “No known monitoring has examined the practical application of the family Law provisions that predict that courts should take into account the contribution of marriage mates through unpaid house activities when decisions on each mate's share in joint property are made on divorce cases”.

In this research it is also stressed that only 17% of women in Kosovo own property in their own name.

With no property rights, women can stay in difficult marriages, fearing divorce can make them homeless”, the report says.

And sociologist Linda Gusia says that any marriage mate's contribution to household chores should be recognized as a job.

The raising of children is a valuable job, caring for a home is also a valuable job and should be counted, if someone doesn't get a salary, it doesn't mean that he didn't work, so if wealth has been made, it's common because to work with a mate, someone has had to care for household chores, children, and other jobs. Wealth is also common and should be divided equally”, Gusia says.

Based on reports she has analyzed, she says that during divorce cases, she has observed trends on the part of courts to minimize women's work at home.

But some changes have already been made in the Law on the Family in Kosovo. This proposal, made by Luljeta Aliu in 2017, was approved earlier this year and recognises it as a joint husbandly contribution and assistance offered to household chores by one partner. This is highlighted in Article 47 of this law, point 2.2.

Through this change, it is envisioned that the work done at home be considered equivalent to the work the other mate has performed outside the home.

But according to sociologist Gusia, changing the law is only the first step to regulate the issue.

She says implementation of this law should be monitored and society, in particular women should recognise their rights and demand them.

Meanwhile, the legal framework for common wealth under the Family Law has already begun to present itself through Kosovo, through my “Pun campaign, my asset”. /Drenusa Morina PERISCOP

Photo on cover: Caroline Attwood

This article is prepared for participation in the price sharing around the theme “How joint property sharing taken from Kosovo courts” I NEW Justice and Equality Initiative, financed by the United States Agency for International Development USAID and implemented by the ATRC's Training and Resources Centre.