Only 14,000 businesses are owned by women, many other cases are in court

Gender equality continues to be a serious problem in our society, where after many years of equal rights commitments a very important segment has not been dealt with properly and continues to be very important for maintaining patriarchism on the level, in our society.

According to Article 16.12 of the Law on Gender Equality “Children, women and males inherit property equally”, Article 49 of the Family Law, “The common marriage heritage during marriage is administered and jointly capable and able with agreements”, and many other articles guarantee women equal rights to inherit property and wealth, yet this is not applicable in practice.

Based on official data from the Agency for Registering Business that operates within the Ministry of Trade and Industry, few businesses are registered owned by women.

In a response to Indexline from the Public Communication Office in the MTI, the total number of businesses is 167 thousand and 671, of which only 14,000 and 204 businesses are owned by women.

Because of the failure to divide the inheritance as the Law regulates the family, many cases are in court.

According to statistics department data of the Kosovo Judicial Council, in the Constitutional Court during the first quarter of 2019 there have been 1,000 and 62 materials dealing with family heritage.

The Constitutional Courts during the 2003 Trem-2019 had 1062 materials at work. 195 substances have been accepted during this period, while there are 207 materials resolved during this period”, it says their answer to Indexline.

However, they make it known that at the end of this period, 855 subjects have remained unsolved.

Mirlinda Kusari Purrini, director of the Association of Business Women, for Indexline, has said that few women are capable of inheriting family businesses, even in cases where no boys are at home.

The majority of women against their rights by law adhere to patriarchal traditions and choose to give up their legacy in favor of male heirs in the family. And if we talk about a marriage mate when the husband and his wife raised and developed business (if their spouse dies), the wife continues to manage business with the children. And in my opinion, even though we have a modern-day social emancipation, we still shouldn't overlook the patriarchal tradition that still dominates “under the shadow”, where parents mostly leave their business heritage to their son”, Kusari said.

She says that complaints about this problem of business heritage continue.

“As far as business heritage, women have not been declared directly, but indirectly have complained. We have had special occasions in rural areas where, in most cases, the legacy was not shared by father - in - law (feeling), and today it creates problems in children even despite the will and desire to achieve something sustainable. There are cases that have especially been solved by family members, where the husband, after the property inheritance he has met, has entrusted it to his wife on behalf of her who has established business and successfully manages”, she added.

While, in terms of doing business environment, she says that women in Kosovo have very little space to do business even despite the fact that they show success.

“They lack the opportunity to become entrepreneurs and create new businesses, help economic growth and create new jobs, because economic empowerment for women is a conditional process on available resources, a process that does not provide much opportunity and space to use their skills to gain access and control over economic benefits. Social standards and institutional environments around gender create additional obstacles that make it harder for women to create and develop a business. Studies show that entrepreneurship is usually associated with male characteristics, and this works against women entrepreneurs, who are viewed as violating stereotypes about female behavior. The lack of better access to capital still shows much inequality in terms of providing women with loans and other financing they need to do business. Due to the lack of collateral and gender prejudice, women's businesses are seen as less reliable and attractive investments for financing”, it has highlighted, among other things.