“Hikmet, sit down somewhere” You speak as never before of Atifete Jahjaga's famous bodyguard

There's no job men can do and women can't.

With this engine, Himkete Imeraj started her professional journey. An idea like this bold time thought opened the way for him to break any barrier and challenge life could bring forward.

I've always loved breaking ice for other women, risking and never fearing for anything. relates Hikmeta for the magazine ZA, with determination conveyed by her eyes.

Himime Imeraj was the first woman police officer in the Near Protection Unit in the Republika Kosovo Police, also known to the public as the Kosovo President's bodyguard during 2011-2016, Atifete Jahjaga.

Born in Uca Istog, Hikemmi has grown with great love and devotion from her parents to a family of nine children. She took care of Hikmet, she tried to get her parents back since she was a kid. For five years she began to contribute to all her field and household chores. He had left no choice. She wanted to help her parents.

School was always important to him, and his support had never been missed. Scholar in the 1990s, Hikmeta had tried the educational system parallel. Eight years had followed school lessons in homes, and the difficulties of schooling in this system only motivated him to learn more.

The challenges of schooling were soon forgotten when Hikmet saw the horror of war. She was only 15 years old when she witnessed her cousin's murder by the Serbian armed forces. He saw the act. Such traumatic experiences break down many people. But not Hikmet.

All these experiences in a manner directed Hikmeten towards the Kosovo Police.

This institution was recruiting the second generation of police officers. The shade was ready. To join the blues, she had to pass a very difficult physical test.

“ Tells the Hikmeti, “thought that police work was due only to men, even when those arrested resisted by disrespecting a female police officer as a result of the multiple prejudices they had”, she describes the first days under her uniform.

Here he found his opportunity to break gender stereotypes dragged into Kosovo society.

But when they've met, I'm talking to me personally, 100% changed their mind. They said we could never think a woman could do the job like this. Even I was chosen before any man for my professionalism and readiness, shows it with our pride.

Hikmeta had started working as a field patrol officer to continue as a police officer at the Constitutional Court. Then she joined the Near Defense Unit. This entity has specific missions within the Kosovo Police, which is the protection of persons of particular importance who are most endangered, and Hikmeta wanted to do just that. The fact that there was no other woman in this unit did not hold her back. This only motivated him further.

Work in this entity requires extraordinary preparation and strategy. Close protection should be in a state of readiness all the time, precede any danger, and if necessary, manage them by reacting quickly. And all of this they have to do in silence and background, away from any public attention.

But it was difficult for Hikmeta to remain invisible. At the moment of the appointment of President Jahjaga, citizens noticed another phenomenon -- the female bodyguard. Hikmeta was the close defense of President Jahjaga even when she was a general in the Kosovo Police, but then the public did not know her. But now she was President's bodyguard.

With short, white hair, a strong, ever alert attitude, Hikmet stood out wherever he went. But that did not impress her. She had the responsibility to care for the security of the president of the Republic of Kosovo, and that task was her focus.

The time during which she had served as a close defense of President Jahjaga, Hikmet remembers her with great pride.

A thing that impressed me when we traveled abroad, which has probably caused me to cry, is the moment when I saw the Kosovo flag and sent the President with close protection of the economic state and the red carpet reception. I've experienced the feeling of being state”, It's still filled with emotion right now.

These moments are unforgettable for Hikemten because she felt pride, emotion, and dignity. She had worked long to contribute in a form to strengthening the state of Kosovo and at this point saw how Kosovo was treated with respect.

It's been a special feeling that I can't describe because of the big challenges we've had to become a country, during the war and before the war, during the time of resistance where many people have lost their lives for freedom. In addition, the feeling of responsibility to represent the state in another country has been perfect”.

Police work requires much physical preparation, which is necessary to be at the helm of duty, especially in entities like Hikmette's. Experiences with various sports have helped them to do so. For years she has been trained in football and karate, although the circle has repeatedly told her that they are not girls' sports.

I played soccer with guys at school, and teachers told me, "Come play baseball with girls and don't play soccer with boys." But I was more willing to play football”

Despite such comments, she continued to play and even helped young girls to play the sport she was supposed to be for boys alone. Moreover, they joined him in playing football in open fields and then joined the Pristina club.

The karate training, which had begun during the last year of their studies, had helped them pass the receiving test to join the Kosovo Police. Although, according to Hikmetes, physical tests for women are usually easier in order to achieve an average, the test in the Kosovo Police at the time was the same for women as for men. Maybe even harder.

The recruiting test was the only proof that Hikmet had to prove himself. During her work within the unit, she was challenged by male instructors whenever she had any exercise. Hikmeta says they used the true “” to break it morally. But their attempts were unsuccessful. This approach has made Hikmeten even stronger and more persistent towards achieving its goals further and not giving up.

His determination as one of the most unique traits of His character is inherited from her father. In fact, he had largely influenced the construction of her character.

Dad helped me a lot. He was a very hard worker, he was my model. I've been working hard because I thought that's the way it was gonna take”

A typical day for Hikmeten begins at eight o'clock in the morning. The day usually has an eight hour standard schedule, but When we are in a state of readiness or the near protection of any VIP, the schedule depends on the time of that or that VIP”, Tells Hikmat. Working with President Jahjaga was up to 13 hours.

Well, the police are on duty 24 hours, they always have to be able to protect citizens”.

Nothing is elusive in Hikmette's eyes. She lobbies hard enough for all the girls who want to wear the Kosovo Police uniform not to hesitate. It even shows that special training is offered for each department in the police station, and all challenges are overcome.

Now, after 21 years of work in the Kosovo Police, it has been embedded in the profession. She never thought of leaving. Despite the demanding nature of its profession, however, Hikmeta has energy and wants to do more for the country.

Trusting in the work of Socrates, who had destroyed the state to help youth, Hikmet wants to help the country's youth, not by ruining the state, but through sports. In the near future, he plans to create a sports gym for children. Sports she'll teach her children are gymnastics and karate.

This will enable girls and boys to understand each other's world. Let them grow up alike. And then when they grow up and face life's challenges, they won't have a sense of superiority or inferiority, they'll be equal to”.

I suggest young girls get as much sport as possible, especially karate”,va He ordered Hikmat. “as it serves to protect itself and help them cope with life's challenges more easily”.

Hikmmm is living evidence that women and men are equal even where physical strength is required, although this equality is not reflected in the gender statistics of this unit where even today there are only two women and about 100 men. But despite that, Hikmete Imeraj is not the member wife of the Kosovo Police Near Protection Unit. She's the mother of this unit. And so far the most famous bodyguard in Kosovo.