Kosovars still want boys even when they adopt

In just nine months of 2020, 23 cases of abandoned children have been recorded.

Meanwhile, the form of permanent protection for children without parental and abandoned care, in cases when return or care in their biological families is impossible, adoption remains.

Magbule Koci, from the Ministry of Labour and Social Management, for “Zerin” has said that compared to 2019, although in 2020 the complete identity has not yet been made, fewer abandoned children are in our country.

“Based on reports by the country's municipal social centre, according to the nine-month report (9) in 2020, 23 cases of abandoned children are recorded. Meanwhile, according to the annual report in 2019, 26 cases of abandoned children” have been recorded, Koci said.

For nine months of 2019, according to MPMS official, only eight requests for child adoption have been approved, seven of them in the country and one outside Kosovo.

“over the nine-month period (9) of 2020 the panel has approved 8 applications for adoption, out of them 7 local adoption cases and 1 case of adoption abroad”, Koci said further.

She stressed that waiting for adoption are only cases of children with special needs and belonging to the age of 4-15.

“From the number of abandoned children currently in institutional care through the form of temporary protection, children waiting for adoption are only cases of children with special needs (5 occasions), which despite continued efforts by municipal social work centres for their local adoption, has yet to be adopted within the country. Also, efforts have been made to adopt abroad, but so far without success. Their age ranges from 4-15 to”, she said, among other things.

MPMS official Magbule Koci said further that compared to 2019, this year there were fewer requests for child adoption found in “SOS Children's village”

“As far as the number of adoptions is concerned, during 2019 the panel for placing children without parental care in the family shelter and adoption has examined and approved 17 requests, of them 15 requests for local adoption, 2 requests for adoption abroad. Meanwhile, as mentioned earlier, during 2020 (in the nine - month period), the panel has approved 8 applications for adoption, out of them 7 domestic adoption cases and 1 case of adoption abroad”, she stressed, until she added that to make a more real comparison between 2019 and 2020, she should receive data from the 2020 annual report.

In Kosovo there are greater demands for adopting boys

Asked which gender of children has more interest in adoption, MPMS official Magbule Koci said that, based on the registry, the country's citizens are more interested in male gender.

“Linked to the preference for child gender that potential families for adoption express interest, based on the above-mentioned registry of potential foster families, we can say that the requirements are for children of both genders, but the preference for boys” dominates, she said.

According to sociologist Genc Xerxa, the reason for the highest number of applications for adopting male children is due to the patriarchal context.

In a reply, he said that this fact is also influenced by emancipation.

“The patriarchal correspondent on the legacy and continuation of the game is the concept that is still alive in us, as in most Balkan peoples in the continuation of the type. It depends, not on that rule, that there are couples who have adopted girls as well, but on high - tech causes still dominate the demand on male gender. This is also influenced by the exemplification, desire, educational and economic status of the couple in question, which is not influenced by patriarchal norms on the legacy and continuation of the type”, Xrsxa said.

Sociologist also mentioned reasons that can lead parents to abandoning their children.

“are a number of factors: economic conditions, motherhood, her working market situation, her social and marriage status, can dereminate the decision on taking such a step”, Xrxa said.

Meanwhile, he added that the reasons why there has been no change in mentality even 20 years after the struggle with the gender of children are because Kosovars have not exceeded gender complexes.

And as a post-traumatic society, we have not surpassed the challenges of gender and family complexes and job sharing or dometic obligations, where the greatest burden falls on the mother and patriarchal rules often confused the sense of reasonableness towards the rational solution of problems”, sociologist Xrsxa said.

As for adopting children with special needs, he said our society has not yet reached that stage of development.

We haven't reached that stage of developing society on adopting children with special needs. We're still discussing the gender preferences of adolescence and leave it to such cases. These include socio-cultural, emancipative contexts of the couple and their intellectual establishment, which is a challenge that even the most developed states have not overcome this phenomenon, where the child adapts unconditionally or without the preference of adoptants. This category of children usually remains a burden on institutions, which should do more in sensibly and promoting equal rights on adopting children in couples in demand, Genc Xrxa concluded.

Heritage, the influence Kosovars like more boys than girls

On the other hand, sociologist Artan Krasniqi said adopting children before those girls is done for the reasons of heredity, while stressing that new generations are having movement in equality and social emancipation.

“Arsyet for the preference of adopting children before those girls cannot be seen clearly by the traditional desire to have sons for heirs before girls. A change in this context in Kosovo society, to the new generations separately, is seen, and this shows a movement towards equality and social emancipation. However, remaining the most popular male gender, either when it comes to adoption, shows that work is still needed to achieve targeted egalitarianism. On the other hand, social processes are known to have their natural course, and trying to speed them up often is unsuccessful”, sociologist Krasniqi said further.

On the issue of adopting children with special needs Krasniqi said high humanity of the adoptive family is required.

He points out that responsibility toward children with special needs is twice as great.

“Requesting commitment and maximum effort and the burden of responsibility is twice as high. I have the impression that adopting children in us is still due to the inability to biologically have children, not for the sake of adopting an abandoned child. Economic conditions also have its own effect, but after that, it is more connected to the” mentality, sociologist Artan Krasniqi concluded.