[Prishtina-E] NEW! Kosova Womens Network E-Newsletter

[Teresa Crawford]

Prishtina, October 29, 2001

If you would like to receive the new e-mail newsletter of the Kosova
Women's Network please send an e-mail to kwn-news-request at alb-net.com
with only the word 'subscribe' in the body of the message or visit
http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/kwn-news. Please direct
questions or queries to info at womensnetwork.org

*

NEW E-MAIL NEWSLETTER IS LAUNCHED BY THE KOSOVA WOMEN'S NETWORK

'The international community needs to do much more to eradicate the
trafficking of women from Kosova and curb violence against women in
the
province', according to a new monthly publication by and for the women
of Kosova that will be launched this week.

The publication is called 'KWN Voices,' and it will serve as the
monthly
newsletter of the Kosova Womens' Network (KWN), which links 32 women's
groups across the province. (Subscription information below) The
newsletter will be accompanied by a new KWN website, which will soon
be
open to visitors at http://www.womensnetwork.org

The Kosova Women's Network began as an initiative by four women's
groups
in 1998 to aid Kosovar women, and it has now evolved into a powerful
mouthpiece for women throughout the province.

Its members have now decided to produce a newsletter and website to
ensure that their voices are heard during the reconstruction of
Kosova.
The first issue will be sent out during the week of October 29, 2001.
The network is coordinated by the organization Motrat Qiriazi ('the
Qiriazi sisters'), headquartered in Prishtina.

The emergence of a new newsletter produced by and for women is an
important event in the rebuilding of Kosova. Womens' groups played a
critical role in helping Kosova's civilian population during a decade
of
repressive Serbian rule. They also provided a wide range of medical
and
social support for refugees during and after the 1999 war. In spite of
these achievements, there has been no publication specifically for
women.

KWN members plan to use their new website and newsletter to strengthen
their own network and expand their contacts inside and outside Kosova.
The first issue includes a profile of Legjenda, a group that provides
computer and other classes for women and children in the town of Viti.
Profiles will be a regular feature in the KWN newsletter.

The KWN network also plans to use their new communications capacity to
lobby hard for improvements in the status of women in the province.
The
network is currently engaged in six separate campaigns, whose goals
include the reduction of violence against women and an end to the
trafficking of women from Kosova into the sex trade. The KWN will
launch
a multimedia campaign on November 25, to mark International Day
Against
Violence Against Women.

The KWN is also lobbying hard to ensure that women are prominently
represented in the province-wide parliamentary elections that will
take
place in Kosova on November 17. The UN administration requires that
one
quarter of all candidates are women.

These campaigns are being conducted with the support and encouragement
of the international organizations, including UNICEF and the
International Organization of Migration (IOM). In spite of this, the
KWN
also cherishes its independence from the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)
and plans to use its communications capacity to keep a close watch on
UNMIK's policies on women. Some of its members have criticized what
they
see as the UN's lack of support for Kosovar women since the end of the
war.

The KWN network has received assistance from the Advocacy Project in
putting together its new communications strategy, with support from
the
Open Society Institute (OSI). Under the strategy, all of KWN's member
organizations will be linked to the Internet and to each other by next
summer.

----------------
About KWN Voices
----------------

KWN Voices is published monthly in Albanian and English by the Kosova
Women's Network (KWN) with generous support from OSI-Budapest
www.soros.org. We welcome articles and comments. Inquiries and
submissions can be sent to info at womensnetwork.org. Back issues of the
newsletter will be available shortly at http://www.womensnetwork.org.

TO SUBSCRIBE: send an e-mail to: kwn-news-request at alb-net.com with
only
the word 'subscribe' in the body of the message or visit
http://www.alb-net.com/mailman/listinfo/kwn-news

To learn more about women in Kosova during and after the 1998 war,
including a profile of Motrat Qiriazi, visit AP's website:
http://www.advocacynet.org/kosovo_igorogova_3_52.html