Despite significant economic progress since its transition to a market-based economy, Albania remains one of the poorest countries in Europe. Almost a third of Albanians are considered poor, with 17 per cent living on less than $1 a day. Poverty is concentrated in rural areas, where 4 out of 5 people are poor and most are engaged in agriculture.
Literacy rates in Albania are nearly 99 per cent, though since 1990 the number of children attending school has dropped noticeably. School enrolment is lower in rural areas than in cities, especially for girls. This may be because girls must seek jobs to help support the family or because tradition keeps them at home. With the transition to a market-based economy, many of the principles of equality enforced during communism have lost strength. Employment is no longer guaranteed. In addition, more women than men lost their jobs during structural adjustment, and formerly state-owned assets were generally granted to men. As a consequence, women increasingly depend on their husbands and extended families for survival. A revival of traditional stereotypes has coincided with a return to Kanun law, an extremely gender-biased customary law - especially common in poor rural areas. Meanwhile, working women are finding it more difficult to balance career and family as the availability of state-financed social services has dropped. For instance, the number of kindergartens fell by more than 40 per cent between 1990 and 2000. Widespread poverty and limited employment have forced many Albanians to migrate abroad in search of jobs. When women are left behind they find it difficult to reunite with their husbands because of strict emigration laws. These factors have contributed to a large number of single-parent households, the vast majority of which are headed by women. Women have more limited access than men to assets that could help them earn a living, adding to their vulnerability. For example, women face discrimination in owning property and in starting a business. Even gaining access to credit can be difficult for women, not for legal reasons but because banks prefer lending to men. Few opportunities to advance economically explain why many Albanian women migrate to other countries, to become domestic helpers or find work in a café or restaurant. Some of them are promised jobs only to find that once in the new country their identity cards are confiscated and they are forced into prostitution. More trafficked women come from Albania than any other country in southeastern Europe. Of those trafficked, almost 60 per cent were tricked into prostitution, and 35 per cent were abducted. Albania ratified the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, but the law has not been implemented. The legal framework also contains gaps, including the absence of a domestic violence law. Although the Albanian constitution prohibits discrimination based on gender, in practice women’s opportunities for education and jobs are much more limited than a man’s. The State Committee for Equal Opportunities implements policies to promote gender equality. It drafted the Platform for Women 2002-2005, which promotes gender equality in power and decision making, economic and social affairs, health and education. The platform focuses especially on rural women, who experience greater discrimination than urban woman and who are isolated from the political and social life of the country because of lower educational levels and prejudice. Source: IFAD |
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The majority of women in Albania are employed in agriculture. Farm work in Albania is hampered by low mechanization, and yields are small because of limited use of fertilizers - two factors contributing to poverty in rural areas. Albanian women not only work alongside men on the farm, they also manage childcare and household chores. The time they spend at home doing unpaid and unregistered work limits their participation in society - a factor cementing male dominance. Even in average wages, a women’s salary is 20 per cent lower than a man’s.