An essential part of this project is the empowerment of particularly marginalised women – especially those belonging to the Roma and Egyptian communities, older women, women with disabilities and women in rural areas. It is crucial to actively involve these women in the project, including its decision-making processes. Only through their strong involvement sustainable solutions can be established in the long term. The two Albanian partner organisations WtW and CLWG therefore cooperate with organisations that specialise in strengthening, advising, and supporting marginalised groups. In the Community of Practice of 5 May 2022, three representatives of the grassroots organisations United Egyptians of Albania and Roma Women Albania were invited for the first time.
The primary aim of this meeting was to get a better understanding of these two initiatives, which have emerged from their communities. The organisation United Egyptians of Albania was founded only a year ago and emerged from a Roma organisation in the north of Albania. It is mainly run by volunteers and has not received any financial support from other institutions so far. Roma Women Albania was founded in 2012 and is somewhat more established. The organisation is mainly involved in awareness-raising (domestic violence, early marriage), free legal aid and educational projects for children. They also collaborate with state actors such as the employment office or various schools and thus try to integrate marginalised communities into the official state systems.
The exchange with the representatives of these two organisations was very enriching and gave us an insight into their way of working. The need for direct, close cooperation with the affected groups themselves, as mentioned at the beginning, was confirmed in the discussion with the representatives of the organisations. The three women all pointed out how important it is that they and their staff are part of the Roma and Egyptian communities themselves. For outsiders, it is much more difficult to find access to the people concerned and to establish a basis of mutual trust. This is not only due to the language barrier, but also to decades of systematic neglect by the state and everyday forms of antiziganism. In addition, several times documentaries have been made or research projects have been carried out for which the groups concerned have exposed themselves, without benefitting from the projects in any direct way. Such (well-intentioned) projects have also weakened trust in outsiders.
The situation is quite different when support projects emerge from within communities and are led by women who speak the same language and know the people and realities on the ground, often even the exact family histories of individuals.
IAMANEH Switzerland is looking forward to further cooperating with the two organisations and hopes that this will lead to longer-term collaborations.
Caption: Screenshot from the Community of Practice on 5 May 2022
*This project has been fundet by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UN Trust Fund). The UN Trust Fund is the only global grantmaking mechanism dedicated exclusively to addressing all forms of violence against women and girls at local and national levels.
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