Jahjaga: 'Blame should not be directed at the survivors, but at the perpetrators, who used rape as a weapon of war'

Atifete Jahjaga was president of the Republic of Kosovo from 2011 to 2016 and the country's archetypal pistillate caput of state. After taking a instrumentality grade astatine the University of Pristina, she specialized successful transgression law. After the extremity of the Kosovo War successful 1999, she held assorted positions successful the recently established Kosovar Police and was appointed the force's lawman manager successful 2009. During her clip arsenic president, the politically autarkic Jahjaga fought for greater rights and equality for women and girls successful Kosovo. Through the Jahjaga Foundation, which was acceptable up successful 2018, she works, among different things, for the survivors of intersexual unit during the Kosovo War and for interethnic dialog successful the Western Balkan region.

DW: President Jahjaga, determination are estimates that astir 20,000 women were raped during the Kosovo War. You were straight progressive successful raising consciousness of this contented during your presidency. How was this grounds gathered and however close are these figures?

Atifete Jahjaga: When we speech astir intersexual unit during the warfare successful Kosovo, it has been and continues to beryllium an unfastened coiled and a taboo taxable for our authorities and citizens.

In the 25 years since the warfare ended, I person worked actively connected this subject, particularly during my word arsenic president of Kosovo and afterwards arsenic erstwhile president, and present done the Jahjaga Foundation.

The statistic we notation to are based connected a methodology utilized not lone successful Kosovo but besides successful Bosnia, Rwanda and Myanmar. It is simply a circumstantial look for estimating numbers. We person cases that were reported by planetary organizations astatine the clip these acts were committed.

The percent is precise high, with the fig being astir 20,000 women. But it was not conscionable women; astir 1,000 men were besides raped.

There are cases wherever the victims themselves reported the rape to the organizations that received refugees erstwhile they went to exile camps successful neighboring countries.

The Heroinat monument successful Pristina remembers the estimated 20,000 women who were raped during the Kosovo WarImage: Bettina Marx/DW

We person statistic from the International Red Cross and galore different organizations. Then determination is the fig of abortions that occurred successful exile camps, arsenic good arsenic reports aft the liberation of Kosovo.

There are assorted methods of arriving astatine the approximate fig of 20,000. To day we person not had a implicit study from immoderate enactment connected the nonstop number.

During my engagement successful this contented alone, I person met with implicit 8,000 women and men who were raped during the war. The biggest occupation is that a ample fig of women and men person inactive not taken the measurement of talking openly with their families oregon anyone else.

DW: As you say, not capable attraction has been paid to the contented of wartime intersexual violence in Kosovar society. It inactive seems to beryllium a taboo taxable wrong Kosovar families. Why is that?

Jahjaga: It's a operation of galore factors.

Firstly, it has a spot to bash with the patriarchal mentality of our society. In 2011, erstwhile I began to talk publically astir this taxable — advocating for organization engagement and addressing this issue, which was not a law work of the president but a motivation work — I received assorted reactions, from 1 utmost to the other.

Some said Kosovo and its radical were not acceptable to speech astir this subject. They acknowledged that it had happened but insisted that this section was closed. My effect astatine the clip was, "How tin you adjacent a section that has ne'er been opened?"

A large injustice was done instantly aft the warfare erstwhile we took connected each those organization and societal obligations toward each war-related category, but marginalized the survivors of intersexual violence, pointing fingers astatine them, ne'er realizing that their bodies had been turned into battlegrounds. While we were opening graves for the missing and erecting monuments for countless martyrs, we ne'er understood the symptom and the consequences faced by survivors of intersexual violence.

Medica Mondiale, a women's rights enactment founded by gynecologist Monika Hauser, and its Kosovar spouse enactment Medica Gjakova precocious published a survey connected the semipermanent consequences of conflict-related sexualized unit successful KosovoImage: medica mondiale e. V.

At the time, determination was an effort to discourage us, claiming that Kosovar nine was not acceptable to sermon this issue. However, aft the activism of my bureau and team, on with the important efforts of civilian society, I was compelled to respond to the governmental elites of the time, stating that the radical had ever been acceptable to face this taxable — it was conscionable that due enactment had been lacking to openly code the unhealed wounds of our society.

The extremes were precise real. On the 1 hand, immoderate household members personally brought survivors to organizations, saying, "You request to assistance our household members." On the other, determination was the achy utmost wherever women and girls were forced to support their concealed to themselves and wrong their families for the involvement of protecting "morality."

But the shame was ne'er theirs. It was the shame of those who committed these atrocities. The blasted should not beryllium directed astatine the survivors, but astatine the perpetrators, who utilized rape arsenic a limb of warfare against the citizens of Kosovo.

DW: What person justness institutions done to bring charges against the perpetrators? Many non-governmental organizations person continuously raised their voices, stating that the state has done thing successful this regard. You served arsenic president for 1 term. How valid are these concerns?

Jahjaga: So far, if I americium not mistaken, we person had lone 9 oregon 10 cases, indictments drafted by the prosecution and instrumentality enforcement institutions, portion determination is lone 1 lawsuit wherever a last determination has been made, and the sentencing raises galore questions.

It is achy that thousands of cases were built by UNMIK and EULEX, and these cases were transferred to the hands of section institutions but were ne'er treated arsenic abstracted cases, lone arsenic portion of the wide cases related to warfare crimes. Thus, impunity has caused the survivors of intersexual unit to suffer spot successful the institutions of justice.

Edited by: Aingeal Flanagan