Skopje, 8 March 2024 (MIA) - A plenary session was held in Parliament on Friday on the occasion of International Women's Day, with a focus on gender equality, promotion of women's rights and the role of women in the current parliamentary composition. 

The session discussed a report on the activities and role of the Parliamentary Women's Club for enhancement of gender equality and promotion of women's rights in the Parliament over the past four years.

SDSM MP and Parliamentary Women's Club chair Lolita Ristova pointed out that progress has been made in legislative changes, but gaps remain still. She pointed out that stereotypes must be broken and initiatives to raise public awareness of the importance of equal opportunities for all must be encouraged.

"Societies that enable and support gender equality are more innovative, stable and prosperous. Gender equality must exist in every area of ​​our lives. Women's leadership is a big challenge. Women bring new perspectives and solutions to problems, contributing to a more balanced and just world. Together we can do much more. Our motivation for greater visibility and representation of women in politics must not stop. But we will make sustainable changes only through a joint gender approach of women and men. Life must not be a race between men and women, it should be a field of cooperation. Our cooperation must be mutual," said Ristova. 

MP Monika Zajkova said there are constant talks about promoting women's rights, but things are hardly moving forward. She pointed out that women politicians and MPs have done a lot, but it's still not enough in reality. 

"We showed that we are brave, determined and that we know how to be good leaders. Although we have achieved a lot, the fight against gender-based violence and discrimination is an ongoing battle that requires hard work, effort and dedication to completely overturn it," said Zajkova. 

DOM MP Maja Morachanin said International Women's Day is the day when we all have to say loudly that the fight for gender equality continues.

"Because we cannot be satisfied when we see that women's labour rights are being violated every day. We cannot be satisfied until every single woman has access to education, health care services. And we cannot be satisfied when every third woman is a victim of gender-based violence. We cannot be satisfied when we see the public discourse dominated by sexist hate speech. And of course we cannot be satisfied with the situation especially in the past year when we saw a surge and rise of anti-gender narratives present in the social public discourse," Morachanin said. 

VMRO-DPMNE MP Zhaklina Peshevska said gender equality is one of the values ​​of the constitutional order. In that sense, she noted, the country has an international and national normative legal framework of gender equality that is dynamic and comprehensively regulates the matter. 

Independent MP and Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Equal Opportunities among Women and Men, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova said women must fight for their own place in the Parliament if they really want to be respected entities in politics and a factor in politics.

Parliament Speaker Jovan Mitreski said the contribution made by women in the development of society, and the development of the world in general, must not and should not be underestimated, nor neglected. On the contrary, he added, not only on March 8, but we should constantly keep in mind how important gender equality is for all of us in all spheres of social life.

"The Republic of North Macedonia is committed to strengthening the position of women and protect their rights. Gender equality is one of the highest values ​​of our constitutional order. Our goal is a tolerant and equal society where everyone has equal opportunities. I must proudly point out that the Macedonian Assembly has shown a great commitment to promoting gender equality, through concrete measures, which makes us leaders in the promotion and implementation of gender equality," said Mitreski. 

The Parliament held its first plenary session on gender equality on March 8, 2023, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Parliamentary Women's Club.  

Photo: MIA archive / Print screen