Gender Equality as a Necessary Approach for the Country’s Development Process and for Gender Integration

The key word in the concept of gender integration is the word perspective. To implement this concept, a major change in the way we think and act is necessary. (Gender Integration in Practice, 2007:11) When gender equality is discussed as a policy in its own right, the focus is on gender structures, not just women as underrepresented gender groups. Gender mainstreaming is the inclusion of a gender perspective at every stage of the process, approval, implementation, planning, evaluation and delivery of legislation, policies or programmes. In all political, economic and social spheres, taking into account the promotion and advancement of equal opportunities between men and women. Defined as equality between men and women in all spheres, both public and private, gender equality means equal access to and control over resources and benefits, equal participation in political decision-making, and equality before the law for women and men. (Shkurti 2009:19). Gender is not just a socially constructed definition of women and men, it is a socially constructed definition of the relationship between the sexes. Policies and structures play a very important role in living conditions and often institutionalize the maintenance of the social construction of gender (Anastasi, Mandro-Balili, Shkurti, Bozo, 2012:8). This social construction contains an unequal power relationship with male dominance and female subordination in most spheres of life. This means a true partnership between men and women and their sharing of responsibility for correcting imbalances in their public and real lives. The issue remains in the use of the skills, values and talents of every citizen, as well as in the inclusion of women and men in the construction of society. Gender inequality must be fought, protected and promoted as a human right. Gender equality means participation, empowerment and visibility of both sexes in all spheres of public and private life. An important goal is the full recognition and implementation of women's rights as human rights. This means respecting, protecting and promoting the human rights of both women and men, ensuring that both parties fully respect these rights. It also means fighting interference with women's freedom and dignity.