HeForShe Summer Tour in Albania reaches thousands of men and boys in search for pledges to fight gender inequality

Albania’s HeForShe Summer Tour hit the road in August with a bang: a branded car, fully loaded with audio-visual tools and five enthusiastic young women and men from the Borderless Youth Centre.

Their mission: 10 cities in 10 days, driving through the relentless August heat to get out HeForShe’s gender equality message by concretely engaging thousands of men and boys in Albania’s most popular tourist spots. Their quest proved success. By the end of the tour, the team of five reached 10,000 people and collected over 700 commitments made to gender equality.

HeForShe, a global campaign for gender equality initiated by UN Women, encourages men and boys to pledge to take action against gender inequality, an issue that has profound social, economic and political costs for both women and men. HeForShe actively engages men in the fight for gender equality and women’s rights.

In each city’s beaches, main squares and tourist areas, the team held positive, open, awareness-raising conversations with men about gender equality. Challenging the young men to overcome inherited social and cultural barriers, the HeForShe team asked them to come forward and publicly commit to supporting gender equality and empowering Albania’s women and girls.

Getting men to commit to gender equality is important in Albania, where despite recent reforms women face daunting challenges. Albanian women’s participation in political and economic decision-making remains limited. Violence against women is common, with almost 60 per cent of Albanian women aged 15-49 having experienced domestic violence.

Little has been done to address the gender pay gap and improve women’s access to entrepreneurship services and credit. Women’s average salary is almost 18 per cent lower than men’s in urban areas and doubly lower in rural areas. Few women are in management.

Using the slogan “Change Perspectives; Be a HeForShe!”, Albania’s HeForShe Summer tour kicked off in coastal Vlora. Blending music and awareness messages, the team drew hundreds of curious visitors and residents as they invited men and boys to act for gender equality.

Overall, most men in Viora were confident that empowering women and girls was natural and right. They noted, however, that inherited social and cultural barriers had to be overcome.

The HeForShe crew are galvanised as they approach Himara and later the southern city of Saranda, known for hordes of tourists strewn over its lovely beaches.

Arjon Marku, a tourist from Tirana, notes that attitudes are slowly changing in Albania but emphasises that youth must lead: “Change starts at home where we men and boys should have an active role in daily household activities,” explains Mr. Marku.

In informal chats, the team realizes while that many gender equality steps have been undertaken in the last few years, much remains to be done in rural areas.

The HeForShe Team then visited the stone city of Gjirokastra, and then the lake city of Pogradec.

At each stop, they engaged hundreds in conversation, asking boys and men to commit to gender equality and take action.

After five days in the South, the HeForShe team are excited to be heading North.

They start with Kruja and Lezha, historical cities of brave men and boys who fought for freedom. But what about fighting for gender equality?

Most men smile and agree that in their cities women and girls still face many challenges and barriers to achieving their full potential. “Change starts individually within ourselves, and real men need to act to break our old mentality,” says Gani a resident from Kruja, in conversation with the activists.

Next, the coastal cities of Shengjin and Velipoja, where the Tour is widely welcomed. Everyone had a different story and perspectives on gender equality varied. Nonetheless all express a desire for an equal society, and agree that women’s rights are human rights. Arber Doku, from Kruja, says that gender equality is a delayed issue in Albania, and that it’s now time to devote more attention to it. 

The northern city of Kukes successfully concluded Albania’s HeForShe Summer Tour.

The Tour showed that men and boys in Albania care about women rights, and are ready to come forward, become a HeForShe and pledge concrete actions for gender equality.