NEW ALTERNATIVES FOR THE FEMINIST EFFORT
Ilustration: Studio Permanent
Center for Information, Criticism and Action – QIKA is an alternative feminist organization that, through activism as a form of inclusiveness and journalism as an important means of information, aims to unite the voices of women and men for gender and social equality. Intervening in public discourse through research, reporting, actions and discussions is our organization’s own motive and method. QIKA is a fresh and invigorating voice in the feminist movement in Kosovo that opposes the unequal reality and insists on new explanations and fundamental social changes. Our mission is to provide and encourage a feminist response based on information, knowledge and conviction.
QIKA was formed under the necessity of the circumstances and the will of the activists for intervention in the social order. Through street action, office discussions, shared readings, production of hundreds of news stories, translations, feedback and critical texts, QIKA actively helped build an engaged community of feminist activists in Kosovo who significantly changed the landscape. QIKA stands for justice, equality and inclusiveness, so our effort is to practice and develop an intersectional feminism, where women of all areas, ages, ethnicities, classes, sexual orientations and religions are treated equally and live without oppression and discrimination .
Like any social movement, feminism needs mobilization in order to push forward the ideas and beliefs it stands for. This thing in the 21st century translates most of the time as presence in online spaces. Noting the essential role of online social media in mobilizing for activism, QIKA has created the feminist media platform www.qika.org; a completely new space of information, discussion and reading that tends to pay attention to the marginalized perspectives of girls and women in Kosovo. Through the platform, QIKA offers analysis of topics, events and news related to gender equality in Kosovo, the region and the world.
This has come as a necessary and urgent intervention in the media industry which has long excluded diverse voices. Doing feminist journalism means putting women at the center of reporting and their rights on the media agenda. Such journalism is a political option, a new alternative to thought provoking and the need for engagement. In addition to the platform, we have also created the “Join QIKA” program – this program enables the inclusion of all persons who wish to engage and help our feminist initiative. We constantly work with young women and men in Kosovo who are curious and willing to delve into social topics related to their gender, sexuality, and family and social relationships. QIKA has so far collaborated with many activists whose texts, translations and research have been published on the platform. We met individually with all activists who were interested in writing or translating with QIKA and offered individual mentoring and support. Among other things, they were supported in the selection of articles, were informed about research methods, and were offered editing for their texts.
Knowledge and information about feminism has often been significantly more accessible in developed countries. Through access to feminist writings, thoughts and ideas, activists of feminist movements around the world have had more opportunities to develop critical thinking and have a clearer insight into oppression and discrimination. Unfortunately, the same has not happened in developing countries, where the opportunity to access information on gender equality, among other things, is often stuck as a result of language barriers. Many of the most famous feminist authors and thinkers have used English as the main language to formulate their concepts. In Kosovo, the lack of texts in the Albanian language has deprived many of them from exposure to information and knowledge about feminism. Throughout its work, QIKA has clearly filled this gap, offering research and important texts translated into Albanian.
We see the media platform as well as our other activities as common spaces for discussion and learning. Therefore, we invite everyone to join us in our effort to destroy myths and values that hinder progress, and to work for an equal future for all. Join QIKA!
About the author: The Center for Information, Criticism and Action is an organization that protects and promotes equal rights for all citizens of Kosovo.
This grant is supported by Austrian Development Agency
