The poor implementation of property registration law and the patriarchal tradition that favours sons in the inheritance of family property has created a gender gap between the wealth of men and women in Albania.
Written by Fjori Sinoruka, Balkan Insight
Two years ago, Shpresa ended 34 years of marriage because of the continual beatings she was subjected to by her husband.
But on the morning of July 15, 2017, her estranged husband ambushed her as she headed to work and tried to kill her, hitting her over 40 times with a crowbar on the head and all over her body.
“The scars are still with me today, on my body and on my legs,” said Shpresa (not her real name), a mother of two, adding that he also tried to strangle her.
“I have 32 stiches in my head; look at my fingers, look what happened to my fingers,” she added, displaying the terrible consequences of the assault.
Although Shpresa’s husband is now behind bars, the plight of the woman from the Albanian town of Fushe Kruja continues, as now she has to fend off a civil lawsuit brought by her brother-in-law over the ownership of the house where she lives with her sons.
