After the Killing of a Pregnant Woman, Çitaku: Women Are Not Safe Even in Their Own Homes

PDK lawmaker-elect Vlora Çitaku has reacted to the killing of a young woman who, according to her, was murdered by her husband in the apartment where they lived.

In a Facebook post, she raised the question of whether women have a place today where they can feel safe, pointing out that danger appears on the streets, at the workplace and, unfortunately, even within the family.

Çitaku said the victim was brutally killed by her husband in her own home, precisely the place where she should have found protection and safety. She stressed that the woman was pregnant and that the baby was still in her womb.

According to her, the fact that women continue to be killed shows that taking a woman’s life is still, tragically, considered something easy to do.

The lawmaker also criticized society’s tendency to seek explanations or justifications after such cases. She emphasized that family members and those around them often try to find a motive, asking what happened between the couple, what the victim did or what drove the perpetrator.

Çitaku declared that there can be no motive, reason or justification for the killing of a woman. She added that, while the law provides for punishment, society often attempts to protect the perpetrator through various explanations.

She called for a profound change in society’s attitude toward violence against women, stressing that the perpetrator’s family should distance itself from the crime and neither defend the perpetrator nor seek explanations in his favor.

Çitaku called for justice and the maximum sentence, but also for a stronger societal response. According to her, violence against women must be condemned not only by the law, but must also be unacceptable to society; meanwhile, the abuser must know that he will not be protected by silence, his family, those around him or a mentality that blames the woman.