The Condition of Albanian Women: Political Propaganda and Social Change
During the 1960s, the condition of Albanian women became central to the Communist Party’s anti-religious campaign. This movement, driven by the “sacred law of the party,” aimed to liberate women from the constraints of religious and patriarchal traditions, as detailed in Hulusi Hako’s 1968 essay.
Hako focused particularly on the customs of northern Albania, codified in the Kanuni i Maleve (The Code of the Mountains), which enforced the subordination of women. His analysis echoed the ideas of Enver Hoxha, Albania’s communist leader, who condemned both Islamic Sharia and Christian doctrines for treating women as property, subject to male control.
The Communist Party depicted itself as the liberator of Albanian women, presenting religion as the main obstacle to their emancipation.
Hako’s work, which relied heavily on Soviet sources, portrayed Albanian women as victims of both religious institutions and male-dominated economic and social systems. He argued that women’s oppression, deeply rooted in religion, could only be eradicated through the Party’s intervention. The Party sought to break the transmission of religious traditions from mother to child, positioning the Communist state as the true path to emancipation for women.
Religion and Propaganda: Albanian Women as Ideological Instruments
One of the most important tools used by the Albanian Communist Party in its campaign to reshape society was the manipulation of religion as a target of ideological struggle. The regime’s propaganda portrayed Albanian women as historically bound by religious customs, primarily from Islam and Catholicism, which perpetuated their oppression.
In particular, the Kanuni i Maleve, a customary legal code in northern Albania, became a focal point for the regime’s denunciation of patriarchal practices. This code was framed as a key example of how religious and cultural traditions suppressed women’s freedom.
The Communist Party depicted itself as the liberator of Albanian women, presenting religion as the main obstacle to their emancipation. Hoxha’s speeches, such as his address at the 1955 Women’s Union Congress, painted religious institutions as the perpetrators of gender inequality.
The Party’s anti-religious campaign was thus not only about attacking religious beliefs but also about reasserting the Party’s control over societal norms, particularly in the family sphere. By portraying Albanian women as primary victims of religious oppression, the regime justified its radical policies aimed at transforming family structures and education, positioning the state as the new moral authority.
Party Ideology vs. Social Norms
Beyond the attack on religion, the Party had to contend with deeply entrenched patriarchal norms that limited the full realization of women’s emancipation. Ramiz Alia, the Communist Party’s Central Committee Secretary, identified these “conservative patriarchal feudal-bourgeois concepts” as another major obstacle to gender equality. In the regime’s rhetoric, these customs were remnants of an outdated class system that could only be eradicated through revolutionary change.
A central part of the Party’s narrative was the mythologized image of Illyrian women, who were portrayed as strong and active participants in ancient Albanian society. This idealized version of Albanian women, rooted in a pre-religious, pre-class society, served as a symbol for the Party’s vision of modern revolutionary women.
War and labor became the pathways to women’s emancipation in the communist narrative.
The Communist regime drew a direct line from these ancient figures to the women who fought alongside men in the resistance against fascism and in the building of socialism. War and labor, therefore, became the pathways to women’s emancipation in the communist narrative.
The Party emphasized that full liberation could only be achieved through women’s integration into the workforce. Economic independence from men was framed as a cornerstone of true equality. As Alia noted in his 1967 report, it was through work that Albanian women could develop political consciousness, break free from patriarchal prejudices, and contribute to the creation of a socialist society. By 1971, Albanian women made up 45% of the labor force, reflecting the success of state policies promoting gender equality in employment.
The Contradictions of Maternity: Albanian Women and State Control
While the Party proclaimed that labor was the key to women’s liberation, motherhood remained a central aspect of the state’s expectations for Albanian women.
The regime simultaneously promoted women’s participation in the workforce while maintaining traditional expectations around motherhood.
The Party framed maternity as a patriotic duty rather than a personal choice.
The honorary title of “Mother Heroine”, awarded to women with ten or more children, epitomized the state’s approach to combining traditional values with socialist ideals.
However, this idealization of motherhood revealed a contradiction in the regime’s policies. On the one hand, the state presented itself as a force for modernizing and liberating Albanian women from religious and patriarchal oppression. On the other hand, it reinforced their roles as mothers, placing enormous pressure on them to contribute to population growth for the sake of the nation.
The regime’s strict limitations on abortion and contraception underscored this contradiction. While the Party promoted gender equality through economic participation, it simultaneously controlled women’s reproductive rights, making maternity a patriotic duty rather than a personal choice.
The state’s focus on increasing the population and its hostility toward contraception reflected the ongoing biopolitical control exerted over Albanian women. Despite advances in education and employment, women remained subject to state policies that dictated their reproductive roles. The Party’s narrative of emancipation through labor and motherhood was thus a carefully constructed tool to ensure women’s continued subordination to the needs of the state.
Economic Realities and Social Expectations
Despite the Party’s rhetoric of women’s empowerment, the economic realities for most Albanian women, particularly in rural areas, were harsh. Families in these regions struggled to meet basic needs, and bread alone consumed almost 80% of a typical rural household’s income.
Albanian women were not fully liberated from their traditional roles as wives and mothers.
Women were encouraged to join the workforce not just as a path to independence, but often out of economic necessity. The state promoted women’s participation in labor as both a means of survival and a step toward gender equality.
However, Albanian women were not fully liberated from their traditional roles as wives and mothers. Their economic participation was carefully regulated by the state, which replaced traditional male authority in the family. Even as women entered the workforce, the Party retained control over their social roles, dictating how they should spend their wages and even influencing their aesthetic choices, such as the length of their skirts. Women’s liberation, in this sense, was always conditional and limited by the state’s broader ideological goals.
The Legacy of Albanian Women’s “Liberation”
The Communist regime’s vision of women’s emancipation was not simply about liberating Albanian women from religious and patriarchal oppression. It was about shaping them into ideal socialist citizens who could contribute to the state’s economic and political goals.
While women gained access to education, employment, and public life, they remained subject to the control of the Party-State. The Party’s promise of liberation was always conditional, tied to women’s roles as workers, mothers, and wives, all within the framework of socialist ideology.
For Albanian women, the experience of “liberation” under communism was complex and multifaceted. While they made significant strides in terms of economic and social participation, their freedom was always limited by the state’s demands.
The Party’s emphasis on labor and maternity, along with its biopolitical control over reproduction, ensured that women’s roles remained tightly regulated. In the end, the supposed emancipation of Albanian women was as much about serving the needs of the state as it was about achieving true gender equality.
