The Legacy of Toxic Patriarchy

Kosovo 2.0 is showing the movie “Ajo” (Her) to begin our second Lokomotiva 2.0 discussion program. Through Lokomotiva, using artistic tools we aim to include young men and women in meaningful discussions about gender, ethnicity, religion, and race.

We will start our discussion about the topic of gender with a showing of the movie “Ajo.” The short movie directed by More Raça takes place in rural Kosovo and displays the dynamic turn of domestic violence, where the actions of the two male protagonists — father and son — show how patriarchy and toxic masculinity are inherited by normalizing gender based violence as “family business” that no one else should deal with. 

The bitter inheritance that stands out in the movie corresponds to the sad Kosovar reality where there is a worrying increase in the reported cases of domestic violence to the police —- and this applies to all ethnic groups. Even though hundreds of people are arrested for inflicting violence, they often get light sentences. This contributes to a culture of impunity that only worsens the problem.

Violence toward women is often a consequence of unequal power between men and women, established by the patriarchal structures. But, the medium of film has always challenged and questioned such inequalities. That’s why we have decided that showing this movie will serve as a starting point for the discussion on the impact of art and movies in fighting gender inequalities; as well as what we can do not to inherit the toxic masculinity that is perpetuated by a patriarchal society and consequently perpetrates gender based violence, sexual violence and mental health issues — along with negative parenting expectations and techniques. 

Our discussion will be joined by:

• More Raça, writer and director of “Ajo”
• Eli Krasniqi, anthropologist, University of Graz, Austria

This discussion will be moderated by Aulonë Kadriu, Program Manager at K2.0.

We invite you to participate in our event on January 29, 2021, online on Kosovo 2.0’s Facebook page. The movie will be shown at 17:30, while the discussion will start at 17:45.

If you need translation in English or Serbian, send us a direct message and we will allow you audio access on the translation channels on Zoom platform.

This event is supported by the Prince Claus Fund.

Feature image: Arrita Katona / K2.0.