Melihate qena biography tore

Melihate (Meli) Qena was born on December 15, 1949 in Mitrovica.
Melihate (Meli) Qena was born in Mitrovica.
Two well-known theatre directors Borislav Mrkšić and Melihate Qena created Dodona's brilliant children's theatre cast.

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Cases of gender-based violence against girls and women in Kosovo are on the rise, with many perpetrators escaping deserved punishment. Violence within Kosovar families is a bitter daily occurrence, and victims often hesitate to report such violence to authorities.

To combat this issue, the Kosovo Women’s Network (KWN) has been actively raising awareness by organizing the exhibition “Break the Silence: Ending Violence Behind Walls.” This year, KWN collaborated with the member organization Center for Community Education and Development – CECDS and Friends to open the exhibition in the Municipality of Mitrovica. They also partnered with the Lipjan Youth Center (LYC) to open the exhibition in Lipjan.

The exhibition ran for a single day in both locations. Its primary objective was to raise awareness among the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo about domestic violence and inform them about the responsibilities of governmental and non-governmental institutions in protecting them from family violence.

Besarta Breznica, KWN’s Officer of the Program for Ad

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Melihate (Meli) Qena

Part One

Melihate (Meli) Qena: I come from a family of workers. My father was a baker, a breadmaker. He comes from the village of Has. Hasjonët¹ are known. Hasjonët are known for working all around Yugoslavia, wherever they work, they mainly work as bakers. So, my father baked very good simit,²the best bread, the best croissants. And we always had hot bread at home. We often sustained ourselves with bread and pickles.

We are nine children. We were nine children. I don’t have my brothers anymore. My older brother was engaged in the arts. He was an actor and director. He finished the School of Film in Belgrade. And of course, as often happens in big families, the other children were influenced by the choice of their older brother. I don’t know, maybe it is a kind of instinct or something, I don’t know what to call it…Maybe it was because we didn’t know what to choose, we saw the older brother and went after him. So, mainly our whole family was engaged in the arts and this is not a privilege. Maybe this is more of a misfortune in our society

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‘Aga’s House’ Director Lendita Zeqiraj on Kosovo’s Hidden Trauma, Healing

A nine-year-old boy raised in a house full of women is determined to find his missing father, a man who he believes vanished after the Kosovo War. The five women he shares a home with meanwhile carry the burdens of their own wartime traumas, finding common ground in the stories, songs and jokes they share. But even in a house bursting with life and laughter, the country’s dark history of ethnic tension and violence threatens to rise to the surface — bringing with it painful memories and secrets long buried in the past.

“Aga’s House” is the feature film debut of Kosovo’s Lendita Zeqiraj, whose critically acclaimed short “Balcony” world premiered at the Venice film festival. Starring Arti Lokaj as Aga, along with a powerful ensemble cast including Rozafa Celaj, Adriana Matoshi, Basri Lushtaku, Shengyl Ismaili, Melihate Qena, and Rebeka Qena, the film opens the East of the West competition at this year’s Karlovy Vary Intl. Film Festival. It&rsquo