The incident with Agron Shehaj and the dismissal of the employee/SP MPs: Misogyny, unacceptable behavior

2026-07-28 14:08:00, Aktualitet CNA

The incident with Agron Shehaj and the dismissal of the employee/SP MPs:

In a joint statement, SP MPs condemned Agron Shehaj's act of taking documents from the Assembly and running away, as well as his failure to react to the Assembly employee who fell down the stairs while chasing him.

According to them, this act shows misogyny, workplace violence, and unacceptable behavior from a member of parliament.

DECLARATION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS DEPUTIES OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY

We, the women and girls deputies of the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party, strongly condemn the serious event that occurred yesterday at the headquarters of Albanian democracy, before the eyes of Albania and in front of the cameras. The Chairman of the “Mundësia” Party and MP Agron Shehaj forcibly grabbed a classified document of the agreement with the United States of America and ran away from the Parliament office. In an attempt to stop him and carry out her duty, an advisor to the Parliament, a woman at her workplace, followed him, fell down the stairs, was injured and is currently hospitalized. MP Shehaj did not stop, did not turn around, nor did he give her help. He left her on the ground and ran away.

For us, socialist women, this is the most serious moment of this event. Because it concerns a woman, an employee of the Assembly administration, who was enforcing the law and correctly performing the task she was assigned.

When a deputy, a man, a party leader, a public figure violates the law and the confidentiality statement in an office of the Assembly; when a female employee of the institution is knocked down while trying to defend the law and her duty; and when that deputy leaves, leaving her lying there without even shaking her hand, we are faced with:

-Mizogeny in its most blatant form, the complete disregard for a woman as a human being at a time when she needs help.

-Violence in the workplace against a public employee, which Albanian law strictly prohibits.

-Unacceptable behavior for a member of parliament who has sworn to serve the Constitution and institutions, not to violate them.

There is no "political emergency" and no "cause" that justifies leaving a woman lying on the steps of the Parliament and continuing to run for a camera.

We, socialist women, remind Mr. Shehaj and the entire political class:

1. No one is above the law, especially when the law protects a woman in her workplace. We demand that the Secretariat for Procedures, Voting and Ethics treat the incident against the Assembly advisor with the utmost seriousness.

2. The work of the Assembly administration, mainly carried on the shoulders of women, is not an “obstacle” for populist politicians. These women are the pillars that hold the institution together. Whoever raises a hand or uses force against them, raises a hand against the Assembly of Albania.

3. A member of parliament who leaves a woman on the ground and doesn't come back owes her a public apology. No conditions. No "buts". No television spots.

Our message to the injured councilor

Be assured that you are not alone. We, the socialist women, in and out of Parliament, stand by you. Your injury will not pass as a “detail” in the daily news. It will be followed, documented, and institutionally protected. The task you were performing was a constitutional duty: protecting a classified document of the Republic. You were not overthrown for a letter. You were overthrown because someone chose show over man.

No political mandate can be more important than the dignity, safety, and respect that we owe to every woman who serves the institutions of the Republic of Albania.

In the end, populism that tramples on a woman's body to earn a video clip on social networks is not a political alternative. It is the deepest regression that can happen to a democracy. The Albania of 2026 does not deserve this. The women of Albania, whether in the Assembly, in the administration, in any workplace, do not deserve this.

We demand responsibility. We demand a public apology to the councilor. We demand disciplinary measures and a criminal investigation, as the Socialist Party Parliamentary Group has already initiated. And, above all, we demand that there will never again be a man in the Albanian Parliament who advances by leaving a woman behind./ CNA