OSCE Office in Baku promotes gender rights and equality
Azerbaijan can be proud of the fact that during the first and short-lived republic in 1918 it gave women the right to vote. However, there is still much work to be done to ensure the full participation of women in the country's political and public life. Currently only 14 of the 125 parliamentary seats and just over a quarter of municipal seats are held by women. The OSCE Office in Baku is engaged in a number of activities to promote gender equality in all spheres of life, from politics to business, science and culture.
Azerbaijan can be proud of the fact that during the first and short-lived republic in 1918 it gave women the right to vote. However, there is still much work to be done to ensure the full participation of women in the country's political and public life. Currently only 14 of the 125 parliamentary seats and just over a quarter of municipal seats are held by women. The OSCE Office in Baku is engaged in a number of activities to promote gender equality in all spheres of life, from politics to business, science and culture.
Protecting women from violence in the home
A prerequisite for women's equal participation in society is to ensure that their rights are adequately protected in law. Recently, Azerbaijan drafted a law on domestic violence, which was reviewed by experts from the OSCE's Office from Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). The draft is scheduled for parliamentary review later this spring.
In November last year, the Office organized a conference on preventing domestic violence that looked specifically at the issue of raising awareness of and support for the new legislation. Good practices to combat violence against women were also promoted through the publication Bringing Security Home. Combating violence against women in the OSCE Region. A compilation of good practices, developed by the Gender Section in the OSCE Secretariat.
"The problem of domestic violence is a reality in Azerbaijan just as it is in all other countries," said Ambassador Bilge Cankorel, Head of the OSCE Office in Baku at the November conference. "The difference between Azerbaijan and over sixty other countries is that in Azerbaijan legislation has not yet been passed to criminalize this type of violence. Therefore, we consider it a matter of high importance that this legislation should be adopted as soon as possible."
The Office was also involved in organizing four television programmes dealing with domestic violence. The first three were generally informative about the issue, while the fourth featured Members of Parliament discussing the need for legislative reform and the obstacles it faces. The Office is also currently working on projects involving public service announcements on domestic violence, among other topics such as electoral reform, legal assistance, environmental problems, human trafficking, and ill treatment in detention facilities. These announcements are planned to coincide with the parliamentary pre-election period this coming autumn.
A stronger voice for women
"The more we give women 'room' and wider opportunities to be involved in the leadership of our political, educational, management, judicial and other systems, the more significantly Azerbaijan will develop," says Intigam Aliyev, President of the Legal Education Society, which implemented an OSCE-funded project to enhance women's participation in the 2009 municipal elections. Women, who before the elections represented less than 20 percent of municipal candidates, now hold just over 26 percent of the seats. This represents a big improvement from just 4 percent in 2004.
Training sessions were held for over 200 female participants of various political views and an election hotline was set up to provide legal assistance. Public service announcements and related projects are being planned and implemented for the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Women's resource centre
Some of the women who stood for the municipal elections were supported by the Resource Centre on Democracy and Gender in Shamakhi, a central district of Azerbaijan. This centre was opened in 2006 by the OSCE Office in co-operation with the Association for Protection of Women's Rights. It provides training courses on entrepreneurship, establishing NGOs, women's leadership and legal advocacy. Its advocacy training on local administrative law and rights coaches women to act as community advocates for women dealing with common problems, such as unregistered marriages, divorce law, access to health care and administrative rights.
Bringing balance to policing
OSCE police experts have been working with local police authorities in Devechi, Mingachevir and Gazax cities on a community policing project, aimed at adapting police focus on gender security needs via training sessions and roundtables for community and police representatives as well as the establishment of bilateral community policing discussion groups. So far these measures have succeeded in amending police guidelines and supplementing the police curriculum more comprehensively with gender issues.
"I am glad that the OSCE has included discussion of gender and women in the police," said Alida Aliyeva, Police Major of Gazax police department, "And it is great that the OSCE has incorporated women's issues into their overall community policing programme. Women have been very supportive and enthusiastic to contribute to its development."
Acting under the OSCE Gender Action Plan, and in co-operation with the Gender Section of the OSCE Secretariat, a nation-wide project has been launched, aimed at gender mainstreaming the police service by reinforcing mechanisms that enable female participation. Productive talks were held with the Presidential Administration, parliamentary committees, representatives of the Interior Ministry, the police academy, the Ombudsman's office and the State Committee on Family, Women's and Children's Affairs, leading to an action plan with progressive steps to be made in 2010. Further activities will include a national conference on the role of women in police, the lobbying of changes in the normative and legislative base of the police, training of police management and reinforcement of work with the media.
"The initiatives taken in Azerbaijan to integrate a gender perspective into its community policing programme will produce positive impacts in the security of all men and women in the country," said Jamila Seftaoui, the OSCE Senior Adviser on Gender Issues. "The involvement of women in security matters is essential for the OSCE to effectively act on insecurity."