|
|
 |
Oral Submission on behalf of Armenian Association of Women with University Education (NGO) will be made by Dr. Jemma Hasratyan, AAWUE President |
|
|
|
|
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Armenian Association of Women with University Education set a goal to undertake an independent assessment of the implementation of the CEDAW Convention with regards to a number of key areas and commitments, to identify problems that implementation of the Convention in our country and to outline possible ways for their solution through the recommendations to the Government and other relevant entities.
That approach enabled us to present the de jure and de facto situation and to focus on the recommendations as to how negative practices could be eliminated.
While drawing up the Alternative Report, we took into consideration the CEDAW Committee’s concluding comments and recommendations to the Armenian Government as regards the second periodic report.
The most detailed analysis was made of the two fundamental issues, viz.:
• national machinery as a sine qua non for establishing control over the implementation of the Convention and for mainstreaming gender into the State policies;
• women’s political participation and the issue of underrepresentation of women in power and political decision-making, which minimizes women’s opportunities to influence State policies and results in consolidation of discriminatory practices in all areas of political and socioeconomic life.
The report is based on the findings of a number of studies and sociological surveys conducted by the Association in 2002-2007. In the course of writing up the Report we conducted focus group sessions and held a number of meetings with politicians and public figures as well as with NGO and political party activists.
In the period following the second periodic Report, measures aimed at the implementation of the Convention and, in particular, at enhancing a women’s role in the society were indeed taken. With a view to eliminating discriminatory practices and to fulfilling the obligations contained in the international legal instruments, including CEDAW, ratified by Armenia, on 8 April 2004 the Armenian Government adopted the National Action Plan on Improving the Status of Women and Enhancing Their Role in Society in 2004-2010. Women’s Council was established under the Prime Minister and an Inter-Agency Commission on Gender Issues was set up. The Convention on the Political Rights of Women and Optional Protocol to the CEDAW were ratified.
A minimum quota for women on political party lists in parliamentary elections was raised from 5% to 15% to increase women’s representation in the legislature. As compared to year 2003, the number of women in the Parliament increased by 4.1% in 2007. For the first time a woman was elected Deputy Speaker of the Parliament. At the same time the level of women’s representation is the parliament remains low (8.4%). There is not a single woman in 7 out of 12 standing parliamentary Committees.
The number of women in political decisionmaking position in the executive branch of government slightly increased. Two women were appointed Ministers, one Regional Governor and one Deputy Regional Governor. At the same time, despite the measures that were taken, gender imbalance still remains in decisionmaking in public administration. Тhe level of women’s representation is the Parliament remains low (8.4%). There is not a single woman in 7 out of 12 standing parliamentary Committees.
As compared to year 2002, the share of women among Ministers and Deputy Ministers decreased from 8% to 2.4%. There is only one woman among 65 Deputy Ministers and one woman among 19 Deputy Regional Governors (Marzpets). The tendency of gender imbalance remains in top positions in civil service, with women occupying only 11% those positions.
The fact that for quite a few years there are no women among the leadership in the Ministries in such spheres as education, health and social security, where women constitute over 70% of the workforce, causes concern.
Gender imbalance persists among heads and members of urban councils in local self-governments. During the entire period of democratic reforms there has not been a single woman among 48 Mayors and 51 Deputy Mayors in cities and towns. Women constitute only 4.3 percent of local Councils (Avagani) in urban communities and only 2.6% of rural communities are headed by women.
Within the last 10 years not a single woman was nominated to the position of a Deputy Mayor in the capital city of Yerevan. There are no women among Heads and Deputy Heads in 12 district communities in the capital. Women constitute less than 4.7% of the Council members in the district communities in the city of Yerevan.
The training of the pool of qualified personnel does not take a gender factor into account and does not meet the present-day requirements of further democratization of the public administration system. The absence of gender education in the system of personnel training in public administration and among public officials of all ranks calls into question their awareness of the necessity to redress a gender imbalance.
T
he de jure recognized constitutional rights do not rule out the de facto discriminatory practices, which in real life are grounded in:
- an unequal access of men and women to political positions and to bodies of State power at a decision-making level;
- an unequal situation of men and women in an economic field;
- a traditional distribution of gender roles in the society and in the family, which is retained and reinforced by all social institutions.
Assessing a gender situation in Armenia, it should be pointed out that public and State institutions in the country do not operate in a gender-sensitive manner and do not rule out discriminatory practices against women. Women’s high educational level and civic potential notwithstanding, their role is quite limited in political and economic spheres and in public life. Exclusion of women from participation in decision-making in governance and the masculine type of leadership bring about a democratic deficit and conflict with the main principles of representative democracy.
In order to change the situation with a view to achieving a gender balance in the country’s Parliament as a body of representative democracy and in decisionmaking in the executive branch of government and to contributing to a greater women’s activists we deem it advisable that the Government:
- expedite the adoption of the Conceptual Framework of the State Gender Policy,
- initiate the submission of the Draft Law on Guarantees of Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men for the consideration by the Parliament,
- provide financial support to political parties taking into account a gender component.
In our view, and I would like to particularly emphasize it, national machinery has not been established yet in Armenia. Neither the position of Deputy Minister in charge of Women’s Issues nor the Division on Family, Women’s and Children’s Issues in the Ministry of Labor & Social Issues can be construed as such machinery since they do not comply with the mandate and the criteria of the national machinery as stated both in the CEDAW Committee’s General Recommendation # 6 and in the Beijing Platform for Action.
There is certain misunderstanding with regard to this issue, which is to some extent a result of the fact that in Armenia a clear distinction between national machinery and institutional mechanisms is not made. Whether taken separately or in combination, the existing institutional mechanisms do not meet the criteria for national machinery as none of those entities formulates or implements anti-discriminatory policies and a gender equality policy or coordinates the activities of the government bodies in this area.
The absence of the national machinery and close coordination between the operating institutional mechanisms does not enable the State bodies to monitor manifestations of discrimination so as to promptly neutralize them. Neither is control over the trends in women’s representation in decision-making exercised.
As a result of the absence of the national machinery:
- the fulfillment of the obligations under CEDAW and other Conventions and Covenants is held back;
- coordination of operation of the existing institutional mechanisms is impeded;
- the strategy of mainstreaming gender into legislation and into political practices is not carried out in full;
- gender discrimination persists in power and decision-making as well as in women’s representation in the legislative and executive branches of government.
Therefore, we find it necessary to recommend the Armenian Government to establish national machinery that will be in line with the international standards and that will become a key entity in formulating and implementing policies and strategy of the national conceptual framework for gender equality
I would like to highlight yet another issue. In 2002, the CEDAW Committee recommended to use quotas as a tool for redressing gender imbalance in power. As evidenced by the results of the 2007 parliamentary elections, the existing 15%-quota failed to secure a 15%-representation of women in the Parliament, even though it was instrumental in increasing the share of women on the political party lists from 14.2% in 2003 to 22.6% in 2007.
At present, three political parties ensured a 15% representation of women in the Parliament, viz. Prosperous Armenia, ARF-Dashnaktsutiun and the oppositional Heritage party, which secured 42%. There is only one woman among MPs from the leading Republican Party, even though the party has virtually a half (64) of the overall number of MPs.
We request the CEDAW Committee to recommend to the Armenian Government to support the initiative of 23 women’s NGOs and to the Parliament, within the framework of a legislative initiative, an introduction of a 30% quota into the Law on elections.
In our view, political parties it is also necessary to recommend political parties to give more consideration to their women members and to more actively promote women to the governing structures of the parties, to expand the exchange of experience with political parties from other countries that have successful experience in achieving gender balance and in using positive action.
Sharing the CEDAW Committee’s concern about patriarchal relations in the family and in the society in our country, we point out that the programs as well as practice of conducting special campaigns aimed at eliminating gender stereotypes have so far been non-existent in our country. It also raises our concern that mass media, which promote the culture of democracy do not show interest in promoting the idea of gender equality and in eliminating practices, which discriminate against women.
Gender equality issues are still in the focus chiefly of women’s NGOs.
Introduction of gender knowledge into the system of pre-school, secondary and higher education is slow. As a result, the process of socialization of children and youth lacks a gender component.
Gender education is provided for the most part by the country’s NGO sector in the system s of both formal and non-formal education.
The Association’s Center for Gender Studies together with the Ministry of Education and Science and with the support of the OSCE Office for Democracy and Human Rights have been carrying out the institutionalization of gender education in 15 universities in and 30 secondary schools all over the country. The Conceptual framework for State policies in the field of gender education has been designed and syllabi, textbooks and manuals have been published.
The experience of teaching demonstrates that students that were given gender knowledge tend to internalize gradually such democratic values as respect for women’s civic stand and for their right to participate in sociopolitical life and to do away with patriarchal stereotypes.
Our recommendations to the Armenian Government are:
- to introduce gender education on a broader scale into secondary schools and universities with the view of developing egalitarian, democratic culture among young generations and of eliminating stereotypical gender views;
- to contribute to the elimination of gender stereotypes and to advocacy of women’s socio-political activism and to the formulation of gender policies of mass media.
Thus, we believe that:
- in reality, despite the fact that quite extensive rights of women are guaranteed by the national legislation, there still exists discrimination, which, not infrequently, is not perceived as such owing to the deep-rooted stereotypical views of the role of women in the society;
- the country’s Government has yet to take effective measures to prevent discrimination against women in public administration at a decisionmaking level, on the labor market and in the field of employment. As a result, women’s impact on social and economic processes and on State policies is still decreasing.
Ladies and gentlemen, in conclusion, we believe it important to note that the Armenian Government’s Program for years 2009-2012, which has been approved by the Parliament, states as a priority that with a view “to achieving consolidation of the society, building social State and promoting social justice” … “the Government’s policy will aim at attaining gender equality, at providing equal rights and equal opportunities for men and women in public, political and economic spheres.”
With a view to implementing the said Program (and we wish to stress that as a positive fact of social partnership between the Government and NGOs) the teams of experts from the Governmental entities and from NGOs have already drafted the Law on Guarantees of Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men and the Conceptual Framework of the State Gender Policy, both of which have been quite positively assessed by international experts. These developments inspire certain confidence that in the near future positive changes are possible in the country.Oral Submission on behalf of Armenian Association of Women with University Education (NGO) will be made by Dr. Jemma Hasratyan, AAWUE President |
|
| |
