Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Representation of women in elected bodies, both at local and national level, is gradually increasing in Azerbaijan.

Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Bahar Muradova made this statement at the round table on “The role of parliamentarians in the empowerment of women and combating violence against women” on September 28.

The representation of women in local bodies has grown from four to 30 percent, according to Muradova.

“This is the result of the state policy in this area, hard work and dedication, as well as contribution of parliamentarians and, in general, attention given to this issue,” she noted.

Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee Samad Seyidov, in turn, highlighted the experience of Azerbaijan in the empowerment of women.

“Azerbaijan is able to answer questions that the whole world is not able to answer. And today's debate once again confirms this. We do everything possible, so that the work in this direction to be organized at a high level,” he said.

Speaking at the event, Hijran Huseynova, Chairperson of the State Committee for Family, Women, and Children's Affairs said that in Azerbaijan, the situation with domestic violence is much better compared to other countries.

This problem is mostly concern the State Committee, she said, adding that the fact that the situation in Azerbaijan with the prevention of violence is better, does not give a reason to relax.

“Despite the fact that the country has done a lot to address the problem, the activity must continue. It’s still impossible to solve this problem completely once and for all. This problem exists in the world, both in the most developed and in most backward societies. The presence of domestic violence in society affects, first of all, the very society and the state,” Huseynova said.

She said that within the concept of "Azerbaijan 2020: Look into the Future", many measures will be taken including establishment of the institute of family psychologist.

Women have played an important role in Azerbaijan over the centuries. It is not a coincidence that Azerbaijan was the first country to grant women the right of vote, which is the fundamental basis of a democratic society.

In 1998, Azerbaijan established the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs.

Nowadays, women are closely involved in the socio-political, socio-economic, scientific-cultural, and other aspects of life in Azerbaijan.

Most of all working women in Azerbaijan are involved in the educational sphere. Women account for 76.2 percent of the total number of teachers in secondary schools, 77.5 percent of the total number of teachers in vocational schools, 47.2 percent of the teachers in higher educational institutions. Also, 64.4 percent of the doctors working in the country are women.

Women also play a major role in the development of science. Some 49.2 percent of PhD candidates and 51.2 percent of all academics are women.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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