Poll finds most favor equal rights for women
The overwhelming majority of Azerbaijanis - 85% -
favor gender equality, according to a recently released public
opinion poll taken in countries across the world.
63% of those polled in Azerbaijan by the WorldPublicOpinion.org believe women have gained equal rights with men. Only 18% of those polled said they had not personally seen changes in the protection of women`s rights in their lifetime.
66% of respondents in Azerbaijan said the United Nations should try to further women`s rights even when presented the argument that this would conflict with national sovereignty. Respondents were asked, "Do you think the UN should make efforts to further the rights of women or do you think this is improper interference in a country`s internal affairs?" Only 23% of those questioned in Azerbaijan believe this would amount to meddling in the country`s internal affairs.
However, 28% of Azerbaijanis said there has been no real change or thought women now have less equality, although overall the countries of the former Soviet Union had majorities saying that women`s rights had improved.
A majority of those questioned in Azerbaijan were opposed to greater government intervention in protecting women`s rights, with 30% saying the government was doing enough in this area while 15% said it should not be involved.
Support for equal rights is robust in all Muslim nations. Large majorities also said it is important in Iran (78%), Jordan (83%), Egypt (90%), Indonesia (91%), Turkey (91%), and the Palestinian territories (93%).
Novella Jafaroglu, who heads the Society for the Protection of Women`s Rights, disagrees with the report`s findings on Azerbaijan. She maintained that although women`s rights are properly protected in the country according to official documents, in reality, this is not the case.
"Look and see how many parliament members and ministers we have. I would like special quotas to be allocated for women to be represented in government for at least a few years. Then everyone will see how many skillful women there are out there," Jafaroglu said.
Jafaroglu noted that some progress has been achieved in the public becoming aware of protecting Azerbaijani women`s rights. In comparison with Soviet times, more women are now able to appeal to authorities to have their rights reinstated, if necessary.
The report presents an updated analysis of a poll of 16 nations originally released on the eve of March 8, International Women`s Day in 2008, a year that marked the 60th anniversary of the UN General Assembly`s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Overall, the poll, which was commissioned in 22 countries in advance of this year`s International Women`s Day, has revealed that equal rights between men and women represent a norm widely accepted in the world. According to the poll, populations around the world express a widespread consensus that it is important for "women to have full equality of rights" and most say it is very important. This is true in Muslim states as well as Western nations.
On average across the 20 nations polled, 86% said women`s equality is important, with 59% saying it is very important.
Men and women overall differ little on the question of whether women have gained greater equality - 74% of men and 70% of women agreed that this has occurred.
Considering the advances in women`s rights in recent history, one might expect older respondents to more widely perceive women having much greater equality. Indeed among those over 60, 39% said women have much more equality than in the past, while only 28% said this among respondents from 18 - 29 years old.
The poll also revealed that there is very strong support for the government taking an active role to further women`s rights. Majorities in all nations -- with very large majorities in nearly all cases -- said the government should make an effort to prevent discrimination against women. Only small minorities endorsed the view that the government should not be involved in this.
Respondents who said their government should try to prevent discrimination were then asked whether it was doing enough in this regard. On average, 53% felt that the government should do more, while 24% said the government is doing enough.
As for views on the importance of UN efforts in ensuring gender equality worldwide, in 17 out of the 19 populations polled, most favored them. The two exceptions were Egypt, where most of those polled (70%) thought the UN should not get involved in efforts to improve women`s rights, and the Palestinian territories where views were evenly divided.
In the other predominantly Muslim nations, most supported UN efforts on women`s rights, including Azerbaijan (66%), Indonesia (74%), Turkey (70%), and Iran (52%).
Overall on average, 66% approved of UN efforts to further the rights of women while 26% said this would be improper interference.
The poll of 20,227 respondents was conducted between January and October, 2008 by WorldPublicOpinion.org, a collaborative research project involving research centers from around the world. Interviews were conducted in 22 nations including most of the largest nations: Argentina, Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, France, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, the Palestinian territories, Peru, Russia, Spain, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, and the US. The public in Hong Kong was also polled. The nations included represent 60% of the world population.
The US-based WorldPublicOpinion.org group is engaged in conducting surveys around the world to convey the views of populations on various issues.
63% of those polled in Azerbaijan by the WorldPublicOpinion.org believe women have gained equal rights with men. Only 18% of those polled said they had not personally seen changes in the protection of women`s rights in their lifetime.
66% of respondents in Azerbaijan said the United Nations should try to further women`s rights even when presented the argument that this would conflict with national sovereignty. Respondents were asked, "Do you think the UN should make efforts to further the rights of women or do you think this is improper interference in a country`s internal affairs?" Only 23% of those questioned in Azerbaijan believe this would amount to meddling in the country`s internal affairs.
However, 28% of Azerbaijanis said there has been no real change or thought women now have less equality, although overall the countries of the former Soviet Union had majorities saying that women`s rights had improved.
A majority of those questioned in Azerbaijan were opposed to greater government intervention in protecting women`s rights, with 30% saying the government was doing enough in this area while 15% said it should not be involved.
Support for equal rights is robust in all Muslim nations. Large majorities also said it is important in Iran (78%), Jordan (83%), Egypt (90%), Indonesia (91%), Turkey (91%), and the Palestinian territories (93%).
Novella Jafaroglu, who heads the Society for the Protection of Women`s Rights, disagrees with the report`s findings on Azerbaijan. She maintained that although women`s rights are properly protected in the country according to official documents, in reality, this is not the case.
"Look and see how many parliament members and ministers we have. I would like special quotas to be allocated for women to be represented in government for at least a few years. Then everyone will see how many skillful women there are out there," Jafaroglu said.
Jafaroglu noted that some progress has been achieved in the public becoming aware of protecting Azerbaijani women`s rights. In comparison with Soviet times, more women are now able to appeal to authorities to have their rights reinstated, if necessary.
The report presents an updated analysis of a poll of 16 nations originally released on the eve of March 8, International Women`s Day in 2008, a year that marked the 60th anniversary of the UN General Assembly`s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Overall, the poll, which was commissioned in 22 countries in advance of this year`s International Women`s Day, has revealed that equal rights between men and women represent a norm widely accepted in the world. According to the poll, populations around the world express a widespread consensus that it is important for "women to have full equality of rights" and most say it is very important. This is true in Muslim states as well as Western nations.
On average across the 20 nations polled, 86% said women`s equality is important, with 59% saying it is very important.
Men and women overall differ little on the question of whether women have gained greater equality - 74% of men and 70% of women agreed that this has occurred.
Considering the advances in women`s rights in recent history, one might expect older respondents to more widely perceive women having much greater equality. Indeed among those over 60, 39% said women have much more equality than in the past, while only 28% said this among respondents from 18 - 29 years old.
The poll also revealed that there is very strong support for the government taking an active role to further women`s rights. Majorities in all nations -- with very large majorities in nearly all cases -- said the government should make an effort to prevent discrimination against women. Only small minorities endorsed the view that the government should not be involved in this.
Respondents who said their government should try to prevent discrimination were then asked whether it was doing enough in this regard. On average, 53% felt that the government should do more, while 24% said the government is doing enough.
As for views on the importance of UN efforts in ensuring gender equality worldwide, in 17 out of the 19 populations polled, most favored them. The two exceptions were Egypt, where most of those polled (70%) thought the UN should not get involved in efforts to improve women`s rights, and the Palestinian territories where views were evenly divided.
In the other predominantly Muslim nations, most supported UN efforts on women`s rights, including Azerbaijan (66%), Indonesia (74%), Turkey (70%), and Iran (52%).
Overall on average, 66% approved of UN efforts to further the rights of women while 26% said this would be improper interference.
The poll of 20,227 respondents was conducted between January and October, 2008 by WorldPublicOpinion.org, a collaborative research project involving research centers from around the world. Interviews were conducted in 22 nations including most of the largest nations: Argentina, Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, France, Great Britain, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, the Palestinian territories, Peru, Russia, Spain, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, and the US. The public in Hong Kong was also polled. The nations included represent 60% of the world population.
The US-based WorldPublicOpinion.org group is engaged in conducting surveys around the world to convey the views of populations on various issues.
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