1 / 2

On September 30 RA NA Vice President met with the Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Gender Issues June Zeitlin.

In the course of the meeting the sides touched upon the problems of gender equality, legislation in Armenia.

Mrs Zeitlin noted that during this visit she had a number of meetings with statesmen and representatives of NGOs.

Hermine Naghdalyan noted that positive changes had been made in the direction of gender equality in Armenia. In her word, today the women’s number grows in state structures, territorial and local self-government bodies. Today women deputies in the NA are 14, more than 10 per cent of the deputies. 9 of them are members of the RPA parliamentary faction, 2 of them have been elected through majortarian electoral system. There are 2 women ministers in the government. Women are also heads of about 24-25 rural communities. In fact, they are mainly borderline communities resided with refugees and of social and everyday problems.

Mrs Naghdalyan noted that the economy had assumed an obligation to increase the women’s involvement in the local self-government bodies, especially in the Elders Council up to 2020. This process will also continue in the legislative and executive bodies. Mrs Naghdalyan added that multilateral debates had been organized over the law “On Providing Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men” in the marzes and hearings in the parliament. In the Vice President’s opinion, we should create national mechanism, raise the educational level and in that case the law would become fully functioning. The sides also debated the strategic documents of gender equality. Mrs Naghdalyan noted that the RA had passed the law “On Providing Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men,” national programme and concept of improving the women’s positions.