BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 28. Conflicts deepen existing gender inequality over the years, Speaker of Azerbaijani Parliament Sahiba Gafarova said at the 15th Summit of Women Parliament Speakers in Geneva, Switzerland, a source in the parliament told Trend.
Speaking at the event, which was attended by about 350 delegates, including female speakers from 29 countries and female leaders of several international organizations, Gafarova noted the importance of the summit and said that women are in a particularly vulnerable position at a time when the world is currently facing a number of conflicts, wars and humanitarian crises.
According to her, in many places women suffer from violence, displacement, loss of social security, education, health and protection opportunities.
She also stated that conflicts erase the achievements made in the field of women's rights.
The speaker pointed out that women have lost not only their physical security, but also the opportunity to realize their potential as full participants in socio-political life.
Noting that women in Azerbaijan are well aware of this bitter truth, the official recalled that the occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territories by neighboring Armenia in the early 1990s resulted not only in the complete destruction of these territories, but also in ethnic cleansing, forced displacement of the population and a humanitarian crisis, with approximately one million of our compatriots becoming refugees and internally displaced persons.
According to the speaker, 52 percent of them were girls and women who lost their homes, families and security.
Highlighting that Azerbaijan was the first country in Europe to grant women the right to vote in 1918, Gafarova said that the country is committed to ensuring women's rights and their active participation in all spheres of public life.
She mentioned that in this sense, former internally displaced and refugee women are no exception.
The chairperson said that after restoring its territorial integrity in 2020, Azerbaijan is successfully implementing measures to restore the territories liberated from occupation and return former internally displaced persons to their homelands.
The official underlined that, today, more than 50,000 people live, work and study in these territories.
Women play an active role in the creation of socio-economic infrastructure, the operation of educational and medical institutions, sustainable development, and the implementation of initiatives to restore cultural heritage in the liberated territories, she noted.
Furthermore, Gafarova, who said that the draft "National Action Plan for Ensuring Gender Equality" under consideration includes ensuring employment for women returning to the liberated territories, increasing their digital skills, conducting research to identify their needs, and other issues, emphasized that 1.5 million mines planted by Armenia still remain a major obstacle to the work being done.
Azerbaijani women also participate in the demining of territories and in measures requiring the involvement of large human and financial resources, the official explained.
In conclusion, the official once again emphasized that despite all the difficulties, it is impossible to build a sustainable world without the participation of women.
The active involvement of women in processes not only helps reduce the risks of violence but also creates a solid foundation for long-term development, she added.
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