BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 5. The Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament, Sahiba Gafarova, has informed about her participation in the Global Conference of Women Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) held in the Serbian capital Belgrade on June 2, Trend reports.
As reported, the speaker was on a working visit to Serbia on June 1-3. The purpose of the visit was to participate in the mentioned conference. The event was dedicated to the theme "Progress towards parity: Removing obstacles created by gender stereotypes and negative social norms".
Gafarova said at today's session of the parliament that in her speech at the conference, she provided the participants with extensive information on the state policy implemented towards women in Azerbaijan. She spoke about the work done to increase the representation of women in all spheres of life.
The speaker also highlighted the facts related to the representation of women in the Azerbaijani Parliament and the participation of women deputies in the activities of the parliament.
She also specifically noted the role of the decrees, national action plans and state programs signed by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in the development of mechanisms for supporting women and strengthening the principles of gender equality.
"In my speech, I noted, among other things, that achieving real gender equality does not depend only on improving legislation. Deep and fundamental changes must occur in public consciousness. The biggest problem on the way to achieving legal equality is gender stereotypes and negative social norms that limit women's opportunities," she said.
Gafarova emphasized that the Azerbaijani MPs, who were members of the delegation, actively participated in the events held within the framework of the conference.
The speaker noted that during the visit, he held a total of 9 meetings with the Presidents of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, as well as the newly elected Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Vice-President, member of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Bureau of the Women Parliamentarians Forum, as well as the Speakers of the Parliaments of Serbia and Zimbabwe, and the Deputy Speakers of the Parliaments of Morocco and Mauritania.
"The meetings considered cooperation within international parliamentary organizations, as well as bilateral cooperation between legislative bodies. Views were also exchanged on other issues of mutual interest," Gafarova explained.
She also noted that during the visit, the delegation visited the monument to the National Leader Heydar Aliyev in Belgrade's Tasmajdan Park and commemorated the dear memory of the Great Leader with deep respect.
