Women in Azerbaijan

Women in Azerbaijan nominally enjoy the same legal rights as men; however, societal discrimination remains a problem.[2]

Women in Azerbaijan

Statue of a Liberated Woman, Public Quare, Baku.
Gender Inequality Index
Value	0.323 (2012)
Rank	54th
Maternal mortality (per 100,000)	54 (2010)
Women in parliament	17.0% (2015)
Females over 25 with secondary education	90.0% (2010)
Women in labour force	61.6% (2011)
Global Gender Gap Index[1]
Value	0.687 (2020)
Rank	94th out of 149

Voting rights

Universal suffrage was introduced in Azerbaijan in 1919 by the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, thus making Azerbaijan the first Muslim-majority country ever to enfranchise women.[3]

Political representation

The State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs of Azerbaijan Republic is the primary government agency overlooking the activities in protection of rights of women in the country. There are no legal restrictions on the participation of women in politics. As of 2020, there were 22 women in the 125-seat parliament, including the Speaker of the National Assembly. The percentage of female members of parliament increased from 11 to 17.6 percent between 2005 and 2020.[4]

In 2017, Mehriban Aliyeva (the president's wife) was appointed Vice President of Azerbaijan, the highest position a woman has occupied in Azerbaijan since the abolition in 1994 of the office of Secretary of State most recently occupied by Lala Shovkat.

In 2020, Sahiba Gafarova was appointed the Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan. As of the same year, Azerbaijan had one female cabinet minister (Mahabbat Valiyeva, Minister of Education), one regional cabinet minister (Natavan Gadimova, Minister of Culture of the Nakhchivan AR),[5] one state committee chair (Bahar Muradova, chair of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs), one head of a regional executive government (Irada Gulmammadova, head of the Absheron District),[6] Commissioner for Human Rights (Sabina Aliyeva), three ambassadors and one head of a diplomatic office.[7] Women constituted 3 of the 16 members of the Central Election Commission[8] and chaired of 4 of the 125 district election commissions.[9] Despite the fact that as of 2016, 11% of the country's professional judges were women (including Sona Salmanova, Deputy Chair of the Constitutional Court),[10] this remains the lowest proportion in Europe.[11]

Participation in the job market

Though the majority of Azerbaijani women have jobs outside the home, women are underrepresented in high-level jobs, including top business positions.[2]

As of 2017, 78.1% of all teaching staff (including 51.9% of all university lecturers), 64.9% of all medical staff and 40.2% of athletes in Azerbaijan were women. However, for the same period, women accounted for just 28.7% of civil servants and 20.9% of registered business owners.[12]

Military

In 1931, Leyla Mammadbeyova, born in Baku, became one of the first Soviet female aviators and paratroopers, the first one in the Caucasus and the Middle East. Around 600,000 natives of Azerbaijan fought in World War II as part of the Red Army, with 10,000 of those being women who had voluntarily signed up and served both as military and medical personnel, the most prominent ones being sniper Ziba Ganiyeva and pilot Zuleykha Seyidmammadova.[13] During the active phase of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in the 1990s, 2,000 of Azerbaijan's 74,000 military personnel were women, and 600 of them directly took part in the military operations.[14] Military service for women is voluntary; currently there are around 1,000 women serving in the Azerbaijani army.[15]

Religion

Though a secular country, Azerbaijan requires certification and registration for people performing religious rites. Muslim women in Azerbaijan can study to become certified mullahs and lead women-only gatherings, a unique local tradition that goes back centuries.[16] As of 2016, there was one local female Lutheran pastor in Azerbaijan.[17]

Domestic violence

On 22 June 2010, the Azerbaijani Parliament adopted the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence.[18]

In 2000, Azerbaijan signed up to the Optional Protocol of CEDAW, recognizing the competence of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, after which it can receive and consider complaints from individuals or groups within its jurisdiction.[19]

Rape is illegal in Azerbaijan and carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence.[2] A new domestic violence law come into force in 2010, which criminalized spousal abuse, including marital rape.[20][21] Nevertheless, others highlight that in reality many in Azerbaijan do not consider this as a crime and the prevailing culture does not encourage complaints about marital rape.[22]

During 2011 female members of parliament and the head of the State Committee on Women and Children increased their activities against domestic violence. Media coverage of domestic violence issues also began to raise awareness of the problem. A 2010 law establishes a framework for investigation of domestic violence complaints, defines a process to issue restraining orders, and calls for the establishment of a shelter and rehabilitation center for victims.[2]

However societal attitudes lag behind: 40% of Azerbaijanis surveyed in 2012 still believed that agree that women should tolerate domestic violence in order to keep their family together, and 22% agreed that there are times when a woman deserves to be beaten.[23] The 2006 renaming of the state Committee on Women's Issues as the State Committee on Family, Women and Children’s Affairs (SCFWCA) has also been interpreted by some as a protectionist approach that views women as vulnerable “reproductive units" rather than independent individuals.[19]

Prostitution

Prostitution is an administrative offense rather than a crime and is punishable by a fine of up to $102 (88 AZN).[2] Pimps and brothel owners may be sentenced to prison for up to six years.[2]

Timeline of women's emancipation

Year	Event	Location
1889	Nigar Shikhlinskaya became the first Azeri female to obtain a higher education.[24]	Tiflis
1901	Empress Alexandra School, the first Azeri secular girls' school and the first of such kind in the Russian Empire, opened.[25]	Baku
1908	Saint Petersburg Women's Medical College graduate Sona Valikhan became the first certified Azeri female physician.[26]	Saint Petersburg
1908	Philanthropist Hamida Javanshir founded the first Azeri coeducational school.[27]	Kahrizli
1910	Actress Govhar Gaziyeva became the first Azeri woman to appear on stage.[28]	Tiflis
1911	Khadija Alibeyova published Ishig, the first Azeri-language women's magazine.[29]	Tiflis
1912	The first Azeri female opera singer Shovkat Mammadova made her first stage performance.[30]	Baku
1919	Azerbaijani women were granted the right to vote.[31]
1929	Izzat Orujova became the first Azerbaijani female actress to act in a feature film.[32]
1930	Gynaecologist Adila Shahtakhtinskaya became the first Azeri woman to earn a doctoral degree.[33]
1931	Leyla Mammadbeyova performed her first flight and became the first Azerbaijani female aviator.[34]	Baku
1932	The first Azerbaijani ballerina Gamar Almaszadeh debuted in Shakh-Senem.[35]	Baku
1938	People's Commissar of Justice Ayna Sultanova became the first Azerbaijani female cabinet minister.[36]
1949	Biologist Valida Tutayug became the first Azeri female member of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (founded in 1945).[37]
1964	Sakina Aliyeva was elected Chair of the Supreme Soviet of Nakhchivan, becoming the first Azerbaijani female head of parliament.[38]	Nakhchivan
2007	Manzar Ismayilova became the first Azeri female pastor.[39]
2009	Natavan Mirvatova was promoted to major general, the third highest military rank in Azerbaijan and the highest a female has ever been elevated to.[14]

References

1. "The Global Gender Gap Report 2020".
2. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Azerbaijan (2011). United States Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2011). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
3. Tadeusz Swietochowski. Russian Azerbaijan, 1905-1920: The Shaping of a National Identity in a Muslim Community. Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN 0521522455, 9780521522458, p.144
4. 2015 Parliamentary Election Results.
5. New Female Minister in Nakhchivan. Haqqin.az. 2 September 2015.
6. Şəhər və rayonların icra başçıları: Doğulduğu yer, tarix və vəzifəsinin icrasına başladığı il. Banker.az. 6 May 2020.
7. Azərbaycan Respublikasının xarici ölkələrdəki səfirlik, daimi nümayəndəlik və konsulluqları. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.
8. Mərkəzi Seçki Komissiyasının tərkibi
9. DSK Komissiyalar.
10. Azərbaycan Respublikasının Konstitusiya Məhkəməsi: Tərkib.
11. Proportion of female judges in UK among lowest in Europe. The Guardian. 6 October 2016.
12. Anar Samadov (www.anarsamadov.net). "Statistical database | The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan". The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
13. Женщины Азербайджана в Великой Отечественной войне
14. First Azerbaijani Woman to Become Major General. Lent.az. 29 March 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
15. Around 1,000 Women in Azerbaijani Army. Trend.az. 12 August 2014.
16. Şeyx Azərbaycanda qadın mollalardan danışdı. Oxu.az. 25 November 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
17. Anar Alizadeh. Azərbaycanda xristianlıq. Elm və təhsil, 2016; p. 241
18. "Law of the Azerbaijan Republic "About prevention of domestic violence"". cis-legislation.com. Retrieved 2017-11-03.
19. "Policy Attitudes towards Women in Azerbaijan: Is Equality Part of the Agenda? | Gunda-Werner-Institute". www.gwi-boell.de. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
20. http://sgdatabase.unwomen.org/uploads/Law%20on%20Prevention%20of%20Domsetic%20Violence%202010.pdf
21. "Home" (PDF). Gender Equality. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
22. "Gender based violence in Azerbaijan". www.peace.ax. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
23. Crrc (2015-03-02). "Deserving to be beaten and tolerating violence: Attitudes towards violence against women in Azerbaijan". Social Science in the Caucasus. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
24. Azerbaijan Soviet Encyclopedia (1987), vol. 10, p. 551.
25. The Past Days by Manaf Suleymanov. 1990
26. Female Activity at the Turn of the Century. Gender-az.org.
27. (in Azerbaijani) Megastar and Her Light. An interview with Hamida Javanshir's granddaughter Dr. Mina Davatdarova. Gender-az.org
28. Göyərçin xanım. Adam.az.
29. Azerbaijani Woman in Historical Retrospective. Gender-az.org.
30. Shovkat Mammadova, Audacious Challenge by Fuad Akhundov. Azerbaijan International. Winter 1997 (retrieved 26 August 2006)
31. 7th annual Azerbaijan Adoptive Families Reunion. Azerbaijani Women of America.
32. Izzat Orujova-100. Bakinsky Rabochy. October 2009.
33. Adila Shahtakhtinskaya. Adam.az.
34. (in Russian) The Proprietress of the Sky by I.Gadirova. Nash Vek. 7 May 2004. Retrieved 6 June 2007
35. Center Stage: My Life as Azerbaijan's First Ballerina by Gamar Almaszadeh. Azerbaijan International. #10.3. Autumn 2002
36. Hidden Facts about Ayna Sultanova. Deyerler. 8 February 2010.
37. Famous Alumni - Valida Tutayug. Azerbaijani State Agricultural University.
38. Nakhchivan.
39. First Azerbaijani Female Cleric. Day.az. 17 November 2007. Retrieved 4 October 2011.

Further reading

• Heyat, Farideh. Azeri Women in Transition: Women in Soviet and Post-Soviet Azerbaijan. Routledge (2002). ISBN 0-7007-1662-9.
• Violence Against Women in Azerbaijan. World Organisation Against Torture (November 2004). This report also addresses the status of women generally.
• Yuliya Aliyeva Gureyeva: "Policy Attitudes towards Women in Azerbaijan: Is Equality Part of the Agenda?" in the Caucasus Analytical Digest No. 21

External links