To discuss existing gender issues and to demonstrate solidarity with women working for women, the United Nations office (UNO) in Baku, the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) conducted an information session with the Women’s Parliament using the slogan “Equality is Justice: Equality for Women” – led by the Women’s Association for Rational Development (WARD). The session brought together women from academia, media, business, NGO environment, as well as from international donor organizations not only from the capital but also from the regions of the country. The purpose of the session was to unite the members of the women’s parliament and to have “person-to-person” contact and to stimulate a public debate on erasing gender inequality as a “state of mind” and promoting gender equality as an integral part of human rights.
The movie “UN-it is your world” and a video about the UN Information Centres’ activities were screened at the event which comprehensively displayed the scope of impact of the UN’s and UNIC’s work in particular around the world. UN DPI Representative Ms. Envera Selimovic expressed how pleased she was with the establishment of the women’s parliament in Azerbaijan and stressed that the meeting should concentrate on working out unique strategies to build a gender-sensitive society in Azerbaijan.
Afterwards, Ms. Selimovic gave presentation about the United Nations Information Centers’ (UNICs) work and the department’s previous experience in the area of human rights and gender equality. “DPI produces and disseminates the United Nations news and messages to the media and to the community and it is our pleasure to have you today for conveying the UN’s messages on gender issues, since achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment is one of the MDGs to be achieved by 2015”, Ms. Selimovic added.
Ms. Selimovic also gave comprehensive information about the recently established “UN Women” as a United Nations’ unique entity for ensuring gender equality and promoting women’s empowerment. She called upon the media representatives to strive for better imaging of women in the media, since the mass media is a major influence on stereotypes about the roles and images of women. At the end of her presentation, Ms. Selimovic again reiterated the readiness of the UN DPI Office to further participate in such sessions and provide women with as much information/tools as possible to enhance their ability in raising awareness about women issues.
As a follow-up of the talk about UN’s work in general, Ms. Irada Ahmedova, Coordination Analyst of the Resident Coordinator’s Office, gave a lively presentation about the UN’s activity in Azerbaijan with enthusiastic participation by the audience that put questions and comments to Ms. Ahmedova. She described the UN structures in Azerbaijan from the first agency established in 1992 to the current 17 agencies. “If we analyze the UN’s contribution to the country, initially the UN focused on emergency relief whereas, nowadays, UN is closely engaged in working out economic and social development programs. This fact is an indicator of the country’s development and that the country has overcome the difficult periods of humanitarian crisis”,Ms. Ahmedova stated.
In her concluding statement Ms. Shahla Ismayil, the founder and owner of the WARD, who takes huge pride in her NGO and overall work on women’s issues, expressed her gratitude to the UN team for coming and cheering up the women who have started their new “trip” for the sake of gender equality and better life for women.
Azerbaijan, UN team joined voices with Women’s Parliament
June 7, 2011 by
