The Beijing+30 regional review meeting titled “Reviewing 30 years of Beijing Commitments to Accelerate Gender Equality in the UNECE Region,” organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO) started in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Azerbaijani delegation led by Chairperson of Azerbaijan`s State Committee for Family, Woman and Child Problems Bahar Muradova attended the event.
The side event on women's economic empowerment through digital transformation in rural areas organized by Azerbaijan`s permanent representation was also held on the occasion of October 15 - International Day for Rural Women and the Beijing+30 regional review meeting.
The moderator of the event Adriana Quiñones, Director of the UN Women Geneva Liaison Office, expressed her gratitude to Azerbaijan for organizing such a remarkable event.
Addressing the event, Chairperson of Azerbaijan`s State Committee for Family, Woman and Child Problems Bahar Muradova noted that the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, has led to significant changes, increased the global importance of gender equality, protection of women's rights, and their economic empowerment.
“It is true that over the last 30 years, we have witnessed social and political changes, wars and conflicts, and technogenic and climate disasters.
Yet, alongside these challenges, progress and technological innovations have opened up new platforms for partnerships and development have emerged.
Azerbaijan remains committed to the twelve (12) critical areas of the Beijing Declaration.
In Azerbaijan, women represent 44.8% of the workforce in agriculture among those aged 15-29. Considering that 46% of our population live in rural areas, the government has taken several new initiatives in this field.
In this context, we focus on encouraging women’s participation in agricultural education and promoting their specialisation in a range of fields through various projects.
This academic year, young women choosing to study agriculture as their future careers accounted for 30.9% of students at both state and non-state higher education.
In addition, this growing trend is making a positive impact on employment opportunities for women in rural areas
As a result of these, women’s economic activity rate in Azerbaijan reached 61.8%,” Bahar Muradova underlined.
Chair of the Milli Majlis Family, Women's and Children's Affairs Committee Hijran Huseynova noted that the development of gender equality and women's economic empowerment (WEE) has recently become a key topic on the agenda of development financiers. “Research by the International Monetary Fund shows that narrowing the gender gap in labor markets could increase GDP by almost 8% in emerging markets and developing economies. Of course, engaging in entrepreneurial activities requires knowledge, experience, effort, market presence, and competitiveness from everyone. In this regard, the state implements special support programs for every entrepreneur, including women entrepreneurs. It is necessary to maximize the use of available opportunities.
Improving the standard of living, achieving sustainable economic development, and ensuring gender equality in all sectors remain priorities for the Azerbaijani government,” Hicran Huseynova emphasized.
The other speakers included Ilhama Qadirova, Azerbaijan`s Deputy Minister for Agriculture; Florence Bauer, UNFPA's Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Anna Ricoy, FAO Liason Officer in Geneva etc.
The meeting then featured the panel discussions.
Elvin Movsum
Special Correspondent
