Karabakh Women Deny Discrimination Exists

Rare regional exception where most women believe their rights are respected. By Anahit Danielyan in Stepanakert

Women in Nagorny Karabakh, in a rare exception in the South Caucasus, say they do not suffer discrimination and are happy with their position in life.

Karabakh, which has declared independence from Azerbaijan but not been recognised internationally, is out of the mainstream of political life in the region, making it hard to draw any firm conclusions.

There is no law regulating the number of women who should hold particular jobs, but politicians say female representation is increasing steadily. Some 29 per cent of judges are now women, and four of the 12 ministers are women, as are four of the 33 members of parliament.

Narine Aghabalyan, minister for culture and youth issues, says the proportion of women in top jobs is higher in Karabakh than in Armenia.

“I have not come across any cases where the rights of women have been violated. In our ministry, for example, women are in the majority, and that isn’t good, either. If we need to appoint a man to some post, then it shouldn’t be seen as a violation of women’s rights,” she told IWPR.

Her words were echoed by Ludmila Barseghyan, one of the four women in parliament.

“As far as I can see, the public attitude is that women are no worse than men, and that a woman is no less strong in her sphere than a man. This is confirmed by the fact that the number of female deputies is increasing, and we are more concerned with improving the living standards of our citizens,” she said.

The words of the likes of Barseghyan and Aghabalyan appear to convince many women that opportunities are open to them.

“I don’t think there are any restrictions on women’s participation. The fact that women have significant roles in government is clear confirmation of this. I don’t hold any official position, but I have to recognise that there are women in government circles,” said Anzhela Gevorgyan, a resident of Stepanakert.

Experts say it is hard to draw clear conclusions since there have been few studies of the real position of women in society.

They note, however, that women in Karabakh are unlikely to speak out against domestic violence, since they do not see it as being in any way abnormal.

Karine Grigoryan, 38, was married when she was just 20 to a man ten years her senior. She said her husband often prevented her leaving the house when he was in a rage.

“But it never occurred to me that he was violating my rights. That’s probably a result of my upbringing. From childhood on, I was taught that a woman has to listen to a man, and that he decides everything in the family,” she said.

The prosecutor’s office in Karabakh says that in 2009, nine sexual crimes were recorded, or which two were rapes or attempted rapes, and seven related to immoral behaviour.

Hasmik Khachatryan, a judge in the Karabakh Appeals Court, said the paucity of domestic violence cases before the courts was not a reason for complacency.

“In my experience, such cases have not been investigated. But judging by what’s reported in the media and police records, women’s rights are often violated not just by men, but by women too,” she said.

Karabakh’s human rights ombudsman, meanwhile, said women mainly submitted requests for help with grievances related to labour or living conditions. However, this could mean that women are keeping quiet about domestic violence.

“I cannot say for sure whether women’s human rights are being violated or not, but I think they are,” said Julia Arstamyan, head of Harmonia, a Karabakh non-governmental organisation. “Nor can I say why girls do well at school and university, but the jobs mostly go to men. Not only that, but more senior the position, the more it is to held by a man.”

Hasmik Mikaelyan, head of an NGO called Motherhood, said the women who suffer most are over 30.

“Only women aged from 19 to 30 are accepted for jobs, and anyone over 30 is left without work,” she said. “They also often refuse to give jobs to pregnant women or those who have recently married.”

Anahit Danielyan is a correspondent for the Hetq online newspaper in Stepanakert.