Central%20Asia%20and%20Azerbaijan:%20gender%20equality%20and%20property%20issues

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Central Asia and Azerbaijan gender equalityand
property issues
Anara Tabyshalieva

• UNECE Seminar
• Policies for achieving the Millennium Development
  Goals in the ECE region reducing extreme income
  inequalities
• October 2-3, 2003, Palais des Nations, Geneva

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Key problems in gender equality and property
issues in Central Asia and Azerbaijan

1. Increasing poverty and hardship of women
   dependent on state support. Shrinking share of
   women in Azerbaijan and all Central Asian states
   except Kazakhstan in the past decade
2. Gender disparity in labor market. Falling demand
   for labor in sector where women traditionally
   consist a majority. Female unemployment and
   underemployment. Barriers to employment and
   credit programs
3. Lack of tenure security for women in
   privatization process of real estate, including
   irrigated land.

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• Revival of customary law and traditions of gender
  discrimination
• A rise of domestic violence against women
• New barriers to education/literacy. The
  enrollment of girls in schools and universities
  is falling.
• An increase of involvement of women in shadow
  economy

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A share of women (females per 100 males)
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Central Asia and Azerbaijan females per 100
males (2000)
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Fertility rate and life expectancy in Central Asia
Mln 2000 Fertility rate per woman 1995-2000 Life expectancy (women) 2000
Kazakhstan 16.2 2.1 71.3
Kyrgyzstan 4.9 2.9 71.7
Tajikistan 6.1 3.7 70.5
Turkmenistan 4.7 3.6 69.6
Uzbekistan 24.9 2.8 71.9
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Barriers for womens access to land/water and
property

• Traditional interpretation of household ownership
  and inheritance practice
• Local institutions impeding womens access to
  land and water
• Unawareness of women of their tenure rights
• Lack of resources for participation in land
  market and credit programs

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Local traditions impact on gender inequality
and property issues

• Lack of womens access to decision-making
• Inheritance by male relatives
• Early marriages
• Polygamy
• Kidnapping of women in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan
• Legally unregistered marriages
• Bride price and dowry
• High rate fertility
• Lack of employment opportunities for young women

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Disadvantaged groups of women

• Legally unregistered wives
• Second wives
• Pensioners
• Widows
• Single mothers
• Unmarried daughters

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Participation in decision-making
Seats in parliament held by women
Azerbaijan 10.5
Kazakhstan 11.2
Kyrgyzstan 6.7
Tajikistan 12.4
Turkmenistan 26.0
Uzbekistan 7.2
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Recommendations

• Support for the equal rights of women and men
• Put forward gender-sensitive approach in economic
  programs
• Discuss the future of gender equality in all
  social and ethnic groups
• Legal education of women and men
• Discuss reproductive rights of women and family
  planning issues
• Provide more credit programs for poor and
  disadvantaged women

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Recommendations

• Educate women and men at all levels about womens
  right in household ownership including land and
  real estate. Muslims girls and women and their
  relatives should be aware of legal issue of
  property division
• Discuss and regulate property ownership laws for
  widows, divorced and single women and women with
  no children.
• Discuss the issue of daughters right to
  inheritance and bride price and dowry

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• Review regulations of male-dominated traditional
  institutions (Court of Elders and Mahalla
  Committee) sponsored by governments
• Research an impact of customary law on womens
  right and income. Research an impact of polygamy,
  underage and unregistered marriages, kidnapping
  and gender segregation and find a solution how to
  deal with a division of property.
• Governments, donors and non-governmental
  organizations should prioritize womens rights
  to land and property, security of female owners
  in economic programs.