UNFPA: Supporting Gender Equality across the World

Gender equality implies women and men enjoying the same opportunities, rights and obligations in the society they share. Investing in gender equality can improve the lives of both men and women, and bring lasting benefits for future generations.

Yet gender-based discrimination and violence pervade almost every aspect of life, undermining women's opportunities and preventing them from fully exercising their basic human rights. Across the world, women are far less likely than men to be politically active and far more likely to be victims of domestic violence

For more than 30 years, UNFPA has been bringing gender issues to wider attention, by advocating for legal and policy reforms; helping to collect gender-sensitive data and by supporting projects which help to empower women and to safeguard all aspects of their reproductive health .

Guided by the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) and other international agreements, UNFPA is striving to redress gender imbalances across the world while taking careful consideration of cultural sensitivities in different societies.

UNFPA recognizes that it is essential to involve men in these processes. For this reason many UNFPA -supported projects help to involve different groups of men - from soldiers to religious leaders - to achieve different goals, from HIV-AIDS prevention to greater male involvement in family life.

Across the world, UNFPA takes a stand against practices which can harm women , such as early marriage, "honor" killings or sex-selective abortions.

UNFPA recognizes that violence against women is closely linked to gender-based inequalities. In many countries, UNFPA is playing a prominent role in breaking the silence which surrounds this violence and seeking constructive ways to address it. Along with a number of other UN agencies, UNFPA is also working to combat human trafficking

Across the world, UNFPA has played a key role in emergency situations . In the wake of war or natural disaster, educational and health systems collapse, gender-based violence increases, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections spread, and infant and maternal mortality rates can increase dramatically. UNFPA takes the lead in providing supplies and services to protect reproductive health encourages the full participation of women and young people in efforts to rebuild their societies.

Working To Improve Gender Equality in Turkey and the South Caucasus

Although the recent political history of Turkey is very different from that of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia, women in all four countries face a number of similar challenges and obstacles to the achievement of their equal rights.

During the last 15 years, the people of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia have all struggled with the difficulties of transition from being part of the former Soviet Union to Independence. In all three countries this change has brought considerable new freedoms but also political and economic uncertainties which have eroded the status of many women and the quality of their lives.

In Communist times, women in these three countries were assured places in parliament and other decision-making bodies albeit through an artificial "quota" system. But the level of women's participation in political life or other forms of leadership has fallen dramatically since Independence.

In Turkey, despite a much longer history of parliamentary democracy, there are also very few women in politics or other prominent positions.

In Turkey, as in the south Caucasus, gender imbalances have been exacerbated by economic crisis. In all four countries, women are more likely than men to be unemployed, badly paid and discriminated against.

Patriarchal traditions have an influence across the region, particularly in rural areas. These can affect a family's decision whether or not to send a daughter to school, whether a woman should be allowed to work outside the home, when and whom she should marry.

Disturbingly, violence against women is common practice and widely accepted by society in all four countries. Poverty has also led to an increase in the amount of trafficking of girls and women, particularly from Armenia and Georgia.

UNFPA recognizes the need for empowering women across the region while taking into account cultural sensitivities in the societies to which they belong.

Since there is a lack of reliable data on population and development issues in all four countries, UNFPA has been assisting governments to conduct surveys and censuses and to use them to formulate strategies and policies.

Throughout the region, access for both men and women to information and services on reproductive health is insufficient. There is very little education on sexual and reproductive health in any of these four countries and very little male involvement in reproductive health issues.

This lack has potentially grave consequences, not just for reproductive health but for the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS Although the actual number of registered cases of HIV/AIDS is still relatively low in these four countries, all of them share migration ties with Russia, which has a much higher prevalence.

Across the region, UNFPA is helping governments and civil society to raise public awareness and educate men, women and young people as to how they can protect their health, their rights and promote greater gender equality.