The online conference of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly ‘Women and Family-Based Economy’ took place on 9 March.

Chair of the Milli Majlis Committee for Family, Women’s and Children’s Affairs Hijran Huseynova and the Committee Members Nigyar Arpadarai and Parvin Karimzade joined the conference that was dedicated to governments’ actions and programmes to strengthen family economies and to implementing the relevant successful experience.

Mrs Huseynova passed the regards of the Chair of the Milli Majlis of the Azerbaijan Republic on to the participants and said her thanks for arranging it. She went on to underline the significance of providing more opportunities for women to take a more efficient part in social progress; she informed the conference that Azerbaijan had adopted the principle of gender equality as far back as in 1918 and not only for the first time in the Muslim East but also earlier than some Western states could do.

The systematic steps being taken in the country, its current legislative reforms and the government programmes afoot ensure women’s active involvement in the social, political and economic life; women are given most extensive opportunities in every field, Mrs Huseynova continued. The State finds it to be of great importance to maintain professional training of women and to give them knowledge and experience in market economy and doing business. The Women Resource Centres are established in every region of Azerbaijan. The women who enjoy fewer opportunities of planning and doing business and, especially, have fewer economic and social irons in the fire are in receipt of massive support so that they are more actively involved in economic and social processes. Such enterprising networks as the Family Business Bolstering Centres (FBBC) also work towards making women more competitive in the labour market.

Mrs Huseynova proceeded to say that the stronger economic initiative on women’s part and their growing engagement in small and medium businesses mattered much for the social and economic growth as well as employment in Azerbaijan. SME projects tailored for refugee and IDP women as well as for women from low-income families are being administered under the guidance of First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva. Besides, SME representatives will be retained for restoration of the liberated provinces; they will be given opportunities to expand their operations there.

Given the world is in a stand-off with the COVID-19 pandemic these days, added difficulties are something people can do without, Mrs Huseynova emphasised. Every state is trying to do everything within its power to keep the economic situation in check and, at the same time, keep the health of its people, and it was in such circumstances that Azerbaijan offered its own response model. This model has the human factor at its core, of course. The State is implementing 10 action plans in 4 areas aiming to maintain employment and social well-being, whilst keeping firmly in its sights the social situation of those who either lost their informal jobs due to the stringent quarantine arrangements or had not had any originally. Besides, there is a social package for the SME operators coming from such vulnerable social strata as low-income, shahid and war veteran families, refugees and the IDP, according to Mrs Huseynova.

The speakers after her took part in a broad exchange of opinions about the subjects brought up at the conference and agreed that the conference itself would make a hefty contribution to boosting women’s role in family economy. And with that, the online conference of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly was over.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis