Compliance With The Convention On The
Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination
Against Women In The Azerbaijan Republic

Comments On The Government Report

Prepared By the
Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan
ul. Bashira Safaroglu, 165-3
Baku, Azerbaijan 37000
Tel/Fax: 011-994-12-947550, 942471
e-mail: zaliha@hrcenter.baku.az

Translated by the International League For Human Rights

Comments On The Report Of The Government Of The Azerbaijan Republic On CEDAW Compliance

II. General Situation
B. Consequences of the Armenian Aggression Against Azerbaijan
All sorts of statistics are provided over four-and-a-half pages, except the figures for the number of women who have suffered from the aggression from Armenia. According to the official figures from the Azerbaijan State Committee on Statistics, as of January 1, 1997, there were 329,920 women forced migrants out of a total of 610,000 forced migrants (144,736 families). Moreover, there are at least 90,000 women who are refugees from Armenia.

C. General Political Situation
39. Even before formally declaring independence, the parliament of Azerbaijan, under the chair of a woman, passed the Constitutional Act on State Sovereignty in September 1989.

III. Compliance with Individual Articles of the Convention Articles 1-4
Since the Soviet period, the principle of "positive discrimination" against men has existed in law and practice in Azerbaijan. Currently, with the removal of quotas for representation of women, and the recommendations of the World Bank to eliminate social benefits (including special benefits for women and families with many children), as well as unemployment and other such factors, this privileged status of women is gradually being eliminated.
82. Thus, one of the numerous family subsidies abolished, effective May 1996, but not reflected in the budget, affected about 600,000 children in families where the income per person did not exceed the minimum wage, and also in single-parent families, where one of the parents was not paying child support.
79. The current Art. 131 of the Criminal Code, which provides punishment for violating the equal rights of women, in practice is never enforced.

Article 5
Although parents have equal rights to a child under the law, traditionally, custody of the children is given to the woman in a divorce. If, during the Soviet period, this was compensated through benefits to single mothers and various types of public assistance, now women, who are usually materially worse off than their spouses, and who have now lost their traditional benefits, must endure the whole burden of child-rearing.

Article 6
92-93. It is impossible to talk about having the police take measures to eliminate the reasons and conditions for prostitution if the social conditions for women are not improved. Currently there are hundreds of thousands of women refugees and unemployed women who can expect government assistance of only $1.50 to $3.00 per month, whereas the bare survival minimum for one person is $30 per month.
Moreover, recently there has been an increase in "travelling prostitution," that is, when Azerbaijani women travel to nearby Muslim countries to earn money through prostitution (Turkey, Iran, Dubai). This process is not controlled by the law-enforcement agencies of Azerbaijan, since it is outside of their jurisdiction.

Article 7
Practice has shown that women in the Azerbaijan Republic are still far from the declared equality with men in political and social life at the national level. Moreover, representation by women in the structures of government has worsened by comparison with the Soviet period.

The situation is somewhat better in the judicial system, where women currently hold the post of one of the two deputies of the chair of the Supreme Court of the Azerbaijan Republic, and 4 of the 26 members of two of its collegia (15.4 percent). A woman is head of the Supreme Arbitration Court. In 1994, women made up 38 percent of the total of lawyers. Meanwhile, only 2.8 of women were prosecutors, 18.9 percent were judges, and 21.3 were trial attorneys. Women in the police force have dropped from 7 percent in 1980 to 2 percent in 1993.

Among the 50 registered and unregistered political parties, only 2 are headed by women (4 percent).

96. Women are poorly represented in the executive branch of government. Thus, currently out of 13 top officials of the President's Executive Office (government advisors and department heads) only one woman heads a department (7.7 percent). Out of 38 ministers and chairs of state committees, only one is a woman (2.7 percent).

Out of the 90 heads of local branches of government in regions and cities subordinate to the republican government, only two are women (2.2 percent). In the local branches of government, the number of women was less than 10 percent in 1994, although there was 48 percent in 1985.

97-98. Official observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the European Union and a joint mission of observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the United Nations noted that during elections in November 1995 (and a parallel referendum on the new Constitution), heads of families voted for the whole family. The OSCE/UN mission noted, in particular, although it is a tradition for the head of the family to vote for other family members in Azerbaijan, this "is a violation of the law and is politically motivated," since not long before the elections, when signatures were being gathered by candidates and parties, the signatures of one member of a family on behalf of the other members were not recognized as valid.

Out of 124 members of the current parliament, elected in 1995, there are only 15 women (12 percent). By comparison with the previous parliament of the Supreme Soviet of 1990-1995, this is even the best indicator of the representation, since there were only 16 women out of 360 members at that time (4.5 percent), and out of the National Assembly created out of the Supreme Soviet, 3 out of 50 (six percent) were women. However, in the period before perestroika, there were significantly more women, for example, in 1985, there were 179 women out of 450 deputies, or 39 percent. The last "Soviet" parliament was headed by a woman until 1991.

99. The figure cited as evidence of equal rights of women, that they represent one third of the employees of state and economic organizations is incorrect since it reflects the indices for 1994. Moreover, it does not reflect the correlations between the executive and support staff.

Article 8
100. According to the latest figures, Azerbaijan already has two women diplomats (one in the UN, and the second in France).

The figures for women employed in embassies cited in the government report illustrated, on the one hand, that women are mainly employed in support staff or secondary positions. A technical worker cannot represent a country. On the other hand, the total number of employees of embassies of Azerbaijan abroad is not cited, which would enable us to evaluate the percentage of women.

Article 9
101. Despite six years of independence, the Law on Citizenship has still not been passed. A draft of the Law on Citizenship has been analyzed by the Council of Europe and the High Commissioner of the UN for Refugees, but has still not been discussed by the parliament to date.

This document excludes the possibility of dual citizenship. According to the draft law, citizens of Azerbaijan are: persons who have been born on the territory of Azerbaijan; persons who were citizens of Azerbaijan before January 1, 1992; persons who have held a residence permit for a long period of time on territory of Azerbaijan and have lawful sources of income. That is, the fact that a child is born to a citizen of Azerbaijan enables him or her to be considered a citizen of the Azerbaijan Republic, which gives the mother the right equal to the father to determine the citizenship of the children.

Article 10
According to Art. 42 of the Constitution, every citizen of the Azerbaijan Republic has the right to receive education. Moreover, free high-school education is guaranteed.

103. University and high-school specialized education have traditionally been prestigious for young women, since beside the possibility of making a professional career, they raise the chances of achieving an advantageous marriage. Therefore the number of young women entering university even now consistently exceeds the number of men, and the number of educated women specialists is somewhat lower than their percentage among university graduates. The lack of serious prospects for finding employment is lowing the number of women who enter university.

105. Thus, according to figures from the State Commission on Student Admissions, if in 1993, 33,494 women (65.1 percent of the total) applied to academic institutions, in 1997, 26,768 (54.6) percent applied. The number of women in universities has thus dropped from 7,922 (58.9 percent) to 4,473 (45.5 percent)

106. On the whole, women traditionally prevail among the educated specialists even in the non-manufacturing field, including the low-paid field of education, which is not prestigious for men. For example, in 1994-1996, the percentage of women in the field of education was 65-67 percent, whereas in 1980, it was 54.4 percent.

Article 11

109. The government of the Azerbaijan Republic, in its report on compliance with the Convention on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (E/1990/5/Add.30) in October 1996 reported that on the whole, women make up about 43 percent of the blue- and white-collar employees in agriculture. This approximately corresponds with the distribution of labor resources, where the percentage of women is 45 percent.

However, the social stereotype of the man as the physically strong main breadwinner of the family means that the majority of women are squeezed into physically easier, but lower-paying work (health care, education, culture, social work, etc.) Meanwhile, not only heavy labor, but also light labor, which is highly-paid (management, trade, services, science, housing and communal services) is generally performed by men.

Out of the total number of women employed in branches of the economy, 37.7 percent are in the non-manufacturing sphere. In health, physical culture, and social welfare, the number of women is much greater (74.4 percent). This also concerns the area of national education (62.4 percent), culture (64 percent), loans and state insurance (65.4). A relatively lower number of women has persisted in housing and communal services and in consumer services (42.6) and art (33.6). In management, the number of women in 1995 was 30.0; in science, 43.0; in trade 43.2. They make up the minority at the more labor-intensive jobs in construction (11.4) and transportation (10.9).

Women make up only 1.5 in the leadership of the national economy.

As a result of the established distribution of labor, women's wages in 1995 were 30 percent less than men's wages.

116. Employment is least available for women forced migrants from the areas of armed conflict with Armenia. Thus, as of July 1, 1997, out of 225,891 migrants, there were 160,386 women migrants of working age (ages 16-55), but only 45,968 were employed, that is 28.6 of the total number of able-bodied women.

The figures cited in the government report of women who have applied to employment centers do not reflect the real picture of unemployment, which, given hidden unemployment (persons sent on extended unpaid leave, and also those who do not apply to employment centers) exceeds the officials numbers many times.

Article 12

For each 10,000 women, by the official figures, there are 4 gynecologists. The number of women's health centers has dropped from 1,003 in 1991 to 966 in 1994. The number of beds for women in childbirth has been reduced. In 1993, there were 7,900, and in 1994, 7,600. Moreover, according to official statistics, the shortage of beds for pregnant women and women in labor in Azerbaijan is calculated to be 2,600.

The Ministry of Health in October 1996 spoke of the need to reduce the number of hospital beds to 79,000. Although the reason for reducing the number of beds is the inability of people to pay for health care (according to the figures of the same minister, only 25 percent of the population can afford to pay for health care), such reform is presented as increasing the space for beds to world standards from 2-3 square meters to 7-8 square meters. Whether or not this increase affects birth clinics, where these standards are also not observed, is not reported.

According to a draft law which has still not been passed, On Health Care for the Population, in Azerbaijan three systems of medical services are envisioned: state, municipal, and private. Regardless of whether they are state or private, all medical institutions must convert to paid service. Moreover, it is stipulated that pregnant women will be provided with free medical care in state and municipal medical facilities both during pregnancy and childbirth and afterwards. It is the only category of patients for which the draft law clearly provides free medical care.

Medical care for women in pregnancy and childbirth is even now officially free of cost. However, in fact, giving birth to a child costs a minimum of $100-150. Due to this cost, more and more women are preferring to give birth outside the "free" birthing centers (e.g. at home). According to figures from the Main Health Department of Baku, in 1990 there were only two such cases, whereas in 1992 there were 33, in 1994, 171, and in January-February 1995 alone, there were 113-130.

Neither the life of the mother or the child is guaranteed in the birth centers. Thus, maternal mortality per 100,000 women giving birth rose in 1990-1994 from 9.3 to 34. The official report notes even the large number of women who have died in child birth: 70 (.044 percent). In 1990, infant mortality before the age of one year per 1,000 births was 23; in 1993, 26.6; in 1994, 30; and in 1995, according to various sources, from 26.9 to 31.5 or even 36.8.

Women from the poorer groups in society cannot obtain contraceptives (only 7 percent obtained them in 1993). That leads to a growth in abortions; the total number of just the recorded abortions in 1995 was 28,700. Of these, 26 percent were performed using the vacuum-aspiration method. Among married refugees, for example, 80 percent have had abortions, most many times. In such cases, the frequent abortions have led to various serious diseases. According to the Ministry of Health, in 1995, there were 56 cases of women who died from abortions (two of them occurred at home).

It is possible that under the conditions of poverty, women will seek medical sterilization as the only route for family planning. It is no accident that in the above-mentioned draft law, such an article is included for the first time. True, sterilization will be performed only on women 35 years of age or older, and only if they have two or more children.

The popularization of formulas as a substitute for breast-milk, socio-economic problems, and the low level of living standards of the population mean that today, more than half of the newborns in Azerbaijan do not receive their mother's milk. Therefore UNICEF has begun to implement a program in Azerbaijan called "Children's Good Will Hospitals," whose purpose is to popularize breast-feeding for children.

Article 13

On June 13, 1997, a new piece of legislation was passed, the Law on Amendments and Additions to the Law on Pension Provision for Citizens. Beginning August 1, 1997, each year, the age for persons to receive pensions will be increased by six months. Starting August 1, 2000, the age for women will be 57.

The participation of women in activities related to recreation, sport and cultural life is not restricted. The existing division of sports into women's and men's do not differ from the universal standards in world practice, although traditionally, women are not oriented toward professional sports.

Among those who were admitted to the Azerbaijani State University of Culture and Arts, women made up 56.23 percent; to the Baku Music Academy, 71.30 percent, whereas to the Azerbaijan State Institute of Physical Culture, there were only 5.43 percent.

Article 14

Women in rural regions of Azerbaijan, like all the rural population of the country, are in the worst conditions in the field of education, culture, and health care. Moreover, rural women have a heavy load in the family, when the average number of people in the rural family is 5.2 persons, as opposed to 4.5 in the city.

In the agriculture of the Soviet period, men traditionally held the management and mechanized jobs, whereas women were used for the non-mechanized work in the fields. Thus, in 1995, women made up less than 10 percent of the specialists, and only 1.3 percent of the administrative or management personnel, whereas in such heavy-labor work as taking care of cattle or growing vegetables, women made up 70-75 percent of the workers.

With the elimination of the system of rural collective farms, labor on plots of land is the chief source of income, which accounts for the increase in men's interest in this type of work. Thus, in 1989, women made up 54 percent of the workers in agriculture; in 1993, 48.5 percent; in 1994, 48.1 percent; and in 1995, 48.0, which is approximately the same percentage of their overall presence work force (45 percent).

Article 16

According to Art. 34 of the Constitution, every citizen of the Azerbaijan Republic has the right to start a family when he reaches the age prescribed by law.

However, on October 21, 1994, Art. 127 was removed from the Criminal Code, which punished marriage to a person who had not yet reached the legal age for marriage, which has reinforced an existing practice to arrange marriages for young women aged 16-17.

In the first half of 1997, 20,000 marriages were registered and 2,824 divorces. Divorces were usually resolved through the courts. Yet in 1994, there were 4,981 divorces out of 6,301 divorces were resolved in the courts.

Because judges traditionally grant custody of children to mothers, usually men pay for child support. However, now the father can evade child support virtually with impunity in other republics of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), thus placing the burden for material expenses for children on women. For a number of years, the state had paid women compensation for children whose fathers failed to pay child support. The assistance amounted to 2,200 manats, or 50 cents per month. However, even these compensations were abolished in May 1996, which affected at least 142,645 single mothers (figures from 1990).

In principle, family planning under the law of the Azerbaijan Republic is the joint problem of both spouses. But although forcing a woman to commit an abortion is punishable under Art. 116 of the Criminal Code, forcing her to have many children is not punishable under the law. The Criminal Code does have Art. 110, which punishes forcing a woman to have sex with "a person upon whom a woman is dependent for reasons of material support, work, or otherwise dependent." But the law is never applied if this dependency takes place within the context of marriage.

There is no practice in the Azerbaijan Republic of compulsory registration of marriages as a civil act. In connection with the increasing cost of marriage procedures and the accessibility of religious marriages, young people prefer to live together without registering a marriage. Thus, in 1994, 6,036 children were born out of wedlock, and court intervention to establish paternity was required in only 89 cases upon petitions from women, and in 17 cases upon petitions from men.