Gender equality means the equality of men and women in political, economic, cultural, and other spheres of public life. The history of the beginning of the gender trend in Azerbaijan is associated with the education of the Azerbaijani woman from the middle of the 19th century, and then their participation in public life as a philanthropist.

The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the first republic established in the East in 1918, also went down in history as the first republic in the East, in the Islamic world, to give women the right to vote and be elected.

After Azerbaijan regained its independence, especially since 1994, the establishment of stability in the country opened the way for women to increase their activity in social and political life.

Also, Azerbaijan has joined important international conventions to ensure gender equality.

In 1995, Azerbaijan ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

In 1998, on the initiative of the national leader Heydar Aliyev, an order was signed on the establishment of the State Committee on Women's Issues - the current State Committee on Family, Women and Children's Issues, and "On measures to increase the role of women in Azerbaijan".

In 2000, Heydar Aliyev signed a decree "On the implementation of the state women's policy". The decree envisaged increasing the percentage of women's representation in all state structures.

in 2006, by the Decree of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, the law "On Guarantees of Gender Equality" was adopted in the country. This law prohibited all kinds of discrimination based on gender in Azerbaijan, and for the first time in the legal practice of the country, the concept of discrimination was applied in this law.

In 2010, the law "On Prevention of domestic violence" was adopted.

In 2014, the "State Program for Improving the Health of Mothers and Children (for 2014-2020)" was approved.

"State Program for the Implementation of the Employment Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2011-2015", and "State Programs for the Socio-Economic Development of the Regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan" are important in increasing the role of women in the political, social, economic and cultural life of the country.

Currently, in Azerbaijan, women are represented in high positions in state and self-governing bodies, and in the private sector, for instance, the speaker of the Parliament, the spokesperson of the Western Azerbaijani Community, the head of the State Commission on Student Admission, the State Committee on Family, Women, and Children's Problems, Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to France is a woman.

The opinions of women specialists working in leading positions represented in various institutions regarding the balance of gender balance in Azerbaijan are almost unequivocally positive.

The national legislation in the Republic of Azerbaijan ensures the equality of rights of women and allows the prevention of all kinds of discrimination, the steps taken in this direction are aimed at the realization of equal opportunities for women. Azerbaijan has joined a number of international documents on gender equality and successfully cooperates with international organizations.

The work and educational measures carried out at the state level in Azerbaijan in this field promise that more successful results will be achieved in the future regarding the protection of gender balance in the country.

Analytic group of News.Az

The article focuses on coverage of gender, family, and demographic issues

The article was published with the support of the Media Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (MEDIA)