22 April 2005, 09:31
No senior offices for women in Armenia
The number of women in senior government posts is extremely low in Armenia in spite that the share of women among people with higher education is 60%, Jemma Asratian, chairwoman of the Association of Women with University Education, said at a round table discussion of women's problems in Armenia.
She said the proportion of the participation of Armenian women in policy-making and governance is the lowest in the world: "No woman in Armenia occupies the office of minister today, while their share in the National Assembly is just a couple per cent."
Lack of intelligence and education is not actually what prevents women from taking part in governance and development processes, according to Jemma Asratian. She thinks Armenian women have not just had enough time to acquire experience of taking part in political processes. Besides, some representatives of government bodies, proceeding from patriarchal prejudices, are reluctant to let women assume their offices.
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Author: Ashot Ter-Grigorian, CK correspondent