In continuation of the long-lasting awareness raising work in the sphere of advancing women’s rights, the UNO Baku – Department of Public Information (UNDPI) team travelled to Shamkir to join in on galvanizing actions for gender equality at the Second Women’s Leadership Conference that took place on 23 May in Shamkir. “Women represent a force to be reckoned with,” said the UNDPI Representative, in her introductory speech. She also evoked the sentiment that “women’s participation is essential in all contexts - during peace, through conflict and post-conflict, and during all kinds of transitions”.

A conference room full of women convened to represent Shamkir and its neighbouring regions, with women’s civil society organizations and media representatives in attendance, as well as many notable women from various governmental and international institutions, all of whom brought their expertise and specialization on ways to enhance women’s leadership.

Concluding her speech, the UNDPI Representative declared the auspicious event an important opportunity to bring together all concerned parties and to put forth recommendations on how to boost the process of women’s empowerment in Azerbaijan.

Ms. Sadagat Gahramanova, Deputy Chairwoman of the State Committee on Family, Women and Children's Affairs, shared her views on the issue of decision-making for Azerbaijani women. “Our aim is to improve the status of women in Azerbaijan by advancing their influence in the decision-making processes, by supporting civil society organizations that focus on issues important to women, and by raising public awareness of those concerns,” she added.

Working groups discussed the role of gender-focused NGOs across a number of development sectors. In addition to women’s entrepreneurship, participants discussed strengthening women's involvement in local self-governance and in civil society. As a result of the discussions, the participants identified and adopted priorities for the Action Plan, together with Final Recommendations on ‘Strengthening women's participation in decision-making processes’.

A film on women's entrepreneurship, and various public service announcements entitled “Raise your Voice against Domestic Violence”, “Gender Equality Support”, “The Scale of Rights”, “Shattered Dream”, and “The Life Ladder” were screened at the end of the conference  . These PSAs were produced by the ’Clean World’ Public Union in coalition with the Citizens' Labor Rights League, within the framework of Women's Participation Program, and with funding by USAID and the implementation of Counterpart International.

The UN Office (UNO) Tashkent organized and provided media coverage to the Sub-Regional Office of UN Women in Eastern Europe and Central Asia meeting, which was held with UNO, the Council of the Federation of Trade Unions and the Women's Committee of Uzbekistan. 

Dedicated to the empowerment of women in the private sector, representatives included from UN Women, the Women's Committee of Uzbekistan, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan , the Council of the Federation of Trade Unions, the Association of Business Women of Uzbekistan "Tadbirkor ael", UN agencies in Uzbekistan, the head of the largest joint and private industrial enterprises  and the media. 

Focusing on the most effective ways to implement equality between men and women in the private sector, the Regional Programme Director of UN Women Sub-Regional Office in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Damir Sartbaeva, addressed the global business community, sharing examples of practical application. 

As noted by the Deputy Chairman of the Women's Committee of Uzbekistan Ozoda Parpibaeva, Uzbekistan has created favorable conditions for the development of small and medium enterprises and women fruitfully work in different areas of society, their rights are enshrined in more than 80 laws and regulations affecting women's empowerment issues

More than 40 young, predominantly female leaders from Ganja City convened for a conference of Young Leaders Club Initiative Group on 27 May. The Representative of UNO Baku drove 348 km from Baku to Ganja to join them and raise awareness on the UN’s activities around the globe, its mission and ideas, as well as to discuss gender equality and empowerment of women within the broader Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) campaign.

As a lead-in to UN4U activities - an opportunity for UN officials to speak at schools and to reach a large and impressionable young audience, the UNO representative’s visit to Ganja kicked off a series of exciting activities and events by UNO, many of them involving youth and young leaders. “This is some of the many endeavors by UNO to share knowledge and engage with bright minds like you,” she told the audience.

Screening of “Betrayed Life” – a short movie depicting a young woman’s tragic life, who becomes a victim of domestic violence and falls prey to human traffickers, sparked the interest of the participants and triggered an interesting discussion. Students discussed issues ranging from the human rights, gender equality, girls education to empowerment of rural women among others. 

Having just concluded their seminar, the students were full of questions and comments on the role of the UN in protecting and promoting human rights, particularly rights of young girls and women. The UNO Representative responded to the queries at length, describing the challenges before the World Body as well as the successes achieved.

She also emphasized the importance of education, the need to achieve the MDGls and urged youth leaders to learn more about the UN and its work and to consider how they could contribute to the progress on the UN’s key objectives of peace, development and human rights.

Women and children are particularly affected by disasters. They are displaced from their homes and find themselves in a hostile environment with no access to proper sanitation, gender-specific facilities, and are vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation during such times.
 
With a view to addressing these challenges, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) along with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) formulated the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) for Sexual and Reproductive Health in Disasters, a manual focusing on women and children during disasters and consisting of life saving interventions designed to reduce morbidity and mortality. The manual was prepared after a year-long series of consultations with various stakeholders, academic experts, specialists and government officials.
 
UNIC New Delhi provided technical and substantive support for the preparation of an animation film highlighting the benefits of the manual and a video message by actress Priyanka Chopra. There was also a video message by Ms. Chopra.
 
Launching the manual, UNFPA Country Director Frederika Meijer said women faced unique health challenges during disasters, ranging from hygiene to pregnancy-related complications.  Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, shed light on some alarming statistics on the situation of women and children during and disasters. “In times of disaster, children and women are most vulnerable. This initiative is certainly going to be an important tool to tackle disaster situations in the country.”
 
UN Resident Coordinator Lise Grande applauded the government’s efforts over the past 10 years to deal with natural disasters. Other countries should follow this example, she said, as the manual “asks and answers the right questions”.
 
M. Shashidhar Reddy, Vice-Chairman, NDMA, delivered the keynote address and thanked UNPA and other agencies for their collaboration with NDMA. “We look forward to working with the UN system to bring to India what has been internationally accepted and improve the standards to deal with disaster management,” he said.