Rights defenders state women’s discrimination in Southern Caucasus and Russia

On March 8, the Anti-Discrimination Centre (ADC) "Memorial" launched the "All Jobs for All Women" campaign to abolish lists of works and occupations prohibited for women. In some regions of Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia, employment opportunities for women are severely limited. This was told by Stephaniya Kulaeva, the leader of the ADC "Memorial", to the "Caucasian Knot".

"A number of countries have introduced bans on women for certain professions and types of activities. Those bans which copy the laws of the former Soviet Union appear directly in the labour codes, and that is why women who are trying to find jobs that interest them cannot do that," states the press release of the ADC "Memorial", received by the "Caucasian Knot".

According to Stephaniya Kulaeva, the leader of the Anti-Discrimination Centre "Memorial", concerning the problems of professional discrimination of women, the situation in Azerbaijan is the worst among the former Soviet Union republics in Southern Caucasus.

"In Azerbaijan, the situation is the same as everywhere else and is worse than in Armenia and Georgia. There is a long list of prohibited professions. They just copied the Soviet law," Stephaniya Kulaeva told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"It is clear that it will be more difficult to achieve changes there, since Armenia and Georgia still somehow entered the association with the EU... Azerbaijan is a slightly different case; however, we will work there," said Stephaniya Kulaeva.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.