Development of a Woman on the Path of Life

All human beings are created equal yet women are not treated equally in the world. When women work, economies grow, but around the world women are paid less than men are. They only earn on average about 60% to 75% of what a man makes. Women don’t get paid for the home care work they do. Women devote 1 to 3 hours more, a day to housework than men; 2 to 10 times the amount of time a day to care (for children, elderly, and the sick), and 1 to 4 hours less a day to other activities.

Women in all developing countries work more than men do and yet they have less time for education, leisure, political speaking and self-care. Gender laws affect women in developed and developing countries everywhere. Evidence shows that out of 143 economies studied, 90% of the countries had at least one legal difference which affects the economic development of women.

The UN states that there are equal rights for women. “Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.” Yet in many countries there is no gender equality.

 Saudi Arabia gave women the right to drive only in 2018. In India which is the largest democracy in the world, people still believe in dowry system where a girl’s family has to pay a significant amount during the girl’s marriage to the groom’s family. In cases they are unable to pay dowry the girl is harassed by her new family. Multiple times the girl is kicked out of the house or even murdered and that is termed as an “accident.” A new study conducted by IWPR (Institute for Women’s Policy Research) in US suggests that women earn 49 cents to a dollar what men earn. Ethnicity and gender differences create large pay gaps for minority women.

 In 2013, in the US for instance, “women of all major racial and ethnic groups earn less than men of the same group, and also earn less than white men.” Women are responsible for household food preparation in 85-90 per cent of cases surveyed in a wide range of countries. Women, especially those in poverty, appear more vulnerable in the face of natural disasters and get injured more in such disasters. A recent study of 141 countries found that more women than men die from natural hazards.

There is a lot that needs to be done. In 1947 the UN created the Commission on the Status of Women which helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing. It was an important meeting because states agreed to the Beijing Declaration. Every 5 years, there is a review of the progress of women. The next review will be held in 2020. In 2010, the UN created UN Women. It brought four UN organizations working to help women into one group. This organization works to help women achieve equality.

The Republic of Azerbaijan believes in promoting equality for its women. “A country without woman is destroyed and remains helpless but in the hand of woman this world will only have bliss. She will exalt humanity.” This quote from Hussein Javid, the Shakespeare of Azerbaijan gives us an idea on the current cultural, economic and social development occurring in the country. Recent elections of March 2017 which elected Mehriban Aliyeva, the first lady of Azerbaijan, to the post of Vice President. This is another step closer to creating gender equality in the Islamic nation of 9 million people in a country, the size of South Carolina.

Azerbaijan is a secular Islamic nation, which gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. So, while the majority of the population is Muslims, the law is secular and protects women in the workplace. It has been culturally acceptable for women to stay at home, cook, clean, have babies and allow the man to be the breadwinner. However, the government of Azerbaijan has been criticized for violation of Human rights and corruption. Media oppression is common in Azerbaijan and media people who criticize the government for not being able to implement these equality laws are arrested, which is a direct violation of press freedom.

Gender gaps in domestic and household work, including time spent obtaining water and fuel and processing food, are intensified in contexts of economic crisis, environmental degradation, natural disasters, and inadequate infrastructure and services. The main causes of girls dropping out of school are financial difficulties, girls are viewed as being more vulnerable to both physical and cultural dangers, beliefs that girls have different mental abilities than boys force early marriage in some cultures.

The Republic of Azerbaijan has tried to address these issues and now the constitution of Azerbaijan protects anyone willing to work; and, it is stated in the constitution that “everyone has the right to work in safe and healthy conditions, to get remuneration for his/her work without any discrimination, not less than minimum wages rate established by the state.” Statistically there are fewer women working in Azerbaijan than men and the women on average earn less than half of what the men earn. Awareness of rights is one of the tools that empowers and enable the women and girls use their talents and participate in important political decision-making processes and improve their communities.

UNICEF has recommended strategies that could be implemented for the improvement of girl’s education, including alternative programs, interactive learning, bilingual education, scholarships, more female teachers, program-based learning and single-sex schools. One of the most popular jobs for expatriate women is teaching. There are a few schools, nurseries and universities that specialize in teaching the children of expats. But things are getting better and the labor law has provisions that cover women specifically. Expatriate women wanting to work in Azerbaijan should be familiar with these provisions and know their rights at all times. UNESCO is raising awareness on educational benefits for social improvement for last how .

The government of Azerbaijan needs to take steps to reduce internal conflict at political level. This results in economic and social development of the nation which helps in increasing education at all levels. This is like a food chain, if one gets affected the entire chain is disrupted. So, in terms of Azerbaijan, when women are given equal rights to education, economic freedom and it will gradually result in a stable progressive nation, contributing to global economy.

The Republic of Azerbaijan urge the nations at the UN try to focus on women in development and start at the ground level by making elementary education for girls mandatory, free with breakfast and lunch served along with sanitary clean bathrooms. Our Republic would like to join United Nations Girls Education Initiative states and invite fellow states to join, if they haven’t yet done so. We also call upon the nations to participate and learn from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to share its experiences about how to establish schools in rural areas. The nations can commit to 3% of their income for girls education for next five years.

We can explore ways to make education for girls and boys at middle and high schools have a lower cost. It will increase the nation’s economy and, in a few years, or so it can impact the global economy.

To protect women’s human rights countries should have laws to prevent the women from being beaten should be enforced severely. Any such severe offense should be punished and even given jail time.

More women should become landowners because they can choose what they want to grow. They also will know which way they want to use and run their land, it will help women gain income and make it easier to get loans from banks. This can also help improve and contribute to the nation’s economy.

In conclusion for balanced and possible goals, women and men need the same equal rights, opportunities and responsibilities. By improving girl’s education, it will help the girls help their entire family and themselves. Women with more and better education will have higher health, income and better able to help their children. All of the factors will help economies and nations grow easily. Educated girls will also help nations get out of poverty.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights Charter
2. Hodges, Olivia. “A Look at Girls' Education in Azerbaijan.” The Borgen Project, 31 July 2018,
3. borgenproject.org/a-look-at-girls-education-in-azerbaijan/.
4. Newburger, Emma. “A New Study Suggests Women Earn about Half What Men Earn.” CNBC,
5. CNBC, 4 Dec. 2018, 4:35pm,
6. www.cnbc.com/2018/11/28/study-for-every-dollar-a-man-earns-a-woman-earns-49-cents.html.
7. “The 'Kind Lady' of Azerbaijan.” The Washington Times, The Washington Times, 6 Mar. 2017,
8. www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/mar/6/azerbaijans-women-rights-takes-major-leap-forward/.
9. Rose, Stephen J, and Heidi Hartmann. “Still a Man's Labor Market: The Slowly Narrowing
10. Gender Wage Gap.” Institute for Women's Policy Research, 26 Nov. 2018,
11. iwpr.org/publications/still-mans-labor-market/.
12. “United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.” UN Women,
13. www.unwomen.org/.
14. Women Live Longer but Face Violence and Discrimination. 21 Oct. 2015, 10:05am,
15. unstats.un.org/unsd/gender/News/English/The%20Jakarta%20Post.pdf.
16. “Women Working in Azerbaijan.” ExpatWoman.com, 27 June 2017,
17. www.expatwoman.com/azerbaijan/working-in-azerbaijan/women-working-in-azerbaijan. 

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