Population of women: 4,385,100/8,533,600 Life expectancy of women (at birth): 71 yrs School life expectancy for women: 11 yrs
Adult illiteracy for women: 99% (2007) Unemployment of women: 10% (2005) Adult economic activity rate: 61% (2006) Source: United Nations Statistical Division: Social Indicators, CIA World-Factbook (last updated 4 September, 2008)
last updated September 2008
Azerbaijani women have struggled as a result of the government concern with post-war problems, including the conflict over the Nagorno Karabakh territory with Armenia and the refugee and displaced person crisis. Little information is known about the degree of human rights violations taking place within the area of dispute, according to the 2007 U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices. The report contends that the government of Azerbaijan has registered approximately 686,586 internally displaced persons who have fled or were forced to flee the disputed area and Armenia. The absence of security and the occurrence of widespread human rights abuses as a result of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict has had a strong impact on the government’s attention to women’s issues as well as the attention of the international community.
Article 25 of the Azerbaijan Constitution, adopted on 12 November 1995, provides for full equality for men and women. Article 34 provides for equal status of men and women within marriage. While the Azerbaijani Constitution and Criminal Code provide protections for women, their status is still not equal to that of men. Traditional attitudes toward the role of women have minimized attention to the role of violence against women and their struggle to achieve equality with men. The U.S. Department of State’s 2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Azerbaijan found that women are not adequately represented in the upper echelons of the work force and that the Labor Code restricts the amount, times and places that pregnant women and women with young children may work.
The scope of domestic violence has been difficult to gauge as few women report abuse. The statistical data provided through the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Azerbaijan reported in the “Violence and Women in Azerbaijan” survey by International Rescue Committee that 317 cases regarding crimes of violence against women registered in 2002 and 289 in 2003. In 2001, 39 rape cases were registered in Azerbaijan and 46 in 2003. The 2007 U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices states that the government of Azerbaijan registered a reported 86 rapes and attempted rapes.
The most recent and comprehensive research involving 7,668 women in Azerbaijan was conducted by the USAID in 2001. The report Reproductive Health Survey Azerbaijan was focused on the problem of reproductive health but tackled as well the issue of domestic violence. According to the survey results, 30% of currently/previously married women reported verbal abuse, 20% reported physical violence and 10% reported sexual violence perpetrated by their partner or ex-partner at some point during their life. At the same time, only 1% of women abused by their intimate partners reported the case to the police or talked to a health provider, and less than 1% sought legal assistance.
According to the U.S. Department of State’s 2007 Human Rights Report, there are no specific laws prohibiting spousal rape or spousal abuse. Currently, however, a draft law regarding the prevention of domestic violence is being circulated. Although there is no specific legislation concerning domestic violence, the 2000 Criminal Code of Azerbaijan includes a provision dealing with physical or psychological suffering caused by violent acts or systematic beatings (Article 133). Articles 126, 127 and 128 address different degrees of intentional infliction of physical harm resulting in health disorders and disabilities. Article 125 provides that threats, cruel treatment or systematic humiliation leading to suicide or attempted suicide of a dependent person may be punished by three to seven years’ imprisonment. Furthermore, there are no government-sponsored crisis centers for women who are victims of domestic violence, although the Institute for Peace and Democracy opened such a center in Baku in 2001. According to the 2007 U.S. Department of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the center provided services to 2,781 women and the center-operated crisis hotline assisted 3,113 women. The Institute for Peace and Democracy has also put forth effort to keep women informed on their rights as women and to provide practical information regarding matters such as court procedures by broadcasting public service announcements and showing short films in the region.
The Criminal Code contains provisions regarding rape (Article 149) and sexual abuse (Article 108). Rape, which is defined as sexual intercourse committed by force or threats of force, or abusing the helpless situation of the victim, is punishable by four to eight years imprisonment. Sexual abuse is defined as violence against a person, forced prostitution, forced sterilization, or other related activities, and may be punished by five to ten years in prison. Sexual acts against and rape of children under the age of 16 is prohibited by Articles 149, 150, 152, 153 and can be punishable for up to 15 years.
There are no provisions in the Criminal Code which specifically address sexual harassment. However, Article 151 addresses conduct similar to harassment in that it prohibits behavior that compels an individual to participate in sexual activity by taking advantage of his or her dependence on the perpetrator. However, sexual harassment is an urgent issue, creating obstacles for number of women in obtaining jobs and getting promotion in the work places. There have been no legal proceedings initiated by the victims of sexual harassment in Azerbaijan. At the same time, according to the survey of Azerbaijan Sociological Association conducted in 2001 of 2,013 women, only 37% said they had never been sexually harassed, 13% admitted that they experienced open harassment and 42%, hidden harassment. As to the perpetrators, the fist positions in the list are held by employer (35%) and co-worker (26%).
Prostitution continues to be a concern in Azerbaijan. It is not punishable as a criminal offense and is instead treated as an administrative violation. The punishment is $100, though pimps and brothel owners can face up to six years in prison. From: 2007 U.S. Department of State Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
Trafficking of women has also been a considerable problem because of economic hardship and military conflict. A 2002 report by the International Organization for Migration found that Azerbaijan is both a source country and a transit country for trafficking. Women were predominately trafficked to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The country also is a transit country those victims trafficked from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova headed to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates for sexual exploitation.
In May 2004, the President of Azerbaijan issued an official decree ordering all government bodies to implement Azerbaijan's National Action Plan on Prevention of Trafficking. The National Plan for the first time stipulated recognition of victims of human trafficking as “aggrieved persons” and instructed adoption of normative acts ensuring their safety and rights. The Institution of the National Coordinator on these issues was founded at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Deputy to the Minister was appointed as the first National Coordinator.
On 28 June 2005, the Parliament of Azerbaijan (Milli Mejlis) unanimously adopted the law "On the Fight Against Trafficking". The law was expected to increase the efficiency of activities at combating human trafficking in the country, said Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Commission on Human Rights Ms. Rabiyyat Aslanova. Rabiyyat Aslanova termed the measure important in terms of protecting human rights. The Law provides codified definition of Trafficking in Person, Human Exploitation, Human Trafficker and Victim of Human Trafficking. Amendments to the national legislation including the Criminal Code and the country’s laws will be adopted to ensure that individuals committing such crimes are brought to justice. The 2005 Law extended the sentence to15 years imprisonment for persons convicted of trafficking. Also, and importantly, the law contains assistance and protection measures for victims of trafficking and requires special rehabilitation centers to be set up in Azerbaijan for people affected by human trafficking.
While the government does not yet comply with the standards for eliminating human trafficking, the country is making an effort to reduce it. According to the 2008 U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report, Azerbaijan is a Tier 2 country. The report notes that a government-funded shelter was opened in October 2006 to provide short-term care to trafficking victims. At the shelter victims have access to legal, medical and psychological services. The government also created a toll-free trafficking hotline for both domestic and international use. Moreover, the government and police force have made a number of improvements to the operation and mode of reducing the presence of the trafficking business in Azerbaijan. However, the 2008 Trafficking Report notes that law-enforcement efforts since 2007 have declined, and there has been a failure to properly investigate cases of trafficking. The report states, “the judiciary remains one of the weakest anti-trafficking actors in Azerbaijan, due to inadequate training and corruptions.” There is a concern that government servants and low-level law enforcement officers are complicit in or facilitate trafficking through the use of bribes. The 2008 Trafficking Report also contends that “[t]he Government of Azerbaijan did not improve protections for trafficking victims in 2007.” Courtrooms are noted as an area where victims of trafficking are not adequately protected, and the report cites verbal abuse by some judges.
In 2007, authorities reported 100 victims of trafficking, but only 29 of these cases were receiving help at a government shelter. According to the 2008 Trafficking Report, the government shelter is ill-equipped to adequately treat and assist victims of trafficking. Overall, the 2008 Report indicates a decline in assistance to and protection of victims of trafficking. The information presented in the Report also suggests that the Government of Azerbaijan is failing to effectively prosecute perpetrators of human trafficking.
Compiled from:
United Nations Statistics Division: Social Indicators. (July 2008). Link: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/socind/statistics.htm
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2006: Azerbaijan, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, (released 6 March, 2007). Link: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78801.htm
2008 Trafficking in Persons Report, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State, (June, 2008). Link: http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2008/
Human Rights in the OSCE Region: Europe, Central Asia and North America, Report 2004 (Events of 2003), International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, (23 June 2004). (PDF, 14 pages).
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2004: Azerbaijan, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, (released 28 February, 2005). Link: http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41670.htm
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2007: Azerbaijan, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, (released March 11, 2008). Link: http://www.state/gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/100548.htm
Integration of the Human Rights of Women and the Gender Perspective: Violence Against Women, United Nations Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/2003/75/Add.1) (27 February 2003).
Shattered Dreams: Report on Trafficking in Persons in Azerbaijan, International Organization for Migration. (2002). (PDF, 72 pages).
Women 2000-An Investigation into the Status of Women's Rights in Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, (11 May 2000). (PDF, 13 pages).
Gender Assessment for USAID/Caucasus/Azerbaijan, (15 January 2004) (PDF, 44 pages) Link: www.gender-az.org/doc/en/development/assessment.pdf
Reproductive Health Survey Azerbaijan, USAID (PDF, 398 pages) Link: http://www.dec.org/pdf_docs/PNACT158.pdf
Violence and Women in Azerbaijan, International Rescue Committee, (PDF, 40 pages)Link: http://intranet.theirc.org/docs/IRC%20Azerbaijan%20VAW%20Assessment%20June%202004%20English.pdf
Media-monitoring "Violence against Women", Azerbaijan Gender Information Center (April, 2003) Link: http://www.gender-az.org/shablon_en.shtml?doc/en/library/reserch/monitoring