AKIPRESS.COM - Gender equality and the participation of women in public life were the focus of an OSCE-organized seminar in Ashgabat on April 29.

The OSCE Centre in Ashgabat and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in partnership with the National Institute of Democracy and Human Rights under the President of Turkmenistan, organized the one-day event to enhance the expertise of Turkmenistan’s policy makers and law-enforcement agencies in gender mainstreaming and empowering women.

Members of the Turkmen parliament, Mejlis, officials from law-enforcement bodies, research and educational institutions, as well as representatives from the Women’s Union and public organizations discussed best practices in advancing the role of women and the role of civil society in advocating for increased women’s participation in public life.

“Turkmenistan has ratified and therefore committed itself to a number of international human rights instruments addressing women’s rights and gender equality,” said Vardon Deniz Hoca, Human Dimension Officer of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. “Our seminar stresses the importance of addressing the gender equality in national legislation, policies and curricula, and we believe this it will support the country’s efforts in designing and implementing effective strategies.”

He added that it was essential that the seminar was attended by representatives of public organizations as promoting gender equality requires the involvement of and co-operation among all stakeholders, including civil society.

The seminar was led by experts from ODIHR and from Latvia. They addressed international standards and OSCE commitments on gender equality and preventing gender-based discrimination and violence. Strategies for enhancing the participation of women in politics were also discussed and the handbook ODIHR Gender Equality in Elected Office: A Six-Step Action Plan was presented.

The seminar also addressed the role of media in advancing women’s participation in public life, gender-sensitive reporting and the media portrayal of women and men politicians and public figures.