Institute for War & Peace Reporting, UK
Oct 19 2006

Armenia: Politics without Women
Armenian women seek deeper involvement in public and political life.

By Lena Badeyan in Yerevan for IWPR (20/10/06)

Armenia has fewer women in parliament than any other country in
Europe. Currently there are only seven females in the 131-seat national
assembly, accounting for five percent of its members.

Outside parliament, just 15 of the 926 local government heads at
village and town level are women.

Now moves are afoot to reverse this situation. A new grouping of
organizations called Women Leaders announced last month that they
had submitted a set of proposed amendments to the electoral code to
parliament which would mean a quota of 25 per cent of seats in the
legislature would be set aside for women. Twenty-two parties and
around 40 public associations are supporting the initiative.

This is not the first effort to boost female representation. During
the 2003 parliamentary poll, women were given a five per cent share
of the party lists used in the proportional representation system.

However, most were placed near the bottom of the lists, leaving them
virtually no chance of getting elected.

"That decision brought no qualitative changes to the parliament,
as it was not specific," said Hermine Naghdalian of the Republican
Party. "It did not specify where female candidates would be placed
on the lists – and our men were quick to exploit that."

Only half of the parties now in parliament have women on their lists.

Three of the four belong to the ruling coalition – the Republican
Party, Dashnaktsutiun and the United Labor Party. The fourth, Orinats
Yerkir (Party of Law), recently left the governing coalition.

"It’s essential that the Armenian government assess the situation
properly and take the appropriate action to increase female involvement
in the decision-making process," Dubravka Simonovic of the United
Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women,
commented to the ArmInfo news agency.

"For anything to change in the way parliament works, women’s
representation there should be at least 30 percent."

It is uncertain whether the new initiative will get through, as it is
not supported by parliament’s largest faction, the Republican Party,
or by another large group, People’s Deputy. The votes of the two
combined would be sufficient to vote down the motion.

Some argue that setting a quota is the wrong approach. "I think the
process should be a gradual one," Arshak Sadoyan of the opposition
Justice faction told IWPR. "You can’t change from the Asian gender
system to a modern European one at a stroke."

"Specific quotas should not be prescribed by law – it’s an internal
matter," argued Gurgen Arsenian, leader of the United Labor Party
faction, while pledging that his party list would contain women in it.

Shogher Matevosian, editor-in-chief of the opposition newspaper
Chorord Ishkhanutiun (Fourth Power), said the idea was misconceived,
arguing that loyalty to the government, not gender, was the crucial
factor in Armenian politics.

"When it comes to the fight for the presidency or any other high
position, what happens is what usually happens with the opposition:
if a woman is on the opposition’s side, she won’t get in, if she
sides with the authorities, she will," she told IWPR.

Hermine Naghdalian of the Republican Party said that women were passive
in political life in large part because of the general atmosphere of
disillusionment in Armenia. "In many cases, women do not believe that
they can help change anything, or that their struggle and wishes can
produce results," she said.

Gagik Beglarian, head of administration of Yerevan’s central district,
illustrates a common sense among male politicians that it is shameful
to lose an election to a woman.

"It will be a disgrace to me if I lose to a woman," Beglarian said
after he had learned that a woman – a member of the Popular Opposition
Party Ruzan Khachatrian – would be facing him in the local government
elections last year.

Khachatrian lost and Beglarian scored a convincing victory in the
poll. Khachatrian has never recognized the results, saying that her
opponent used underhand methods to rig the vote – a style of operation
which she says distinguishes male from female politicians.

During the election campaign, Beglarian presented bunches of flowers
to his opponent instead of engaging in arguments with her.

"Why does a man’s ambition for public office not surprise anyone,
whereas the same claims by a woman come as a surprise?" asked
Khachatrian. "Why is no one surprised if a woman wants to be a doctor,
but astonished if she wants to become a politician? It is an ordinary
profession, an ordinary job. If you have the skill, why should it
become the target of ridicule?"

"Give us clean democratic elections, and if women don’t get elected,
only then can you say women are uncompetitive," said Nora Hakobian,
chairperson of the Women’s Republican Council. "If women show willing
and men try to help them, the situation in the country will improve."