Men and boys - along with women and girls - contribute to the advancement of gender equality. Issues related to ending gender-based violence, promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights, family planning and supporting family-centered policies should and can be addressed through dialogue and mutual support.

In Turkmenistan, men engagement is one of the priorities of the second National Action Plan on Gender Equality of Turkmenistan developed with UNFPA support and rolled out in 2021 for five years. UNFPA supports the government in realization of the NAPGE within the framework of the Country Programme of Cooperation for 2021-2025, focusing on prevention and response of the gender-based violence reaching those furthest behind, including women and girls with disabilities; collecting and analyzing data from a gender perspective; supporting programs aimed at improving the health of women and girls and expanding their choices in life; and establishing a support platform for engaging men and boys to advance positive gender practices in the society. 

The platform launch is supported by the UNFPA’s sub-regional project entitled “Strengthening national capacities to improve prevention of, and responses to Gender-Based Violence in Central Asia”, funded from the UK Conflict Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) Central Asia.  

This #MenEngage campaign page complements the regional Eastern Europe & Central Asia MenEngage Platform and aims to provide a set of resources, instruments, evidence and ideas to support the policy-makers, partners in gender equality, especially men and boys, in championing gender equality in Turkmenistan. 

On this campaign page UNFPA will publish information about news, policy, campaigns, research, videos, and interviews for discussion in three key areas of partnering with men and boys - click to read more:

Men can play an important role in preventing unwanted pregnancies, providing care for mothers and newborns, and safeguarding women's health. But only if they know how. Often men are excluded from the dialogue about sexual and reproductive health.  Even today many women and men mistakenly consider these conversations embarrassing and awkward. However, in all vows of love in all languages, it is repeated "in sickness and health, in sorrow and in joy." In the joy of having a child, in the joy of planning the family, in the joy of recovering from a disease. After all, men also want to experience the joy of caring for their loved ones.

What is reproductive health? Am I healthy? Is my family healthy? What does this affect? Where can I get a check-up? What should I do with this information? Having the answers to these questions, men not only become closer to their family, they become strong allies who openly discuss, help and support. 

Traditional gender roles prevent a man from fully participating in family life and raising children. The socially acceptable role of the “breadwinner” does not allow them to be caring fathers and spouses, because the “breadwinner” is busy with the financial well-being of the family, and not the family itself. At this time, caring for a child and maintaining a home life mainly falls on the shoulders of women. Today we live in a world where a woman has the opportunity and ambitions to build a career and develop professionally, and such unequal distribution of responsibilities at home creates invisible obstacles and significantly affects the desire of a woman to have a family and children.

As of 2019, only 7% of fathers in Turkmenistan take on four or more activities with children aged 1 to 2, including play, education, and care. For fathers who are engaged with their children aged 2 to 4 years, this figure is 12%. Despite such low figures, it doesn't mean fathers don't want to spend time with their kids.  

Research shows that involved fathers feel more emotionally connected to their spouses and children and that they live longer.  If given the right opportunities, fathers need to make the right choices to get closer to their families.  The MenEngage platform will support men to become more engaged fathers and involved caregivers.  

We all know that there are gender stereotypes - "A man should ...", "A woman should ..." And we know that these stereotypes negatively affect our lives: they set invisible boundaries for men and women, which sometimes do not allow them to meet each other halfway.

Such attitudes and stereotypes about the perceived role of women in society are entrenched in deeply rooted social norms and can lead to cultural and social acceptance of violence.

Engaging men and boys is a critical way of advancing the gender equality agenda. Gender equality implies changing and transforming the way individuals express and experience power in their lives, relationships, and communities. Reaching equality, women and men will have the same agency to make choices and participate in society that will benefit all. 

This #MenEngage platform invites men and boys to advance gender equality, continue promoting the positive values that already exist in our culture and society and make an additional step towards building a more equal and prosperous society.