National consultations to discuss how gender equality can drive the Sustainable Development Agenda

22 July 2019

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan – The Institute of State, Law and Democracy of Turkmenistan together with UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund and OSCE, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe completed a series of round tables conducted country wide in all five velayats and the capital city of Ashgabat.

The key focus of the round tables was to sensitize the representatives of government, local administrations, law enforcement and public organizations about key aspects of international obligations of the country towards gender equality. The participants also discussed the implementation of National Action Plan on Gender Equality for 2015-2020 and how gender equality can accelerate the progress across all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

More than 150 participants built better understanding about gender equality through the prism of SDGs, the accelerating role of gender equality in progressing towards development objectives and addressing challenges such as sustainable economic growth and employment, reproductive health, gender-based violence, quality and reliable data.

 “Information with examples of how the SDGs at the level of targets and indicators work in practice and how they help to progress towards gender equality and empowerment of women and girls have been especially useful for the participants” said Shemshat Atajanova, Head of Human Rights Unit of the Institute of State, Law and Democracy of Turkmenistan. “Within the framework of the National Action Plan on Gender Equality we need to continue to build the capacities of civil servants, public organizations staff, community leaders and population at large about the fundamental principles of gender equality and how they work through state policies and global development initiatives”.

UNFPA is a lead UN agency that promotes gender equality and addresses relevant challenges at national, regional and global levels. The key focus of UNFPA in Turkmenistan is to advance gender equality through support to the Government of Turkmenistan with effective and dynamic implementation of the National Action Plan on Gender Equality and consequently the country’s international obligations under the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The round tables were a part of actions stipulated in the National Action Plan on Gender Equality and help greatly to raise awareness of national stakeholders.

***

For additional information, please contact:

Dovran Yamatov, UNFPA Programme Analyst on Population Dynamics and Gender

yamatov@unfpa.org Tel: (+99312) 488325

Web: www.turkmenistan.unfpa.org