Gulshat is a 20-year-old woman from Archman, in rural Turkmenistan, who works at City Hall in the capital, a job she could not have imagined getting just a year ago. A high-school graduate, Gulshat knew she wanted to pursue an active, productive life but had few opportunities for educational or professional advancement in Archman.
Gulshat had called the local teen hotline to share her concerns about her future and was referred to the Y-PEER Youth Center in Ashgabat, a program supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) that promotes healthy lifestyles and free computer and language classes to teenagers.
Gulshat was eager to move to the capital with her sister. “My sister and I are extremely lucky,” said Gulshat, “because our parents have recognized the problem of few opportunities in the rural areas of Turkmenistan and addressed it by sending their teenage daughters to the capital city — a rather bold move for a traditional Turkmen family.”
Even when parents recognize the problems facing their teenage children, in Turkmenistan it is usually the son who is sent to the cities for education and work. “Most of our girlfriends have stayed at home after high school and continue helping their parents to make a living through either sewing or embroidery,” Gulshat said. “Some have already gotten married.”
At the Y-PEER Youth Center, Gulshat and her sister attended computer and language classes before they were approached by the center’s volunteers and the coordinator about becoming more involved. The girls were then invited to take part in mini-sessions and Y-PEER training. After attending seminars on healthy living — learning about reproductive health and rights and leadership skills — the sisters have become confident habitués of the center, making friends and conducting peer-to-peer education themselves.
The Y-PEER Youth Center in Ashgabat, which welcomes dozens of teenagers daily, is part of UNFPA’s Girls’ Empowerment program in Turkmenistan, focused on educating girls 14 to 18 years old about their human rights, reproductive rights and how to access these rights. The center also teaches them other life skills and good health practices, such as the perils of smoking and poor nutrition, and about gender inequality issues. The goal is to help the girls make positive choices during a time when they are influenced heavily by peer pressure.
In rural areas, where few adolescent-friendly services exist, Y-PEER enables adolescents to meet and overcome the challenges of growing up. UNFPA helps the Y-PEER Youth Centers in the capital and Mary city raise awareness about the issues affecting girls in rural Turkmenistan and enlighten the larger community of these matters through programs and advocacy.
“There is a sharp difference between the shy girl who first walked into our youth center to one of the most active Y-PEER volunteers today,” Maya Meretkuliyeva, the coordinator, said of Gulshat. “It is such a pleasure to see how much Gulshat has grown and matured as an individual and as a future leader. It is clear that it took courage and much effort for her to come this far, and she does not take the offered resources for granted. She didn’t miss a single class and seized all the opportunities offered by the Y-PEER youth center. ”
Gulshat has also become an active Y-Peer volunteer in Archman, helping other teenage girls to increase their knowledge on reproductive health and healthy living, including learning about preventing HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and teenage pregnancy.
