Policy Attitudes towards Women in Azerbaijan: Is Equality Part of the Agenda?

Abstract

Since independence, the government of Azerbaijan has been struggling to formulate its policy approach to the so-called “women’s question.” This issue should have been reconsidered in the light of the social transformations during the transition to a market economy that resulted in the increasing disempowerment of women and the provision of fewer opportunities to them. The global feminist agenda that was gaining greater prominence in international institutions was thus lagging behind in Azerbaijan. The “women’s question” in Azerbaijan continues to be challenging since the dominant national discourse primarily regards women as mothers and guardians of national traditions. However, the international agenda advocates for the broader active participation of women in public life. This paper presents a brief account of how these two approaches coexist in the policy attitudes towards women in Azerbaijan