DUSHANBE, January 19, Asia-Plus – Ms. Mehrinisso Nosirova, chairperson of the Committee for Family and Women’s Affairs, told journalists in Dushanbe on January 18 that 612 women are now in leading positions in the Tajik government bodies of different levels.
According to her, many women head various educational and medical facilities as well as public associations.
She added that 11,680 women-administrators in the Khatlon province alone.
Ms. Nosirova noted that implementation of a national program for training and selection of leading personnel from among women would start this year. The program is designed for 2007-2016, according her.
“Some 700,000 somonis have been provided for this program,“ Ms. Nosirova said, noting that 100,000 somonis of this amount are earmarked for holding events in 2008.
She said that woman now constitute 49.8 percent of Tajikistan’s population.
In the meantime, some local experts say that despite the fact that the government has taken a number of steps to increase the political participation of women, they are still significantly underrepresented. This is largely due to the traditional, social, and cultural norms that preferentially situate women in the home.
