The 8th European Union – Tajikistan's Civil Society Seminar on "Practical Implementation of the Gender Equality Principles in Tajikistan" is taking place in Dushanbe.
According to the European Union Delegation to Tajikistan, more than 70 representatives from Tajik civil society and the government, as well as gender experts from the EU and Central Asia gathered at the seminar to look into the current challenges and problems women and young girls are facing in Tajikistan.
Many topical issues will be addressed during this two-day seminar, from the difficulties women experience in accessing decent work and economic opportunities, to the fight and prevention of gender-based violence, as well as political and social rights of women and other issues.
The main aim of the seminar is to empower Tajik NGOs working daily with gender-related issues, to share information and create contacts among themselves, as well as to facilitate their dialogue with government officials.
The Head of the EU Delegation Hidajet Biščević underlines the utmost role non-governmental organizations play in addressing many problems, in particular those related to the promotion of gender equality. “Civil society is a good and reliable partner of the state and its involvement is particularly important in such a vital issue as women's rights that directly affect the entire Tajik society. Gender equality is at the core of European values and the European Union pays a particular attention to this issue. Therefore the European Union highly welcomes all the measures already taken by the Tajik state to enhance the protection of women's rights and empowerment of women. I am confident that this Civil Society seminar will provide a new opportunity for fruitful discussion between the Tajikistan civil society representatives and government officials on gender related issues," notes H. Biščević.
The civil society seminar is a part of the annual Human Rights Dialogue organized between the European Union and the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan to discuss wide range of issues in the field of human rights. One of the key aims of the seminar is the formulation of the common recommendations by the civil society, which later will be studied by the EU and presented to the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan.
