Prime Minister: Gender inequality is unacceptable in present-day  Armenia

ArmInfo. Gender inequality is unacceptable in present-day Armenia. The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan stated this at a government  meeting on February 27, referring to the rating of the gender  equality index "Gender Gap Index 2020" of the World Economic Forum.

According to the Prime Minister, Armenia  is ranked among the lowest  in the world., and it is necessary to take concrete actions to  improve the image of the state not only in the gender gap index, but  also in the Global Competitiveness Index.

In the latest index, the prime minister recalled, the country  improved its position by only one point. Nikol Pashinyan pointed to  the current practice of abortion by gender on the basis of the  country, considering this phenomenon unacceptable.

He also noted that most of the country's citizens are women, and  their involvement in the socio-political, state and economic life of  the country should be one of the priorities of the state. The Prime  Minister reported on the existence of a secret document prepared  several years ago by the National Security Service that the problem  of women in Armenia rests on their perception, which, according to  the NSS, is a national security issue. "I hope that the time will  come when the document will be declassified, and you can all get  acquainted with it," said the head of government, urging the Minister  of Healthcare Arsen Torosyan and the Minister of Labor and Social  Affairs Zaruhi Batoyan to pay serious attention to this issue.

In turn, Zaruhi Batoyan announced the completion of work on a  national program of action for women, which both ministers will have  to approve with their signatures.

In response, Arsen Torosyan emphasized that the issue of gender  equality is a problem that cannot be resolved by legal acts. For  this, the minister continued, it is necessary to change the culture  of relations, and it will take years to solve this problem.

To recall, Armenia ranked 98th among 154 countries of the world in  the ranking on the basis of gender equality "Gender Gap Index 2020"  of the World Economic Forum. In a previous study for 2018, Armenia  was in the same position. The index measures the level of gender gap  that exists in different countries between women and men in 14  different variables in four key areas: economic participation and  career opportunities, education, healthcare and survival, as well as  political rights and opportunities. Among the countries of the former  Soviet Union, Moldova (23rd), Belarus (29), Ukraine (59) Kazakhstan  (72), Georgia (74), Russia (81), Kyrgyzstan (93), Azerbaijan (94) are  ahead of Armenia. Moreover, the only country that Armenia left behind  is Tajikistan (137th place). Iceland became the leader in the Global  Index, followed by Norway and Finland. Outsiders are Yemen, Iraq and  Pakistan. The authors of the report note that it will take 105 years  to bridge the global gender gap in the world.

The Global Gender Gap Index is a global study of the World Economic  Forum and the accompanying ranking of countries around the world in  terms of gender equality. The gender gap is the difference between  women and men, which is reflected in social, political, intellectual,  cultural or economic achievements or approaches.