Women's participation in politics is much more effective than political and socio-economic programs for women

On February 26, 2021, an online expert meeting "The Role of Women in Political Processes in Central Asia" was held. The event was organized by Kazakh and Russian organizations: the Department of Regional Studies of the Eurasian National University named after L.N. Gumilyov (Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan), Scientific and Educational Center for Cooperation with the CIS and Baltic States, Saratov State University named after N.G. Chernyshevsky, Information and Analytical Center "Eurasia-Volga Region" (Saratov, Russia).

The meeting was attended by representatives of 7 countries of the world: Nur-Sultan, Uralsk (Kazakhstan), Rajasthan (India), Islamabad (Pakistan), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Saratov, St. Petersburg (Russia), Xian (China).

Welcoming remarks were made by the Director of the Eurasia-Volga Region Information and Analytical Center (Saratov, Russia) Marina Lapenko and Vice-Rector for International Relations of the Eurasian National University. L.N. Gumilyova, Vice-President of the Kazakh-Indian Business Council (Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan) Zholdasbekova Akbota. M. Lapenko noted that "each expert of the meeting is unique in its contribution to the development of civil society, political situation and stability in Central Asia and the Middle East." A. Zholdasbekova emphasized "the volatility of modern society and the need to discuss and resolve many issues related to the role of women in political processes."

Head of the Department of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan, Eurasian National University named after L.N. Gumilyova, Chairperson of the Republican Public Association "Association of Chairs of the Assembly of the People of Kazakhstan" Shagyrak "(Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan) Natalia Kalashnikova spoke about the role of women in the integration of Eurasian processes and the strengthening of national unity. In Kazakhstan, in her opinion, women are assigned a special role in strengthening social harmony and unity, through such institutions as the Council of Mothers, projects "Memory for the Future" and others. “Gender differences in political processes are an artificial form,” N. Kalashnikova noted.

Director of the Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, member of the Advisory Council under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Chairman of the Association of Graduates of Russian (Soviet) Universities in Uzbekistan (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) Sayora Khodjaeva emphasized that women in politics in the East are a rare phenomenon. One of the main problems is the low legal literacy of women. The speaker noted that from 2004 to 2019. In Uzbekistan, the number of elected women deputies has increased, with the development of civil society, about 600 women's non-governmental organizations have been formed, which are engaged in the protection of women's rights and their professional training. The Institute for Democracy and Human Rights has developed and published a special manual for women in Uzbekistan participating in the electoral process, as well as those women who are entering public office. As part of the Institute's activities, a large number of women were trained, who then began to work in various government bodies, including the Parliament of the Republic of Uzbekistan. In the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the political activity of women is reflected in more than a hundred legislative acts. However, discrimination against women still takes place, and therefore work in this direction should be continued.

The analysis of the role of women was continued in her speech by Saodat Tursunbaeva, the founder of the International Women's Public Fund "Sharq Ayeli" - "Woman of the East", Chairperson of the Standing Commission on Work with NGOs and other civil society institutions in the Tashkent region (Tashkent, Uzbekistan). The Sharq Ayeli Foundation has vast experience in the development of the women's movement in Uzbekistan, and at this stage is actively involved in the development of women's entrepreneurship. In her speech, S. Tursunbaeva emphasized the relevance of the development of international integration of women's organizations. The speaker also shared her plans to create a permanent platform for Women and the Digital Economy.

The peculiarities of women's participation in the electoral process at the regional level and the problem of combining the traditional functions of a woman and her professional activity were analyzed in their speeches by the deputy head of "Kogamdyukelisim" of the internal policy department of the akim's office of the West Kazakhstan region, deputy of the city maslikhat (Uralsk, Kazakhstan) Aigul Turkina and Associate Professor of the Department of World History and Socio-Political Disciplines of the West Kazakhstan University named after M. Utemisova (Uralsk, Kazakhstan) Karmanay Nauanova.

A comparative analysis of the situation of women in Kyrgyzstan and China was carried out in their speeches by the adviser to the Minister of Economy of the Kyrgyz Republic (Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan) Nurgul Akimova and lecturer of the Cultural Academy under the program "One Belt, One Road" at the Shaanxi Pedagogical University (Xi'an, China) Li Xinwei ... The speakers agreed that the philosophy of peoples and customs play a key role in positioning women in the economic and political agenda.

A set of issues related to the status of women in the Middle East and South Asia and their participation in the political development of the regions were considered by speakers from Pakistan, India and Iran.

Hina Habib, a researcher at the Institute of the Eurasian Century (Islamabad, Pakistan), focused on the problem of gender inequality and the need to empower women, open politics for all women. The speaker noted the need to support women, the inclusion of women in negotiation processes, which contribute to the development of international cooperation. For the prosperity of all spheres of state life, dialogue and the active involvement of women are necessary.

Susan Thomas, the current politician and researcher at the Institute of the Eurasian Century (Islamabad, Pakistan), noted the dominance of men in leading positions in the political sphere in Pakistan, and the need for equality in the participation of women and men in the electoral process.

Political scientist, employee of Maharishi University Dayananda Saraswati in Ajmer (Rajasthan, India) Garima Gaur spoke about economic cooperation between India and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, as well as gender inequality in economic terms. G. Gaur shared statistics that show the unequal distribution of finances when paying salaries to employees in India.

It was extremely interesting to speak about the position of women and the existence of gender clichés in traditional society and the modern development of the state by Allame Tabatabai University teacher Rose Fazli (Tehran, Iran).

In general, the results of the conference showed a high level of interest of women in the political, economic and other spheres of society, the positive experience of the countries of Central Asia, as well as of the whole world, was emphasized, and urgent problems of increasing the political literacy of the female population, the formation of an active civil society positions of women. The participants in the expert meeting agreed that women should be not only the object of politics, an important element of the electorate and the addressee of targeted government programs, but also active and influential participants in the political process and government.

The expert meeting showed that representatives of the academic community and NGOs have up-to-date analytics on the analysis of women's participation in political processes, as well as a serious methodological basis for increasing the political literacy of women. Therefore, as an option for further solving the identified problems, it was proposed to combine the efforts of women's organizations in Central Asia and the Middle East to create a united expert platform and scale the activities of organizations in the academic and information spheres, as well as in civil society.