During the previous 20 years, a significant increase in the representation of women in the Parliament of the Republic of Armenia was recorded due to the quota system implemented in the Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia. Before that, in 1999, the representation of women deputies in the National Assembly was only 3.1%. As a result of the continued increase in quotas, after the 2021 snap parliamentary elections, women’s representation reached 34%.

This analysis on the promotion of equal representation of women in other spheres of political and public life is included in the report published by the Eurasia Cooperation Foundation, which addresses the implementation of the concluding observations of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to Armenia. Within the framework of the report, the final observations of the Committee on Armenia in 1997, 2002, 2009 and 2016 were studied, the periodic reports submitted by the RA government to the Committee and the relevant RA legislation were analyzed.

The report refers to recommendations on a number of areas and relevant developments in the country. We have singled out only the issues of promotion of equal representation of women and violence against women.

Promotion of women’s representation in political and public life

Since 1997, the Committee has given Armenia a recommendation regarding the promotion of equal representation of women in other spheres of political and public life. This recommendation has been partially fulfilled. The report states that the RA authorities mainly limited the fulfillment of the requirements of the recommendation by establishing gender quotas in certain spheres of political and public life. The influence of these quotas is especially visible in the RA National Assembly.

In 2011, the Electoral Code already required at least 20% representation of each gender in the proportional lists of political forces participating in the elections. And yet, due to the existing majoritarian electoral system, the representation of women in the parliament formed in 2012 was only 10.7%. This was also due to the fact that the elected women submitted resignation applications and their mandate went to the next number on the list, which was a man. After these elections, women’s rights advocates insisted that the mandate of a woman candidate who withdraws should go to the next woman candidate on the list. This proposal was further strengthened by the Electoral Code.

Then the minimum percentage of representation of one of the sexes was also raised, first to 25, then to 30%. However, the quota became really effective only when the transition to 100% proportional electoral system was made and the territorial or so-called ranking lists were abolished. Currently, 34% of women deputies are in the parliament, which is actually more than the law requires. This indicates the increasing role of women in political parties. The proof of this is also the fact that under the conditions of the 25% quota requirement, the representation of women in the pre-election lists submitted by many parties already exceeded 30%.

The author of the report, Varser Karapetyan, emphasizes the fact that the mere definition of the gender quota is still not enough to ensure the effective participation of women in other spheres of political and social life. For its effective implementation, simultaneous fulfillment of all the requirements of the instructions is necessary.

The report also referred to the Committee’s recommendations on protecting women from violence and preventing domestic violence, which were also partially implemented. In 2017, a law on domestic violence was adopted. “According to our assessment, the adoption of the law is a step forward. “Regardless of under-regulation, the adoption of the law has an important symbolic character, it is also important in terms of changes in public discourse and legal culture,” the report states.

The published report also refers to the implementation of the Committee’s recommendations regarding the fight against stereotypes, trafficking and exploitation of prostitution, the creation of a national mechanism for the advancement of women, and the protection of women’s socio-economic rights.

Arman Gharibyan

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