Girls and women

There were 10 candidates in the recently concluded presidential elections in Azerbaijan, where I and other Filipino journalists joined active and retired parliamentarians and government officials from around the world as election observers.

Even before the polls began, a niggling problem had already presented itself. Despite the fairly large number of candidates, including incumbent President Ilham Aliyev (who eventually won almost 80 percent of the votes) and representatives from parties like the main opposition group National Council of the Democratic Forces, the Social Democratic Party of Azerbaijan and even a “self-nominated” candidate, there was one glaring lack. There was no woman candidate.

A woman had once run for president about a decade ago, we were told and, yes, about 10 percent of the Parliament is composed of women. Still, the absence of a woman from the roster of candidates speaks volumes about the distance still to be gained before gender equality becomes a reality in Azerbaijan.

That seems still a long way to go. The Social Democratic candidate, Araz Alizade, asked about the role of women in Azeri society, said his party believed in “revering and respecting the role of the elderly and of mothers.” Not much comfort for a feminist, I’m afraid.

But as if to counter the perception of sexism, Alizade recalled an old saying: “The man is the head (of the family) but the woman is the neck that turns the head.” We had a good laugh at that, but sobered up when next he said that his party believes in lifting the status of women, to “support and sustain” them because “mothers bring up the children.” Uh-oh.

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Still, on election day itself, I did see proof of the pivotal role that women play in Azeri society, not just as mothers and nurturers, but also as active citizens.

As in the Philippines, women are the backbone of the electoral system, serving as chairs and staff of election committees, and even dominating the ranks of election observers.

At public high school No. 15, we saw an all-woman board of elections running the process of voting, checking the registration of voters, ensuring that all ballots were dropped into the see-through plastic bins, and then conducting the counting and tabulation of votes at the end of the day. The lone party representative who, it seems, braved the long day, was a woman, also a teacher like the other women in the election board. Toward evening, she was joined by other election watchers, both of them women, too.

The only time I saw a man in the premises was when a representative from the central office of the elections commission arrived to collect the tabulation forms. Oh yes, plus a technician who rapped on the door to tell the election board members that one of the closed-circuit cameras had conked out and asked them to move closer to the other camera.

By the time the counting ended at past 8 p.m., it seemed as if we—the foreign observers— and the women running the precinct, had become old friends, having shared a long afternoon filled with anticipation and suspense. But the women of the election board managed to keep their composure and even sense of humor. At one point, they even managed to scare up the resources to serve coffee and biscuits.

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I don’t know what lies in store for the women of Azerbaijan. Rising prosperity, mainly from oil and natural gas, has begun to “lift all boats,” but I wonder if economic security will also result in gender equity. Will material comfort begin to erase the gender-based differences born of centuries of culture and indoctrination?

Even in the world’s most prosperous societies, girls and women find themselves still at the short end of the stick, victims of violence, exploited for their labor and sexuality, and deprived of education, opportunities, freedom and agency.

One thing I do know, for the status of women in Azerbaijan to rise, they must begin to work with girls, to educate them, to keep them healthy, to encourage their dreams and aspirations.

Currently circulating on the Internet is the “Girl Declaration” crafted by a global coalition of young women to gain support for girl empowerment and change. No less than UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon supports the declaration, saying “I have heard from girls around the world participating in the consultation for the new Girl Declaration, and in 2015 we must address the concerns and potential of the world’s girls.”

“Some 250 million girls are talking,” say the organizers, “and Ban Ki-moon is listening.”

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For those interested in lending their voices and efforts for the upliftment of the world’s girls, here is the “The Girl Declaration” and if you agree with the words in it, you can share your “like” through social media. Here’s hoping our “likes” reach the right authorities!

“The Girl Declaration”

I was not put on this Earth to be invisible.

I was not born to be denied.

I was not given life only to belong to someone else.

I belong to me.

I have a voice and I will use it.

I have dreams unforgettable.

I have a name and it is not anonymous or insignificant

Or unworthy or waiting any more to be called.

Someday, they will say this was the moment when the world

Woke up to my potential.

This is the moment I was allowed to be astonishing.

This the moment when my rising no longer scares you.

This is the moment when being a girl became my strength,

My sanctuary, not my pain.

This is the moment when the world sees that I am held back by

Every problem and I am key to all solutions.

This is the moment when a girl and girl and girl and

250 million other girls say with voices loud that this is our moment.

This is MY moment.

Yes, this is the Moment.