Azerbaijani Women’s Participation Exceeds Expectations
Increased efforts to ensure women’s engagement in community activities are credited with the recent turnout for Community Development Council (CDC) elections in the Davudoba community, Guba district, in northern Azerbaijan. More than 130 women attended the town hall meeting where, for the first time in a CDC election, six women were elected to represent their community.
Citizens in Davudoba were well-informed about the of the USAID-funded Community Development Activity (CDA) Program in the neighboring communities of Zardabi and Hajihuseynli. Recognition of the Program’s success motivated Davudoba to begin the process to join the Program in 2006. Their wish became a reality in April 2007.
A week before the recent town hall meeting, CDA staff initiated a community survey in Davudoba related to upcoming election of CDC members. To their surprise, women were displaying more interest—and had been gathering to listen with enthusiasm to CDA staff discuss program goals. When asked to identify the most active women of the village, Tamara Malikova spoke up. “We are all active. If women do not come together, nothing will be accomplished. There are lots of problems in Davudoba that require women's well-measured steps to solve them. This is one of the reasons why I want to become a CDC member.”
On Election Day, the first thing that anyone observed was that the majority of those gathered in the meeting hall were women. Citizens began voicing names of nominees for CDC, which led to the creation of candidate list. Once the list was complete, each citizen cast their ballots. Once voting ended, those gathered waited impatiently for the results.
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| Azerbaijani women select community members to represent their communities |
Of the nine candidates elected, six were women. The women were very happy; the men were surprised. An elderly male citizen remarked, “Yes, the matriarchy period starts—in a good sense. Wait and see what kind of miracles our women will perform. I believe in their future.”
As the newly-elected CDC began to work, it encountered challenges in prioritizing projects. Malikova’s advice helped to move the process forward, “People must keep their promises. I promised that if I were elected to CDC, I would work for the prosperity of our village. And now, the proof of this promise is action.”
Katira Dashdamirova, another CDC member, was assigned to do priority survey. “It was difficult for me to conduct interviews during the first days. But my heart filled with joy every time I explained the essence of the process to neighbors, relatives, and local citizens. Surprisingly, all citizens were joining the interviews and everyone was talking about their contributions. Some claimed that they were ready to give cash contributions. Our first project has been selected—and I am confident that the community will contribute.”
The male CDC members are appreciative of the women's activity, claiming that they are the eyes and hearts of their groups. “It has been two months since we joined this process and with the help of [the women] we made good progress.”
The CDA Program is implemented by CHF International and UMID.
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