Press Release

A round table was held within the framework of the project "Improving access of women and girls with disabilities to public services in Baku, Ganja cities and Guba-Khachmaz region" (2022-2025).
A round table discussion took place at the Social Research Center on eve of the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” campaign. The round table was put together by the Social Research Center and the “Disabled Women's Society” Public Union.
The round table was organized with the support of the project “Improving access of women and girls with disabilities to public services in Baku, Ganja cities and Guba-Khachmaz region” funded by the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and managed by the “Disabled Women's Society” Public Union to end violence against women.
Mahluga Garamanli, the chairwoman of the "Disabled Women's Society" Public Union, give a speech at the event. She informed general information about the project. She said that a series of events related to the "16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence" campaign was held in the country from November 25 to December 10, and the organized round table was a part of them. M. Garamanli brought up the issue of ending psychological and emotional abuse of women and girls with disabilities in public places and making sure they can get to public services. She said that this is why the Coordination Council was made up of employees who work for state institutions. She reported the project activities carried out within the framework of the project during the last six months.
Elshad Mirbashir Oglu, who is the vice chairman of the Board of the Center for Social Research, then spoke. He talked about the progress made in the social field, the attitude towards girls and women with disabilities, and the work that needs to be done in the future.
A council member of the Agency of State Support to NGOs, Israil Iskenderov, talked about the importance of projects and work that needs to be done in this area. Irada Rizazadeh, a trainer for seminars held for girls and women with disabilities with the support of the project, drew attention to the essence of the seminars held for women with disabilities. She spoke about the situation in the regions. She emphasized the importance of the work that local communities do and can do.
The presentations of Deputy Director of Azerbaijan's State Medical-Social Expertise and Rehabilitation Agency Narmin Osmanli, Chief Specialist of State Employment Agency Ismayil Karimov, and Chairman of the International Eurasia Foundation Umid Mirzayev's speech were listened to with interest by the participants.
Afgan Valiyev, Sector Manager of SRC, emphasized the importance of giving priority to research in this field. Gunel Ibrahim, a project staff, and Rima Mammadova, monitoring and evaluation coordinator, also spoke. The results of the survey conducted among women with disabilities and their family members have been made public.
Later, Elnara Darziyeva, the head of the press service of the project and the founder of the “Nurlu Sabah Youth Care” Public Association, presented a report on the work that had been done and talked about the problems that did exist. She said that young people with disabilities in the regions are subjected to domestic violence, and they encounter artificial obstacles from the municipalities in terms of providing employment. “Young people, especially those from vulnerable groups, should always be cared for, and conditions should be created in the regions for their development. Unfortunately, though, sometimes we see the opposite. We have these issues even though we live in the 21st century. I think that the “Disabled Women's Society” project is very important. I would like to express my gratitude to the employees of the state institutions who accepted our invitation and participated in the round table, and to the members of the Coordination Council who have been with us during this year,” added E. Darziyeva, the founder of the Public Association “Nurlu Sabah Youth Care.”
There were questionable discussions around the speeches. Teachers and students from the State University of Culture and Arts and the Social Work Faculty of Azerbaijan University took an active role in the talks.
More than 15 media representatives participated in the round table organized on the eve of the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence” campaign.
It should be noted that the implementation of the project “Improving access of women and girls with disabilities to public services in Baku, Ganja cities and Guba-Khachmaz region" will be implemented for a period of 3 years.