Gender Equality
Started in 2000 "Rural Women's Leadership Project" aimed at providing to women in 20 the most vulnerable communities in the border regions of Armenia necessary knowledge and skills to start up their new market oriented agricultural projects. Developed and implemented in partnership with Rutgers University in New Jersey 20 women have started their small family agri businesses. In 9 years the project expanded involving more than 600 and covering more than 50 villages.
Strengthening Capacities of Rural Women
Due to social stigma and numerous stereotypes existing in Armenia rural women face many obstacles and challenges when trying to get involved in political life, advance in career, work and education. The project “Strengthening Capacities of Rural Women”, supported by Kvinna till Kvinna foundation aims at addressing the complex discriminations that women encounter, particularly in rural areas where patriarchal attitudes and gender stereotypes are more than evident. Originally launched in 2003 as a small local initiative on women empowerment, the project included 10 women from
Nalbandian village of Armenia.
It is due to their engagement that this small group of women has managed to overcome numerous difficulties associated with the role of women in the community life, became more open-minded and more educated on their rights. Now they themselves have a direct participation in the management of the project. As bright examples of women leaders, they now work to support new generations of women in their community by sharing their experience by conducting leadership skills trainings and creating local women’s coalitions.
Promoting women’s rights
The main aim of the project is: - to increase women’s engagement in civil society; - to increase efforts for the protection of women’s rights with a particular focus on the North Caucasus and Armenia. Launched in 2014 the project “Promoting Women’s rights” aims at overcoming social exclusion of women in the Caucasus, by empowering women to feel themselves as equal members of their society. As a part of the project, a school on human rights was organized by Democracy Today NGO for the women from North Caucasus and Armenia.
With the venue in Yerevan, the school included a series of meetings with local human rights activists, sharing experience
and round table discussions on women rights issues. Various training sessions on IT security, blogging, online activism and journalistic freedom, which, as it is known, are particularly problematic issues in the North Caucasus, are normally conducted. The project became possible with the support of National Endowment of Democracy.
