Deputy Minister Participates in Discussion on Women Empowerment in UAE

The Deputy Minister of Justice, Kristinne Grigoryan, participated remotely today in a discussion titled "Women Empowerment in the United Arab Emirates" where she presented the progress and existing challenges in the field of gender equality and human rights following the Velvet Revolution in Armenia in 2018.

The Ministry of Justice's Information and Public Relations Department reported that the discussion addressed Armenia's significant achievements in enacting legislation against violence towards women and the government's policy aimed at empowering women at both national and international levels.

In this context, Kristinne Grigoryan emphasized Armenia's membership in the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women since 2018, as well as the government's approved strategies for human rights protection and the prevention of trafficking and identification of trafficking victims.

Regarding women's involvement in politics, Deputy Minister Grigoryan provided statistics on women's representation in parliament, noting that Armenian legislation mandates a 25% quota for women in parliament. However, in the parliamentary elections in December 2018, women's participation exceeded this legislative quota, constituting 32%; currently, women represent 24% of the National Assembly of Armenia.

"The executive power is also making steady progress in this regard: although only 1 out of 12 ministers is a woman, since 2018 we have had 11 female deputy ministers," said the Deputy Minister, who also informed about the political decision for more active involvement of women in the context of police reforms.

Kristinne Grigoryan then discussed the challenges women faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, the actions taken by the government to overcome these challenges, and the proposed future initiatives.