On 24 October 2012 the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) made public the unedited version of the concluding observations on the country report of Turkmenistan. The concluding remarks of the UN Committee address serious shortcomings in implementation of both domestic and international standards for women’s rights, says Secretary General Bjørn Engesland, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. Turkmen authorities should take action on these concrete recommendations. 

Women lack legal protection

The committee is concerned with fundamental misperceptions reflected in the report, such that the definition of discrimination against women in the Turkmen constitution makes reference only to civil rights and is therefore not in line with international standards. Another main concern is the lack of targeted legislation that deals with violence against women, in particular domestic and sexual violence, and the lack of effective measures to inform the population about the state’s obligations in the sphere of women’s rights.

CEDAW is concerned with the lack of statistical data available to the public, and where such data is available, the lack of gender aggregated data. This complicates verification of any reported progress in the country, including in reproductive health and the reported national HIV program, as well as reports of overcrowding and unsatisfactory conditions in the Dashoguz Women’s prison.    

Official delegation fails to respond adequately

As noted by the CEDAW, civil society in Turkmenistan faces strict requirements by the government, and the delegation was pressured on this during the hearing. After first listing the Turkmenistan Women’s Union as an NGO that participated in the preparation of the report, the delegation failed to respond adequately to the committee’s question as to why the chairperson of this union then was present in Geneva as a member of the official delegation.    

Activists inside the country have despite the difficulties been able to pass on information to international colleagues, and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee was present in Geneva together with colleagues from COC Netherlands and Central Asian Gender and Sexuality Advocacy Network (CAGSAN) during the hearing. The activists were pleased to be able to submit detailed information to the concrete questions from the CEDAW committee members during the session, and took note of the Turkmen delegation’s repeated failure to present concrete examples of implementation of their newly acquired legislation when asked to do so.

“Despite the restrictions created by the Turkmen government, the committee was able to draw upon recommendations and information also from alternative sources in their sound concluding remarks, and we are pleased that we could contribute to this”, Engesland concludes.  

Fighting stereotypes

While noting the reassurances of the State party’s delegation, expressed during the dialogue, that there is no legal or administrative provision or State policy in the State party imposing a dress code on women, and that no woman or girl has been expelled from work or educational institution for failure to wear the national dress, shawl or skull-cap takhya, the Committee continues to be seriously concerned about attitudes and policies reinforcing discriminatory traditional norms, harmful practices  and patriarchal attitudes and deep-rooted stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in all spheres of life.

The Committee is further concerned at the State party’s limited efforts to tackle such discriminatory practices. The Committee is concerned that such customs and practices perpetuate discrimination against women and girls and that they are reflected in women’s disadvantaged and unequal status in many areas, including education, public life and decision-making, and in the persistence of violence against women, and that, to date, the State party has not taken sustained measures to modify or eliminate stereotypes and negative traditional values and practices.

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You can read about the 53rd session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women here.

You can read the alternative report by the NHC here.

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