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| Armenia | |
 Flag of Armenia | |
| Population (in Mil.) | 3 |
 Sex Ratio (m/f)
| 0,89 |
 Life Expectancy Ratio (f/m)
| 1.09 |
 Fertility Rate
| 1.74 |
 Income Ratio (f/m)
| 0.57 |
 Literacy Ratio (f/m)
| 0,99 |
 Tertiary Enrolment Ratio (f/m)
| 1,21 |
 Women in Parliament (in %)
| 5,3 |
| SIGI Rank | 32 |
| More information on variables | |
| Did you know that Armenia ranks number 32 of 102 countries on the OECD Social Institutions and Gender Index? To learn more, see the official country note "Gender Equality and Social Institutions in Armenia" at genderindex.org: | |
Contents |
Social Institutions
According to article 14.1 of the constitution of the Republic of Armenia, “Everyone shall be equal before the law. Any discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or other personal or social circumstances shall be prohibited.” According to article 35, “The family is the natural and fundamental cell of the society. Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry and found a family according to their free will. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and divorce.” Armenia does not, however, have any laws that specifically prohibit discrimination against women (Filling the GAPS, 2008). Inequalities between men and women are demonstrated in low political participation of women and low participation of women relative to men in socio-economic life including employment in the labor market. There are also discriminatory stereotypes and attitudes towards women in Armenian culture (Vidal, 2008).
Family Code
Armenians are monogamous and share equal rights in both marriage and divorce (Family, 2005). However, according to a study conducted by OSCE in 2007, many women admitted that they were unaware of their rights and were without access to information (OSCE, 2007). According to the The Law of the Republic of Armenia's Family Code, marriage must be mutually consensual and the pair must be of marital age; 17 for women, 18 for men. Typically, the average marriage age for women is 24.1 in urban communities and 22.4 in rural communities. The average marriage age for men is 27.8 in urban communities and 27.1 in rural communities (Women, 2007). In some cases, however, marriages are still arranged by the parents (Armenia, 2008). Divorce can be legally achieved by either mutual consent or by a strong case presented by one of the spouses (Family, 2005). Divorce is still very uncommon in Armenia and thus the divorce rate is reported to be less than nine percent (Women, 2007).
By law, men and women share equal family and property rights (Family, 2005). However, women have reported that in reality the father, the brother or the husband typically maintains the property legally owned by the wife (OSCE, 2007).
The mother is primarily responsible for child rearing (Armenia, 2008). Historically, the bride and groom have resided with the grooms' family and the grandmother or mother-in-law has acted as the head of the household (Armenia, 2008). Today, this tradition is still practiced but many new couples that have adequate resources separate to start their own family unit.
Statistically, (in more than 68 percent of reported cases) men have been reported as the primary heads of household (Women, 2007). Traditionally, household labor has been managed and divided according to gender and generational status. The eldest woman acts as the head of the household, managing finances, rearing children and overseeing household chores (Armenia, 2008). Being the youngest female in the family unit, the new bride (hars) is expected to serve the entire family unit from food preparation to laundry.
Physical Integrity
Trafficking
There have been positive developments in trafficking human beings since 2002, when the Armenian Government established an advisory council. The legislative framework criminalizing trafficking improved, law enforcement agencies and other professionals began identifying victims of trafficking and the number of victims assisted by NGO shelters in Armenia increased significantly. Generally, the country’s capacity of anti-trafficking has increased (Snajdrova & Hancilova, 2007).
According to a trafficking assessment done by OSCE in 2007, the break-up of the Soviet Union brought many positive changes for Armenia, but it also had strong negative consequences. The decrease in economic well-being and access to housing and employment led to high rates of emigration. The economic hardship, the need to look for work abroad and the continuing gender inequality in Armenia was quoted by respondents as the main causes of trafficking from Armenia (Snajdrova & Hancilova, 2007).
Information about trafficking of human beings in, from and through Armenia is unreliable. Knowledge about the profile of trafficked persons is generally based on information gathered from victims who have returned home, have been identified and assisted. The information available is not systematically collected and analyzed. The majority of these people are women who were trafficked for sexual exploitation (Snajdrova & Hancilova, 2007).
In almost all available documents on trafficking in Armenia, including the US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report 2006, Armenia is considered to be mainly a country of origin (Snajdrova & Hancilova, 2007). Armenia is a source country and, to a lesser extent, a transit country for women and girls trafficked to the United Arab Emirates and Turkey for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. In addition, Armenian men and women are trafficked to Russia for the purpose of forced labor (Armenia, 2008). There appear to be two main trafficking routes (1) through land to Georgia (Batumi) and then to Turkey or (2) either directly or through Moscow to the United Arab Emirates (Snajdrova & Hancilova, 2007).
The most well known cases of trafficking were those for sexual exploitation. Trafficking is often understood in Armenia not as a condition similar to slavery but confused with prostitution. Law-enforcement units sometimes regard cases of pimping and engagement in prostitution as “trafficking” and vice versa. There is a widespread view that a woman who consented to work as a prostitute cannot be a victim of trafficking, that she is simply a prostitute who “should have known better” (Snajdrova & Hancilova, 2007).
Unfortunately, it is the socially vulnerable women who become victim to human trafficking. Fortunately, the law enforcement bodies in Armenia have taken steps to identify this type of crime and are making an effort to improve the quality of their investigation. There needs to be increased cooperation among necessary authorities including migration, refugee movement, adoption, tourism, protection of state borders and customs aimed at the prevention and solving of these crimes (Harutyunyan, 2006).
Abortion
According to official statistics, in Armenia induced abortions account for between 10 and 20 percent of maternal deaths. In an effort to reduce the number of induced abortions, the Ministry of Health, with assistance from UNFPA, implemented the Armenian National Family Planning Program in 1997 (Abrahamyan & Avagyan, 2000).
There is no major difference between the prevalence of induced abortions and urban-rural residence. There is, however, a correlation between level of education and induced abortion with both the least and most educated women less likely to resort to induced abortion than other women. The total abortion rate in Armenia is significantly higher than other Eurasian countries (Abrahamyan & Avagyan, 2000).
Access and use of more reliable methods would reduce the incidence of induced abortion, thereby improving the reproductive health of the women in Armenia (Abrahamyan & Avagyan, 2000).
According to the CIA World Factbook, the total population life expectancy at birth is 72.4 years; female is 76.55 years and male is 72.4 years. The Infant mortality rate is 20.94 deaths/1,000 live births with 25.82 deaths for males and 15.33 deaths for females. The total fertility rate is 1.53 children born/woman (CIA World Factbook, 2008).
Civil Liberties
Although some steps have been taken and the Republic of Armenia has ratified a series of international conventions, the participation of women in decision-making processes is very low. In contrast to the decision-making process in political life, the involvement of women in the activities of non-governmental organizations provides effective supervision of women's and men's opportunities to equally benefit from economic, social and cultural rights (Harutyunyan, 2006).
Women's domestic burdens continue to increase. There is a need for support to be provided within the community, principally in the form of increased family care: the 'care economy' of domestic tasks that are typically undertaken by women. While these tasks are not monetized and therefore do not appear in national accounts and national development plans, they contribute value to the national economy by creating or supporting the productivity of the current and future workforce (Vidal, 2008).
Ownership Rights
Armenian law supports the principle of financial independence for women. Under the law, women and men have the same access to land. In practice, the percentage of female property owners is low because women who work tend to earn much less than men, and many women are not employed at all. The government of Armenia privatised land in 1991/92 by splitting it amongst households. Land ownership was awarded to the head of the family, regardless of gender. This means that, in reality, women can access land only in the absence of a male head of the family. Women play an important role in agriculture, and often have to manage their farms alone due to a high level of male emigration.
Access to bank loans is regulated by the banking laws, which provide women the same rights as men.
Sources
- Abrahamyan, R. & Avagyan, G. (2000) Abortion, retrieved from www2.armstat.am/Eng/Publications/1991-2000/demo_2000/demo_2000_6.pdf.
- "Armenia." Countries and Their Cultures. 18 April 2008. www.everyculture.com/abo/armenia.
- CIA World Factbook (2008), Country Profile Database, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/am.html.
- Harutyunyan, A. (2006), RA Human Rights Defender's Annual Report, http://ombuds.am/main/en/10/31/.
- OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Yerevan, Filling the GAPS: Giving you the EDGE-essential Data on Gender Equality in the countries hosting OSCE field operations, January 2008.
- OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Yerevan, Women Empowerment and cooperation in Armenia with a focus on the Syunik region, 2007.
- Snajdrova, H & Hancilova, B. (2007) OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Yerevan, Trafficking in Human Beings in the Republic of Armenia: An Assessment of Current Responses.
- The law of the Republic of Armenia. Family Code. 2005.
- Women and Men in Armenia, National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia, 2007.
- Vidal, C. (20 May 2008), UNDP United Nations Development Program Opening Speech for the Conference "Gender Issues in Armenia: developments and problems", http://www.undp.am/?page=Speeches&id=50.
The Women, Business and the Law
Where are laws equal for men and women? 
The Women, Business and the Law report presents indicators based on laws and regulations affecting women's prospects as entrepreneurs and employees. Several of these indicators draw on the Gender Law Library, a collection of over 2,000 legal provisions impacting women's economic status. This report does not seek to judge or rank countries, but to provide information to inform discussions about women’s economic rights. Covering 128 economies, Women, Business and the Law provides data covering 6 areas: accessing institutions,using property, getting a job, dealing with taxes, building credit, and going to court.Read more about the methodology.
For detailed information on Armenia, please visit the Women, Business and
the Law Armenia page.
