The participation of women has a long history in Azerbaijan, the first Muslim country to give women the right to vote in 1918. However, in modern Azerbaijan, women are barely represented in leading positions at both national and local level.
As of 2017, only 21 out of 125 parliamentarians are women. The percentage of female members in local municipal councils increased from 26% to 35% between 2009 and 2014.
In order to support local female politicians in their role and mandate, the GIZ regional programme Local Governance in South Caucasus developed the DAYAQ Mentoring programme in Azerbaijan since 2012.
In Azeri Dayaq means support. The title reflects the core idea of mentoring, support and learning relationships between women.
The mentoring approach is a powerful tool because it combines technical knowledge with the psychological support. DAYAQ Mentoring programme is seeking to strengthen women’s political participation in local decision making process in terms of quality.
Our approach adheres to the principles of capacity development – namely soft skills of individuals, simultaneous networking for sharing knowledge and experience in a sustainable manner to reach their own objectives with practical visibility.
Since 2012, 150 female politicians have benefited from our Mentoring programme.
As an ongoing effort to promote DAYAQ developments, the programme elaborated a publication “Mentoring manual”. It contains tips on how to build a successful a mentoring programme for local female politicians, guiding step by step practical examples always referring to DAYAQ Mentoring programme. This manual will help facilitators to introduce ideas on mentoring and stimulates further learning.
Contact Details
Name: Fidan GasimovaEmail: fidan.gasimova@giz.de