Women Initiative Group
Baku, Azerbaijan
The 700,000 displaced people who live in Azerbaijan are the survivors of a
conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the mountainous region
known as Nagorno-Karabakh. From 1988 to 1994, 35,000 people were
killed, and one million uprooted.
The displaced Azerbaijani population has faced the same obstacles upon
returning home as do returnees in other countries. The homes that they
left behind are in shambles or completely destroyed. Or another
family is residing in their homes or on their land. Many
have tried to integrate into the crowded capital Baku, which creates
friction with the city's longtime residents.
Eleven years after the ceasefire, they struggle to survive; many still
live as refugees in camps polluted by pesticides or open
sewers. Their shelters are abandoned railway cars, dilapidated
buildings, the backs of trucks or homes dug underground. They try to
live on humanitarian assistance in the amount of $3.50 per month for
each adult and $2.10 for each child.
Started by a woman who was herself displaced, the Women Initiative
Group, based in Baku, seeks to help women who are trying to reintegrate
into their rural communities or settle permanently in the cities.
The group challenges cultural traditions that discourage the education
of girls, many of whom are pushed into early marriage. As a result, many girls become pregnant and do not finish
school. In turn, the children of these undereducated mothers have fewer
chances to go to school or gain skills to obtain better-paid
work. Displaced women are more likely to become victim to increasing trafficking, drug use and violence.
Committed to deepening women's sense of agency, the group has organized
seminars on family planning among women in the Sumgait IDP (internally
displaced persons) camp to encourage women to use contraception, rather
than abortion, as a means of preventing pregnancy. As a result of the
group's educational efforts, one of the area hospitals agreed to take
care of women suffering from reproductive health problems free of charge.
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Main Issues:
Refugees
Reproductive Health
Girls' Education
Grants Received:
2006 $7,400
2004 $5,430
2003 $4,650
Over the past four years, the Global Fund for Women has awarded the
group $17,480 to support their inspiring efforts to
help displaced women build healthy, stable homes.
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