Armenian Women's Rights Through History

by Gulnara Shahinian & photo by Lorelei Kelly

Over its 3,000 year history Armenia has survived wars, persecutions, changing borders and various political and social systems. The one stable institution throughout this change has been the family. In ancient times and still today the strength and sanctity of family ties have helped us to survive.

These strong family ties have deep roots. In the first Armenian Book of Law, written by the monk Mekhitar Gosh in the fifth century AD, it is specified that men and women had equal rights and were equally responsible for the welfare of the family. Men and women acted independently within their range of duties-men as family providers and protectors, women as household and family organizers as well as transmitters of customs, traditions and moral values. Of course, this delegation of roles in the family has changed over time.

During Roman rule in Armenia, women's role in society increased and they were given more rights, such as rights to property and education. Later, during Turkish rule, these rights were taken away. By the beginning of the 19th century, the youth of wealthy families in big cities could get education in Europe and Russia. The introduction of Armenian youth to the works of European philosophers began a wave of cultural energy that awakened the national and political consciousness of Armenians. Students returned home with an agenda for their country.

Some of this new energy was for women's rights. The Declaration of Women's Rights was drafted by two representatives of the nationalist intelligentsia, the widely-read women writers Serpui Vahanian Dussap and Zabel Assadour. The stipulations of the declaration were as follows:

• Equal rights for men and women.
• The right of women to choose a career and to be gainfully employed.
• The removal of double standards favoring men in married life.
• The right of women to higher education as a means of improving child rearing.
• The right of women to participate equally in community activities.
• Elimination of the custom of the dowry.
• Respect for ethnic values and traditions and acceptance of modern liberal education that enhances and strengthens national identity and develops civic consciousness.
• Respect for women's role in protecting the nation and transmitting its culture.

This declaration was more than merely slogans. The most basic philosophy of the declaration is that education and equal rights serve the family and the nation. The idea that educated women are the wealth of society and pass their knowledge and values to their children is in the heritage of these women writers.

During the many periods of upheaval in Armenian history, the role of women in society greatly increased, and gender discrimination gave way to true equality. While not demanding specific rights, Armenian women took the role of supporting husbands, brothers, and fathers and collecting and transmitting national culture and traditions; they also established schools and orphanages.

While Armenian society remains patriarchal, the acceptance of gender equality has grown. It is interesting to note that the main articles of the Declaration of Women's Rights written by Dussap and Assadour are similar to the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights written almost 50 years later. They also resemble the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which was ratified by Armenia 100 years later.

The women who wrote the declaration are just one historical example of Armenian women's creative and courageous nature. There are hundreds of other examples of women who have been involved in politics and other fields. Today's Armenian women have received an invaluable heritage: a courageous revolutionary spirit, together with a tradition of being loving mothers and wives, devoted daughters and sisters, and protectors of national culture and dreams.

Center for Gender Studies

These were the images of Armenian women that inspired us to create the Center for Gender Studies. The Center will collect information about Armenian women throughout history, combining these stories with the experiences of women around the globe today to assist women in finding their place in modern society and to look to their future.

The Center for Gender Studies is a program of the NGO Democracy Union. The goals of Democracy Union are to assist women in need, to research and analyze the role of women in society, and to create a basis for the implementation of programs to educate women and make Armenian society more egalitarian. Democracy Union began by assisting and listening to the women who need help the most: refugee women, earthquake victims, women in homes for the elderly, lonely pensioners, the hospitalized and incarcerated. Later, the NGO began surveying women's needs, and its most recent work has been based on the areas this survey identified, including education, healthcare, women's unemployment and the need for more women in decision-making positions. Democracy Union organizes training programs and publishes a newsletter, as well as translating and publishing material such as UN conventions on women and writings by famous feminists.

Gulnara Shahinian works with the Center for Gender Studies in Yerevan, Armenia. Center for Gender Studies, c/o Gulnara Shahinian, 17 Nalbandian Street, Apartment 4, Yerevan 375010, Armenia; gulnara@iom.arminco.com