Press Release

Lecture on Gender Equality at the SDG Center

30 May 2018

The lecture was delivered to a diverse group of students, faculty members and representatives of the line ministries of Turkmenistan.

The United Nations, jointly with the Ministry of Healthcare and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan, organized a lecture on Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, at the Training and Methodology Centre for Sustainable Development Goals at the Institute of International Relations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The purpose of the lecture was to sensitize youth, the specialists of line ministries and academia about the importance of integrating gender across all the Sustainable Development Goals and include gender considerations in all sustainable development work.

The nationalization of Sustainable Development Goals, main legal documents in the area of the gender equality and three steps of SDGs realization in Turkmenistan were presented by Ms. Bahar Agayeva, Head of the Statistic department of the Ministry of Healthcare and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan.

“Gender equality is associated with GDP and it’s not only a root to ending poverty and equal pay but also associated with health, education, employment and it’s related to SDG 5 on violence against women, child marriage and it’s about crossing all SDGs” stressed Mrs. Maha Muna, UNICEF Regional Gender Advisor.

Ms. Nurgul Kinderbaeva, UNFPA Regional Gender Specialist presented the UN interagency guidance for Europe and Central Asia, highlighting that Turkmenistan was presented as a positive example in implementing of three steps. She has also suggested to add fourth step: Gender responsive evaluation of the progress towards SDGs.

The participants were also introduced to the gender equality as accelerator to achieve SDGS and how it is interconnected with all other Goals. The global trends on gender inclusion and its further implications to economic diversification and implementation of the principle “leave no one behind” were also highlighted.

The 2030 Agenda outlines ambitious priorities for sustainability for the next 13 years. It is therefore critical that women’s rights and gender are addressed in the Sustainable Development Goals.