This year, in 2013, to the United Nations has decided on March 8 theme to be fight against violence against women

With warmest feelings UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, congratulates women and girls on the occasion of March 8, International Womens’ Days and wishes a world where their enormous potential is fullfilled, where they are loved and cared for every single day, and where motherhood is safe.

This year, in 2013, to the United Nations has decided on March 8 theme to be fight against violence against women.

A glance at Armenian Women

Live longer: our women live almost seven years longer than men, 77.5 and 70.7 years respectively.

Are being born less: because of prenatal sex selection, every year on average around 1400 girls are not born.

Get married later over time: while in 2001 the average marriage age for women was 22.8, in 2011 it reached 25. At the same time, the more women are educated the later they get married.

Want more children but have less: while in1970s an Armenian woman had three children on average, now it is twice less. In other words, today two women have three children. However, women consider having 2-3 children to be the ideal.

Infertility: infertility rate is quite high among Armenian women – 16.8 per cent, which is higher than the crisis rate set by the WHO (15 per cent). This means that approximately every one in six women cannot have a child.

House holders: our women spend five times more time on caring for households and children than men.

Readers: two thirds of readers at libraries are women and girls.

Poverty: every one out of three women (34.5 per cent) in our country is poor.

Violence: In Armenia, approximately 6 out of 10 women have been subject to phychological violence, one out of 10 – physical violence, and four out of five victims of physical violence has been subject to sexual violence.

—

Please also find attached the statement of Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UNFPA Executive Director on the Occasion of International Women’s Day, 8 March 2013 (English and Armenian).

And finally, we are cordially inviting you to two theater plays performed during three days, March 8, 9, 10 at 7 pm, in commemoration of March 8th (entrance is free, please see attached posters):

1. “Interactive Lawsuit over Stolen Rainbow” – at Malyan Theater (Vardanants 18)

2. “I am a Woman” – at Art Center of Esthetics Small Theater (Abovyan 11)