Armenian Relief Society’s Mayr Chapter of New York Hosts Lecture in Honor of International Women’s Day
On March 1, 2007, over 30 attendees gathered at St. Illuminator’s Armenian Apostolic Cathedral’s Pashalian Hall for a lecture on women and social activism in honor of International Women’s Day. The lecture commenced with welcoming remarks from Anahid Ugurlayan, chairperson of the ARS Mayr Chapter. She also delivered a brief presentation on the advent and significance of International Women’s Day as well as the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) at the United Nations (the ARS is an NGO in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the UN).
Ms. Ugurlayan highlighted women’s contributions within this framework, from issues such as microfinance, domestic abuse and protection of women during armed conflict, since most NGO members are women.
The program continued with a detailed presentation from Dr. Naira Avetisyan, Chief Protection Officer of UNICEF’s
branch in Armenia -- in New York, invited by the Armenian Relief Society’s Central Executive Board, to attend the
51st Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women conference at the United Nations.
Dr. Avetisyan explained that despite the relatively recent presence of UN and UNICEF in Armenia (1993 and 1994, respectively), Armenia has implemented many programs dedicated to children’s well-being in terms of healthcare (e.g., reduction in infant mortality) and education. She noted that Armenia has also led the way in discussing the issue of violence against children, with key discussions on the issue emerging after her presentation at the UN two
years ago, with a final report to be presented at the 51st Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (2/26/07-3/9/07). Yet despite these accomplishments, Dr. Avetisyan remarked that there are many challenges that face young girls in Armenia. Poverty and unemployment in rural areas has resulted in mothers placing their children in orphanages because they receive more subsidies for social services from the government. Families
with children under the age of five are at even greater risk of giving up their children because their families rely on them to find employment in order to support them. Yet institutionalized children are not the only ones who are marginalized, as Dr. Avetisyan pointed out; children with disabilities are stigmatized because of their special needs which are not addressed by the educational system. Though there are “special” schools designed to help such children,enrollment is low as is governmental funding of such schools. While Dr. Avetisyan noted that the government has begun to provide greater financial assistance to families falling below the poverty line and that there is greater emphasis on rural development, she stressed that more needs to be done, in particular by reuniting institutionalized children with their families, redirecting allocations from the institutions to the families, providing more outreach services (social workers, psychologists), and ensuring that special needs children have individualized development plans that can be regularly assessed and updated.
Following Dr. Avetisyan’s remarks was a presentation by Meline Ghazaryan, a 16-year old student from Armenia who was chosen among hundreds of girls to speak at a program called “Girls Speak Out,” which was moderated by CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor, Katie Couric, and which took place during the 51st Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women conference at the United Nations. Ms. Ghazaryan stressed the need for the Armenian government to implement its well crafted laws and policies on children’s education, rural development and inclusion of special needs children into the education system and society as a whole. Having a disability herself, she stressed that Armenian society also has a responsibility to change its perceptions about children with disabilities to foster community support and, ultimately, full inclusion into community activities. Ms. Ghazaryan ended by declaring that her goal was to become an educated woman. The audience applauded this articulate young girl and hoped that she would not only reach her goal, but surpass it by becoming a voice for all girls and leading the way for the inclusion of disabled children into society to become fully functioning members of it.
The ARS was founded in 1910 as an independent, non-sectarian, non-governmental organization (NGO), serving the humanitarian, social, and educational needs of Armenians. The ARS has affiliate entities in 25 countries with a membership of approximately 18,000. An NGO on the roster in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, the ARS is a 501© (3) charitable, tax-exempt organization.
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