12.Family voting was seen in the country’s parliamentary elections in 2000. Most of the problems affecting the conduct of elections in Tajikistan are linked to citizens’ poor understanding of election legislation. Accordingly, since 2003 seminars and training courses to increase women’s active involvement in elections have been run by the Central Elections and Referendums Commission of the Republic of Tajikistan, with the involvement of representatives of political parties, non-governmental organizations and voters themselves and the direct support of international organizations. Meetings, discussions and training courses have been held in many of the rural districts, labour collectives and educational institutions as a way of broadening the legal and informational background of women and girls. Special columns have been written in the government-run women’s newspapers Jumkhuriat and Nilufar, the magazine Bonuvoni Tojikiston and other publications, with a view to enhancing women’s legal literacy and awareness.

There are weekly radio programmes offering training in women’s rights.

Article 10

13.The State Statistics Committee of the Republic of Tajikistan published a compilation entitled “Education in the Republic of Tajikistan, 1991-2005” to mark the fifteenth anniversary of the country’s independence. It contained a breadth of statistical information on student numbers at all levels of the education system, disaggregated by sex, age and urban and rural areas. Indicators are given on the scope of education at all the different levels (see addendum 1).

According to Ministry of Education statistics, there are 2,612 children aged between 7 and 15, including 870 girls, who for various reasons do not go to school. The Ministry of Education and local governments have taken a number of measures to improve the school attendance rates of girls: holding discussions and explanatory sessions with parents and children, publishing informational materials, including in newspapers, magazines, etc., and also providing a single hot meal for children in the beginners’ classes.

In addition, serious efforts have been made by the State in recent years to find places for orphans and children from poor families at national and district-level boarding schools, where boys and girls enjoy equal educational opportunities.

The proportion of girls in general-education day schools is 48 per cent, totalling 769,700 pupils. Some 91.7 per cent of girls and 99.4 per cent of boys are in compulsory education (grades 1-9). The percentage of girls attending beginners’ classes is higher — 96.3 per cent — but in the more senior classes (grades 10 and 11) this percentage drops to between 30 and 35 per cent.

14.A special optional course on “Gender and Literature” is on offer to students in the arts faculties of the Tajik State National University, the Russian-Tajik (Slavonic) University, the Tajik State Institute of Languages and the Tajik State Pedagogical University.

Special gender studies courses have been introduced into the curricula of general-education, higher education and vocational education institutions in order to help people better to understand gender issues. Efforts are also made through newspapers and magazines published by the Ministry of Education to encourage more girls to go into subject areas like information technology and design, management and economics, international relations, foreign languages and other technical fields.

Gender equality is observed in all textbooks published for general-education schools, and particularly in the illustrations and content, to ensure that they do not appear to promote discrimination on grounds of sex and to assist pupils in making their career choice.

In addition, with the help of the Ministry of Education, voluntary associations and other organizations conduct various training courses and seminars on gender issues for the benefit of students and senior pupils from educational institutions around the country.

15.A system of assigning quotas for girls from villages in mountain regions has been introduced to remedy the shortage of specialists in a number of fields.

In 2006, the Government allocated 916 quota places for young people from the mountains and remote rural areas, and of these 480 were girls. The teaching profession accepted 336 girls, or 70 per cent of a total of 480 vacancies. There is a dynamic increase in the numbers choosing to go into professions such as medicine, the law, engineering, design, and various agricultural and agrarian professions.

There are 100,624 teachers in the Tajik education system, and of these 49,796 (49.4 per cent) are women. There are also some 486 pre-school institutions in which (according to the figures for 2005-2006) 99 per cent of the head teachers and teachers are women.

It is also worth mentioning that in 35 per cent of the general-education schools in the country (3,810 schools) the head teachers are women. It should be added that nine of the city and district education departments are headed by women (12 per cent). Thirty of the 65 staff employees of the Ministry of Education (46.1 per cent) and four of the nine managers are women.

Article 11

16.The transition to the market economy divided the labour market in two: the new, market-based sector, basically “male”, high-status and well paid; and the traditional, State sector, which is predominantly “female”, preserving the purely superficial status of public office while being low paid. Statistically, about 85 per cent of women work in areas of the economy where wages are lowest — agriculture, education, health care and culture.

In the first half of 2006 women constituted 54 per cent of the registered unemployed, and their situation remains unfavourable when it comes to maternity and child care. Furthermore, employers often have a prejudiced attitude to women, as a result, and the less competitive groups of women leave the labour market.

The tendency for employees to transfer from the State sector to the private sector is bringing about fundamental changes in the structure of employment which are linked to the transition to new conditions of management. The informal sector has begun to play a growing role in the employment of women.

At the same time, the proportion of women employed in agriculture is increasing. Flexible working arrangements for women are becoming more widespread, and constitute a very important element in the development of the labour market.

There are more than 23,101 dehkan farms (small-scale family enterprises) engaged in agricultural production in Tajikistan, and 3,005 of these are headed by women. Women constitute 52.7 per cent of the total workforce in agriculture.

There are not too many women in big business and medium-sized companies. In 2005, women accounted for 25.4 per cent of the workforce of firms with corporate status and fewer than 15 employees. Women are generally employed in small businesses connected with trade and agriculture. According to market tests carried out by the State Statistics Committee, 55.3 per cent of market traders in 2005 were women. Their involvement in this sector is increasing rapidly.

Research into living standards carried out by the State Statistics Committee has shown that the proportion of men in the labour force was about 20 per cent higher than that of women, but between 1999 and 2003 that disparity narrowed by more than 6 percentage points. At the same time as the male workforce has decreased by 4.9 per cent, the female workforce has grown by 1.3 per cent.

The combined effects, however, of traditionalism, the abandonment of the socialist concept of social structure, which albeit with certain shortcomings had managed to raise the social status of women, the transition to the market economy, the civil war and its consequences, which had a particularly severe impact on the situation of women, have reduced the legally enshrined status of women to a largely theoretical notion. This is particularly evident in the non-State sector of the economy where there is a need to set in place a State monitoring system. With that end in view, the State Labour Inspectorate was recently established within the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare of the Republic of Tajikistan.

In recent years there has been an annual increase in the minimum wage and in current salary rates (base rates) of workers in central budget-funded agencies and organizations. In 2001, the minimum wage was tripled, and salaries and base rates were increased by 40 per cent; in 2002, these increases were 33 and 40 per cent respectively; in 2003, they were 25 and 20 per cent; in 2004, 40 and 25 per cent; in 2005, 71 and 50 per cent; and in 2006, the increases were 66 and 40 per cent.

The additional nominal average monthly wage for a worker, averaged across the country, increased over the period January-May 2006 by 27.2 per cent compared with the same period the year before, amounting to 102.88 somoni, or US$ 31.97.

In the past three years the issue of removing the disproportion in salaries has been resolved through increasing them on a differentiated basis. The latest increase was announced in a presidential decree of 1 April 2006, which saw the minimum wage go up to 20.00 somoni per month, or US$ 6.22, and current salaries (base rates) of workers in all central budget-funded agencies and organizations go up by on average 40 per cent. The salaries of workers in primary health-care establishments were increased by on average 60 per cent, while those of heads and deputy heads of general-education schools, boarding schools and children’s homes and the heads of pre-school establishments went up by 50 per cent. The salaries of teachers in pre-school establishments were brought up to the same level as those of primary school teachers.

According to the results of research carried out by the State Statistics Committee of the Republic of Tajikistan into living standards, the poorest section of the rural population represented 23.4 per cent, and that of the urban population 18.6 per cent. In this connection, it should be borne in mind that 74 per cent of the country’s population live in rural areas and are engaged in subsistence farming.

17.The Public Employment Programme envisages the following measures to stimulate the employment of women and reduce the gender imbalance on the labour market:

•Support for women’s initiatives in developing entrepreneurship and self-employment;

•Creation of a labour exchange for women; provision of vocational guidance services and vocational training to women, raising their qualifications and retraining unemployed women;

•Attracting women into paid community service;

•Placing women in jobs in accordance with the established quotas;

•Organizing practical training internships for young people;

•Creation of a network of community business centres.

Between 2003 and 2005 the employment agencies received job applications from nearly 184,000 people, some 50 per cent of whom were women. In all, 55,000 of these were placed in employment and of them 21,000 were women. Some 58,500 went into community service, and about 50 per cent of them were women. Some 942 of the women were placed in jobs under the quota system. Some 13,000 jobseekers, 7,500 of whom were women, underwent vocational training, and 40 per cent of those women were placed in jobs.

18.With a view to increasing women’s income-earning potential from sources such as microcredit, several projects were carried out in Tajikistan over the period 2001-2002 by international organizations and financial institutions to reduce poverty among the population and enable women to work in income-generating occupations by providing them with microcredit.

The Microcredit Organizations Act was adopted on 17 May 2004. Since May 2004 the national bank of Tajikistan has been analysing the work of banking and financial institutions providing microcredit for people in Tajikistan (microcredit funding, deposit and loan institutions). The figures for microcredit lending as a whole over the first half of 2006 are set out below.

In all, 54,048 microcredit loans were granted, and loan agreements were entered into for a total of 235.4 million somoni. The percentage of loans granted to women was 40.25 per cent, and the total sum lent was 70.1 million somoni, distributed regionally as follows:

Regions of the Republic of Tajikistan	Share of microcredit granted to women (%)	Total of microcredit loans to women (in millions of somoni)
Dushanbe	1.66	16.0
Sughd province	28.75	35.7
Kuhistoni Badakhshan Autonomous Province	3.52	5.0
Khatlon province	3.16	5.6
Central Government-administered region	3.16	7.8
Total	40.25	70.1

Tajikistan is taking appropriate steps to eliminate discrimination against women in employment, so as to secure equal rights for men and women, especially the right to work, on a basis of equality.

The economic changes in the country and in the various sectors of the economy have had an impact on the situation of women in the workforce. There is a preponderance of women in certain occupations, usually the low-paid ones such as agriculture, health care and education. Earnings in these occupations are between five and seven times lower than in industry, construction, etc.

The Government of Tajikistan has adopted a State programme on key areas of a State policy to ensure equal rights and opportunities for men and women of the Republic of Tajikistan for the period 2001-2010. One of the focuses of this programme is to safeguard women’s employment and the effective enjoyment of their social and employment rights. Work is being done to provide microcredit and other loans to women entrepreneurs.

Funding is being provided through the State budget and local budget resources, of measures under the Public Employment Programme for 2003-2005 in the areas of career guidance, training and vocational training according to market demand, and of support for women’s self-employment and enterprise initiatives (1,800 persons), including through the creation of a microcredit-lending system run by employment agencies and the expansion of the labour market for women.

In 2002, in Kurgan-Tyube, a labour exchange for women was created, which liaises with the Khatlon province Committee on Women and the Family.

A labour exchange for women has also been set up in Sughd province and the possibility of creating a similar exchange in the Kuhistoni-Badakhshan Autonomous Province is under consideration.

From 1999 to 2005 alone, the National Association of Businesswomen issued microcredits worth 92 million somoni to 25,000 Tajik women.

Great importance is attached to vocational training and retraining of unemployed women and girls. Experience shows that women have a very low level of vocational education, and more than half of unemployed female job seekers have no specialist skills.

In that regard, priority is being given to the implementation of vocational training programmes for women to train them in skills that are in demand in the labour market.

In 2005, a total of 2,264 women throughout Tajikistan attended vocational training courses in study centres run by employment agencies, of whom 1,145 obtained vocational qualifications. Of those who completed vocational training, 62 per cent found employment.

Due attention is being given to basic technical vocational education and training for girls. The technical vocational education and training system administered by the Ministry for Labour and Social Welfare comprises 72 technical secondary schools and technical vocational colleges, which train specialists in more than 90 areas of expertise. Girls account for around 30 per cent of students at technical vocational colleges.

In 2005, with the assistance of employment agencies, 278 women were recruited to vacant posts under the quota system. In addition, it should be noted that around half of all women take part in community service nationwide.

19.The constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan and national labour legislation provide for equal rights for men and women in the area of employment.

The Labour Code of the Republic of Tajikistan provides that all citizens have equal employment opportunities.

Any form of discrimination, hindrance, bias or refusal to recruit on the grounds of ethnic origin, race, skin colour, sex, age, religion, political conviction, place of birth, foreign origin or social background, resulting in failure to uphold equality of opportunity in the area of employment, is prohibited.

Distinctions based on job requirements specific to a given post or special treatment given by the State to persons in need of greater social protection (women, minors and disabled persons) do not constitute discrimination.

Any person who considers that he or she has been subjected to discrimination in employment may institute the appropriate legal proceedings.

In accordance with article 14 of the Equality and Equal Opportunities for Men and Women (State Guarantees) Act, where the court or another body considers an employment dispute having to do with alleged sexual discrimination in response to a claim filed by an employee, labour union or other voluntary association acting to protect employee interests, the employer bears the burden of proving the lack of intent to discriminate. Procedures for examining such cases are governed by the procedural law of Tajikistan.

Article 12

20.According to Ministry of Health data for recent years, maternal mortality indicators have been on a downward trend. In 1990, the maternal mortality indicator was 97.7 per 100,000 live births. In 1995 and 2000, this indicator was 96.3 and 44.6 per 100,000 live births respectively, while in 2005 this indicator was 40.1 per 100,000 live births. At the same time, independent research shows that the actual maternal mortality indicator is three or four times higher than official statistics show. According to data from a multiple indicator cluster survey (MICS-3) conducted in Tajikistan by the State Statistics Committee and UNICEF in 2005, the maternal mortality level as determined by the so-called “nurse survey method” was 97 per 100,000 live births. At the present time, obstetric haemorrhaging and gestosis remain prevalent causes of maternal mortality. For this reason, working in cooperation with UNICEF, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Columbia University (United States of America), the Ministry of Health has carried out a national study to assess the demand for emergency obstetric care (EmOC) in Tajikistan. The preliminary report on the study results has been examined. The aim of the study is to develop a national strategy to expand access to emergency obstetric care and to build health-care institutional and community capacity to organize such care for the public. In addition, with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ministry of Health has developed and approved clinical obstetric haemorrhaging and gestosis protocols and has begun introducing these protocols in Khatlon province. Pursuant to an undertaking by the Government of Tajikistan for 2005 to reduce the number of home births, the Ministry of Health has developed and approved a joint plan of action of the Ministry of Health and the local executive bodies of Kuhistoni-Badakhshan Autonomous Province, Khatlon province and districts reporting directly to the central Government to reduce the number of home births, which are a factor in maternal mortality. After this plan had been in effect for a year, home births were reduced from 28.7 per cent in 2004 to 22.7 in 2005.

21.In recent years, the number of abortions has gone down. For example, while in 1990 there were 195.0 abortions per 1,000 live births, in 1995 and 2000 this indicator was 150.6 and 94.1 per 1,000 live births respectively. This same indicator in 2005 was 129.9 per 1,000 live births. Study of the underlying reasons for abortions has revealed that in over 45 per cent of cases abortions are spontaneous, an indication of the low level of reproductive health in Tajikistan.

In 2006 in cooperation with UNFPA, the Ministry of Health hired an international expert and studied the issue of access to safe abortion. Pursuant to the recommendations made by the expert, development of a national strategy to expand access to safe abortions has begun.

22.With international support from UNFPA, UNICEF and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan has organized reproductive health centres equipped with necessary medical equipment in all cities and districts of the country. Every year, over 200 specialists from reproductive health-care organizations attend further training courses in reproductive health and family planning. The centres also have up-to-date contraceptive methods (IUDs, oral hormonal contraceptives, condoms and hormonal contraceptives administered by injection). While in 1990 a mere 9.3 per cent of women of reproductive age were using contraceptives, according to official health sector statistics, in 2005, this figure had risen to 26.4 per cent. In addition, the number of women who do not observe an intergenetic period (meaning that the interval between births is less than two years) has gone down. According to data from 2001, 38.9 per cent of women who gave birth did so at intervals of less than two years, but in 2005 this indicator had dropped to 26.4 per cent.

According to official Ministry of Health statistics, the infant mortality indicator for 1995 was 30.9 per 1,000 live births; in 2000, it was 15.5 and in 2005, it was 14.1 per 1,000 live births. According to data from a study conducted by UNICEF and the State Statistics Committee (MICS 2000), the infant mortality rate was 89.0 for 1,000 live births, while the MICS 2005 report showed a rate of 65 per 1,000 live births. In 2002, the Ministry of Health and UNICEF carried out a joint study on the causes of infant mortality and the results of that study showed that the infant mortality indicator in the regions studied (the city of Dushanbe and Khatlon province) was 85.5 for 1,000 live births. To reduce the high infant mortality level, especially in rural areas, the Ministry of Health is implementing a joint WHO/ UNICEF programme, on the integrated management of childhood diseases. Under this programme, supported by the Government of Japan, children up to the age of five receive medicines and vaccines. In addition, the Ministry of Health has developed hospital-level clinical protocols for the main childhood diseases. In keeping with the fundamental principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a Ministry of Health working group is developing a national strategy of integrated approaches to protect the health and development of children and teenagers in Tajikistan for the period 2007-2010. The strategy aims to help children and teenagers in the country achieve their health and well-being potential by reducing disease, disability and mortality indicators and also by enhancing children’s general growth and development through a set of treatment and preventive interventions and health-care system reform, including decentralizing the management system and capacity-building at the district level.

23.The commonest extragenital diseases are anaemia, diseases of the urogenital system, iodine deficiency disorders, diseases of the respiratory organs and heart disease, all of which have a negative impact on the health of mother and child. Anaemia occurs in about 60 per cent of pregnant women (29.6 per cent in 1992 and 42.5 per cent in 1995). Thus, about 70 per cent of women have extragenital diseases that have an adverse effect on childbirth and lead to post-partum complications and problems at the post-natal stage.

In addition, cases of reproductive disease are fairly common among women in Tajikistan. As the survey results have shown, around 90 per cent have gynaecological problems; 49.3 per cent suffer from inflammatory diseases and 7.2 per cent are infertile.

Article 14

24.In response to the fact that over 70 per cent of the population lives in rural areas and 49.8 per cent of that population is made up of women, the Public Employment Programme for 2006-2007 provides for measures to support entrepreneurial initiatives and self-employment by unemployed women by granting them microcredits, or concessional loans.

Microcredit will be provided for the 3,200 women who have expressed a desire to engage in entrepreneurial activities or become self-employed. Financial support will be given, in the first instance, to unemployed women living in rural areas and widows who are heads of household.

Where necessary, unemployed women embarking on entrepreneurial activities and self-employment will be provided with a range of informational, advisory and educational services.

In order to deal with the problems faced by rural women in general, and rural women heads of household in particular, in finding work, the cities of Kurgan-Tyube and Khorog and the Tavildara district have set up labour exchanges for women and a network of community business centres. Assistance has also been provided in setting up non-governmental organizations to deal with the problems facing women seeking employment.

In addition, in accordance with a government decision of 30 December 2001 on the payment of cash benefits (or compensation) to poor families with children attending general schools in the Republic of Tajikistan, benefits are paid to poor families with children of school age — between the ages of 6 and 15 — who are attending school.

In preschool and educational establishments located in rural districts, nearly all the teachers and technical staff are women.

Furthermore, in all rural districts, voluntary associations and employment centres organize activities to retrain women for occupations appropriate to rural locations.

25.According to data provided by the State Statistics Committee, as of1 January 2006, there were 23,101 dehkan farms in Tajikistan. Of these, 3,005 — or 13 per cent of the total registered dehkan farms — are managed by women.

In October 2003, the Government of Tajikistan, recognizing the importance of ensuring that women should enjoy their right to economic independence and security, established the Coordination Council, headed by the Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan, in support of the UNIFEM project.

At the request of the Coordination Council, the State Statistics Committee set up a working group to prepare statistical reports on agriculture that would provide additional gender indicators. The working group’s proposals met with support from ministries and departments of Tajikistan concerned with the issue. Statistics on additional gender indicators were introduced, in aggregated and disaggregated form, into reports on dehkan farms and other farms from 1 January 2005. Instructions on the collection and processing of such data were circulated. It thus became possible to trace, twice a year, quantitative and qualitative changes in the indicators relating to women’s participation in land reform. The UNIFEM project and the State Statistics Committee have jointly conducted regional workshops on the collection and analysis of data on the activities of dehkan farms.

Pursuant to the decision of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan amending the State programmes on key areas of a State policy to ensure equal rights and opportunities for men and women of the Republic of Tajikistan for the period 2001-2010 and on access to land by rural women and for the purpose of monitoring the land reform bidding process, the State Land Management Committee of the Republic of Tajikistan issued order No. 139 of 10 August 2004, establishing a monitoring group to be headed by the Committee’s deputy chair. The group is responsible for monitoring land reform in conjunction with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) project and in accordance with terms of reference set by the State Land Management Committee.

According to the State Land Management Committee, as of 1 January 2006, 645 farm businesses underwent reorganization, on the basis of which more than 26,000 dehkan farms were set up. There are more than 828,000 land shareholders on these dehkan farms, over 50 per cent of whom are women.

In conjunction with the Committee on Women and the Family of the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan and in accordance with the general agreement signed with UNIFEM, 11 rural districts have been selected to UNIFEM-sponsored pilot projects to support the establishment of district outreach and advisory centres; since October 2004 experts from the local committees on women and the family in the districts together with lawyers selected by competitive examination in the field have been providing free legal consultations to villagers on issues related to the Land Code, the Family Code and the Civil Code, including the question of access by and the rights of women to economic resources and property, in particular the right to land.

Trained members of the jamoat — or subdistrict — development committees in the pilot districts are conducting consultations with the rural population and dehkan farms headed by both women and men on land reform issues and on how to set up dehkan farms, and also providing financial support, including the granting of microcredits for the development of dehkan farms managed by women.

On the recommendation of members of the Coordinating Council and in consultation with the regional office of UNIFEM and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the project has further expanded its efforts to provide advice to the rural population. Since June 2005, district outreach and advisory centres have been established and are operating in five additional districts: Shaartuz, Muminabad, Penjikent, Jabbor Rasulov and Rasht.

Thus, the UNIFEM project is now supporting district outreach and advisory centres set up under agreements with the local municipal and district authorities in 16 rural districts, helping to educate the population by preparing general meetings on the reorganization of farming and taking steps to help dehkan farms by putting them in contact with microfinance institutions.

A series of training courses was held under the UNIFEM project in October-November 2004, at the instigation of the Coordinating Council:

(a)A two-day course, jointly with the State Land Management Committee of Tajikistan, the OSCE monitoring group and other specialists from the province and district land committees, on arrangements for gender-sensitive monitoring of land reform;

(b)A two-day course with journalists and media managers from 11 pilot districts, on publicizing the land reform in the media from a gender perspective;

(c)A five-day course with lawyers selected on a competitive basis and in conjunction with local government authorities. These lawyers, together with the committees on women’s affairs in 11 rural districts, provide free advice for the rural population, including women, on legal aspects of the land reform, property issues, etc.;

(d)A three-day course with the chairs of the women’s committees in 11 pilot rural districts, representatives of the government Committee on Women and the Family and the chief officers of these districts;

(e)A two-day course with representatives of 74 jamoat development committees, numbering 148 in all.

Together with the UNIFEM project and the Committee on Women and the Family, a round table was held with representatives of the women’s committees in the pilot districts on the role of microfinance organizations in supporting dehkan farms headed by women.

Active use is made of the media to disseminate information on a wide scale among the public about the work of the project and of the Coordinating Council.

In February 2005, when additions were approved to the State programmes on key areas of a State policy to ensure equal rights and opportunities for men and women of the Republic of Tajikistan for the period 2001-2010 and on access to land for rural women, a letter was prepared and sent, on government instructions, to all the local authorities at provincial, urban and district level, and to the relevant ministries and public agencies, recommending future action on their part to implement the new provisions.

Practical assistance for dehkan businesses headed by women in making effective use of land is provided by the National Association of Businesswomen of Tajikistan and the voluntary association Gender and Development, both members of the Coordinating Council.

The National Association of Businesswomen of Tajikistan and the association Mennonite Economic Development Associates have started a project to develop the agricultural sector in northern Tajikistan. There will be three project areas: microfinancing, business services and market development. The pilot locations chosen for the project are Bobojon Gafur district and the cities Istaravshan, Kanibadam and Isfara.

The project aims to develop small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises, to support farmers and to cultivate and process high-quality fruit.

Since September 2004 the voluntary association Gender and Development, with the support of the Government of Finland, has been implementing a project to promote access to education for rural women. The aim of this project is to build the skills and knowledge of rural women in maximizing their profits, in order to alleviate poverty in rural districts.

Through this project 300 women in six jamoats have received skills training in entrepreneurship and two groups of 50 women from two separate districts have undergone seven-day training courses in income-generating activities. The State Committee on Agriculture, the law firm Lex and Gender and Development have jointly conducted two round tables on land law. The project also intends to conduct quarterly round tables on the same subject in the jamoats of the relevant districts.

Handbooks have been published in the Tajik and Russian languages on “Aspects of women’s rights during the land reform in the Republic of Tajikistan” and “Women’s rights to land: questions and answers”. Two booklets have also been published, under the titles “Rules for setting up a dehkan (farming) business” and “Women’s rights to land”, together with a list of agricultural services in the pilot districts. These materials are being distributed among the rural population.

Members of non-governmental organizations have played an active part, on behalf of the Government, in ensuring transparency in the process of reorganizing farm businesses.

The UNIFEM project, together with OSCE and in partnership with the Association of Young Lawyers of Tajikistan, has conducted five round tables and a conference on tackling the problem of protecting the economic and property rights of women through national legislation.

Article 14

26.Educational statistics are currently disaggregated by urban and rural areas in the country and by the sex and age of pupils, and every general-education school submits reports to its local education authorities.

The figures for non-attendance are analysed on the basis of the records in class registers, and this report is used by the Ministry of Education in inter-agency reporting procedures.

Articles 15 and 16

27.Polygamy is a punishable offence under article 170 of the Criminal Code.

The Family Code makes it obligatory for marriages to be solemnized in premises officially licensed for that purpose. As soon as the marriage is recorded in the civil register, citizens have the rights and duties of husband and wife. If the man and woman are already in a de facto spousal relationship, in order for the relationship to be recognized as a legal marriage it must be registered in a registry office. Otherwise, the relationship is not one of husband and wife in the eyes of the law, and consequently does not entail the rights and duties of spouses.

The law protects the rights only of parties to an officially registered marriage. Accordingly, a marriage entered into through a religious ceremony does not protect the rights of women, even if the unregistered spouses have children.

The Committee on Women and the Family is conducting public information campaigns on the provisions of the Family Code and the Criminal Code, with a view to preventing cases of polygamy.

The issue of how to promote responsible attitudes towards the family is widely discussed on television and radio broadcasts and in newspapers and magazines.

If cases of bigamy or polygamy come to light, or of marriage with persons below the legal marriageable age, the guilty persons are prosecuted, and educational sessions, meetings and talks are conducted on the subject for students, young people and the public at large in order to prevent such cases.

There are no firm figures on the numbers of marriages of persons below the legal marriageable age.

The courts have dealt with criminal cases of bigamy or polygamy, and also with cases of marriages below the legal marriageable age. According to statistics gathered by the Council of Justice of Tajikistan, in the first half of 2006 the courts dealt with 159 criminal cases of bigamy or polygamy under article 170 of the Criminal Code, and 16 criminal cases under article 169 of the Criminal Code, concerning marriage with a person below the legal marriageable age.

28.The elements of the nuptial agreement are set forth in chapter II of the Family Code, in article 42 “Marriage contract”:

“1.Under the nuptial agreement, the spouses are entitled to change the legally established regime of joint property to one of common property (article 34 of the Code). They may also decide to hold proportional or separate shares in the whole of the property acquired during marriage, or to institute any other arrangements for the property owned by each of them.

“The nuptial agreement may be concluded in respect of either the existing or the future property of the spouses.

“The spouses are entitled, in the nuptial agreement, to decide upon their mutual rights and obligations; the ways in which they will share in each other’s income; how family expenditure will be met by each of them; how property will be divided between them if the marriage is dissolved; and any other matters relating to the property relationships of the spouses.

“2.The rights and duties provided for in the nuptial agreement may be limited to a certain lapse of time, or be made dependent on specific circumstances arising or not arising.

“3.The nuptial agreement cannot set limits to the legal or dispositive capacity of the spouses or their right to have recourse to a court for the protection of their rights. Nor can it regulate their non-property relationships or the individual rights and duties of the spouses towards children; make provisions to restrict the right of a spouse in need and unable to work to receive maintenance; or contain other conditions placing one of the spouses in a markedly unfavourable position, or contrary to the general object and meaning of family law.”

For the purpose of informing the public, including women living in the countryside as well as in town, during 2001 and 2006 legal scholars, with the assistance of the League of Women Lawyers and the Association of Young Lawyers of Tajikistan, published and distributed a pamphlet entitled “The nuptial agreement” in the Tajik and Russian languages.

Articles 15 and 16

29.In 2000 Tajikistan signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The signing of the Optional Protocol is a clear indication, in spite of the other problems the country is facing at present, that Tajikistan attaches great importance to the problem of securing equal rights and opportunities for men and women in all areas of public and political life. This problem has to be tackled through legislation and through State policy on gender.

The question of ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women is currently under consideration and documentation on the matter is in preparation, as required by article 9 of the International Treaties of the Republic of Tajikistan Act.

General education enrolment rate (overall)

Year	Enrolment rate, primary education (grades 1-4), as a percentage of children aged 7-10	Enrolment rate, general education (grades 1-9), as a percentage of children aged 7-15
1991/1992	86.9	92.6
1992/1993	81.8	89.2
1993/1994	87.2	85.1
1994/1995	87.0	86.0
1995/1996	87.8	86.7
1996/1997	90.5	85.7
1997/1998	96.0	85.6
1998/1999	97.0	89.5
1999/2000	97.0	89.5

General education enrolment rate (overall)

	2000/2001	2001/2002	2002/2003	2003/2004	2004/2005	2005/2006
Enrolment rate, primary education (grades 1-4), as a percentage of children aged 7-10	97.0	98.2	98.4	99.5	99.1	99.0
Girls	93.5	96.2	96.0	96.9	97.0	96.3
Boys	100.3	100.2	100.7	102.0	101.1	101.3
Enrolment rate, basic education (grades 1-9), as a percentage of children aged 7-15	88.3	91.0	94.4	95.3	95.3	95.6
Girls	83.9	87.1	90.3	91.4	91.6	91.7
Boys	92.6	94.8	98.4	99.2	98.9	99.4
Enrolment rate, basic education (grades 10 and 11), as a percentage of children aged 16-17	46.0	42.3	37.6	41.8	45.8	46.4
Girls	35.9	32.2	29.2	33.5	36.3	36.2
Boys	55.8	52.2	45.8	50.0	55.1	56.2

Number of children in general educational establishments at start of academic year (thousands)

Year	No. of children	Day attendance	Grades 1-4	Grades 5-9	Grades 10-11	Evening attendance (shift) and external pupils	Special needs pupils
1991/1992	1 325.4	1 310.2	537.0	602.6	167.0	15.2	3.6
1992/1993	1 272.7	1 260.2	519.7	604.3	133.1	12.5	3.1
1993/1994	1 240.5	1 226.7	570.9	532.1	121.3	13.7	2.4
1994/1995	1 288.1	1 274.8	593.5	562.6	116.6	13.3	2.1
1995/1996	1 322.8	1 310.1	612.3	585.9	110.6	12.7	1.3
1996/1997	1 340.9	1 327.3	638.7	581.8	106.4	13.6	0.4
1997/1998	1 388.9	1 374.0	686.8	573.7	111.5	14.8	2.0
1998/1999	1 451.2	1 436.6	690.1	659.1	85.2	14.6	2.2
1999/2000	1 479.3	1 464.9	691.9	674.6	97.0	14.4	1.4
2000/2001	1 521.8	1 504.4	680.1	691.4	131.6	17.5	1.3
2001/2002	1 579.5	1 560.0	684.5	744.0	130.0	19.5	1.5
2002/2003	1 636.7	1 619.4	694.9	798.6	124.2	17.3	1.7
2003/2004	1 660.0	1 641.7	690.3	805.8	143.9	18.3	1.7
2004/2005	1 673.8	1 655.0	693.1	802.0	158.2	18.8	1.7
2005/2006	1 682.0	1 663.5	687.8	813.7	160.3	18.5	1.7
Boys
1991/1992	664.8 1	664.8	274.9	306.7	83.2	2	2
1992/1993	650.2 1	650.2	267.9	309.9	72.4	2	2
1993/1994	638.6 1	638.6	293.9	275.7	69.0	2	2
1994/1995	664.7 1	664.7	305.0	290.6	69.1	2	2
1995/1996	681.6 1	681.6	318.3	298.6	64.8	2	2
1996/1997	693.5 1	693.5	327.8	302.3	63.5	2	2
1997/1998	725.0 1	725.0	354.2	302.6	68.2	2	2
1998/1999	760.0 1	760.0	359.3	348.5	52.2	2	2
1999/2000	780.0 1	780.0	363.7	358.5	57.8	2	2
2000/2001	809.4 1	809.4	357.8	370.9	80.7	2	2
2001/2002	835.9 1	835.9	355.4	399.3	81.2	2	2
2002/2003	879.5	867.1	361.1	428.7	76.6	11.8	1.3
2003/2004	890.2	878.2	359.1	430.8	87.0	12.0	1.3
2004/2005	898.3	885.8	359.2	429.2	96.1	12.5	1.3
2005/2006	905.9	893.4	357.9	436.1	98.1	12.5	1.3
Girls
1991/1992	641.8 1	641.8	262.1	295.9	83.8	2	2
1992/1993	606.9 1	606.9	251.8	294.4	60.7	2	2
1993/1994	585.7 1	585.7	277.0	256.4	52.3	2	2
1994/1995	608.0 1	608.0	288.5	272.0	47.5	2	2
1995/1996	627.2 1	627.2	294.0	287.3	45.8	2	2
1996/1997	633.4 1	633.4	310.9	279.5	42.9	2	2
1997/1998	647.0 1	647.0	332.6	271.1	43.3	2	2
1998/1999	674.5 1	674.5	331.0	310.6	33.0	2	2
1999/2000	683.5 1	683.5	328.2	316.1	39.2	2	2
2000/2001	693.7 1	693.7	322.3	320.4	50.9	2	2
2001/2002	722.6 1	722.6	329.1	344.7	48.8	2	2
2002/2003	757.2	751.7	333.8	369.9	47.6	5.5	0.4
2003/2004	769.8	763.5	331.2	375.0	56.9	6.3	0.4
2004/2005	775.5	769.2	333.9	372.8	62.1	6.3	0.4
2005/2006	776.1	770.1	329.9	377.6	62.2	6.0	0.4

1Children attending evening shift in schools and children with special needs not included.

2Indicator introduced from 2002/2003 academic year.

General education: day schools, urban and rural areas(beginning of academic year, units)

		Type of school
Year	Total no. general education establishments	Primary schools	General basic schools	Secondary schools	Specialized schools (arts)	Specialized schools (sciences)	Special needs schools
1991/1992	3 179	614	634	1 916	1	—	14
1992/1993	3 270	623	690	1 935	5	4	13
1993/1994	3 334	625	707	1 967	15	8	12
1994/1995	3 400	644	739	1 976	11	18	12
1995/1996	3 416	654	737	1 985	12	18	10
1996/1997	3 432	663	800	1 923	12	32	2
1997/1998	3 484	664	812	1 950	18	25	15
1998/1999	3 522	663	834	1 951	24	37	13
1999/2000	3 551	675	829	1 982	24	29	12
2000/2001	3 557	663	834	1 967	32	51	10
2001/2002	3 649	660	839	2 022	51	66	11
2002/2003	3 684	662	848	2 044	59	60	11
2003/2004	3 701	667	842	2 061	64	56	11
2004/2005	3 731	671	834	2 098	67	50	11
2005/2006	3 761	671	833	2 112	77	57	11
Urban areas
1991/1992	418	26	22	361	1	—	8
1992/1993	430	27	20	368	5	3	7
1993/1994	437	28	23	357	15	7	7
1994/1995	448	28	31	359	10	13	7
1995/1996	467	43	31	389	—	—	4
1996/1997	441	30	35	345	10	21	—
1997/1998	467	30	37	355	13	20	12
1998/1999	491	34	46	353	22	26	10
1999/2000	494	37	46	353	21	33	4
2000/2001	485	34	41	346	25	35	4
2001/2002	536	34	44	368	37	45	8
2002/2003	540	34	45	367	40	46	8
2003/2004	550	37	45	369	45	46	8
2004/2005	565	46	46	376	50	39	8
2005/2006	571	44	46	377	53	43	8
Rural areas
1991/1992	2 761	588	612	1 555	—	—	6
1992/1993	2 840	596	670	1567	—	1	6
1993/1994	2 897	597	684	1 610	—	1	5
1994/1995	2 952	616	708	1 617	1	5	5
1995/1996	2 949	611	716	1 616			6
1996/1997	2 991	632	766	1 578	2	11	2
1997/1998	3 017	634	775	1 595	5	5	3
1998/1999	3 031	629	788	1 599	2	10	3
1999/2000	3 057	638	783	1 609	3	16	8
2000/2001	3 072	629	793	1 621	7	16	6
2001/2002	3 113	626	795	1 654	14	21	3
2002/2003	3 144	628	802	1 678	19	14	3
2003/2004	3 151	630	797	1 692	19	10	3
2004/2005	3 166	625	788	1 722	17	11	3
2005/2006	3 190	627	787	1 735	24	14	3

Children completing schooling in general-education establishments (thousands)

		Day attendance		Evening attendance
Year	Total no. attaining general school leaving certificate	Total	Girls*		Total	Girls**
1991	110.9	110.3		0.6
1992	106.5	106.2		0.3
1993	102.2	101.9		0.3
1994	102.2	101.9		0.3
1995	99.1	98.6		0.5
1996	104.9	103.3		1.6
1997	102.1	101.8		0.3
1998	54.2	53.8		0.3
1999	117.8	117.2		0.6
2000	117.4	116.7		0.7
2001	105.8	105.7	47.8	0.1
2002	105.0	104.9	46.9	0.1	0.5
2003	144.0	143.6	64.0	0.4	0.1
2004	144.5	144.4	63.8	0.1	0.03
2005	149.8	149.8	68.2	0.04	0.01

		Day attendance		Evening attendance
Year	Total no. attaining secondary school leaving certificate	Total	Girls*		Total	Girls**
1991	89.1	85.4		3.7
1992	81.6	79.9		1.7
1993	67.4	65.7		1.7
1994	56.4	53.7		2.7
1995	57.9	55.2		2.7
1996	53.5	51.6		1.9
1997	50.6	48.3		2.3
1998	50.7	48.8		1.9
1999	51.7	50.3		1.4
2000	36.8	33.4		3.4
2001	65.2	61.1	22.5	4.1
2002	70.3	65.2	24.1	5.1	1.5
2003	63.3	58.3	21.3	5.0	1.8
2004	64.9	59.4	23.2	5.5	2.0
2005	79.6	75.3	29.2	4.3	1.5

*Records begin 2001.

**Records begin 2002.