March of Azerbaijani feminists finds resonance in Armenia

After the resonant feminists' action in Baku, female activists in Yerevan have stated that domestic violence is a women's problem both in Azerbaijan and Armenia. However, Armenian activists do not dare to openly declare their support for Azerbaijani colleagues, fearing for the latter's safety.

The problem of women's discrimination is topical in Armenia, Zara Ovannisyan, a rights defender and the coordinator of the "Against Violence on Women" Coalition, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, adding that in Armenia discrimination is mainly manifested in the form of domestic violence.

Ms Ovannisyan has also stated that on March 8 in Yerevan and on March 9 in Gyumri, female activists held marches demanding to draw people's attention to domestic violence.

Gyulnara Shaginyan, the founder of the organization "Democracy Today", also considers the problem of domestic violence relevant in the country. In her opinion, this reflects the attitude towards women in the society. "The main problem is the society's cultural and spiritual illiteracy," she has stated.

After the "velvet" revolution in Armenia, violence and discrimination against LGBT people and people with disabilities continues, the "Human Rights Watch" (HRW) has said. The authorities do not deny problems, but fail to do everything they can to solve them, human rights defenders assert.