The Republic of Moldova has made progress in respect of women's rights, having a comprehensive legal framework. Even so, women face many challenges related to their representation in the decision-making system, lack of fairness in the field of employment or fighting against gender equality stereotypes.
In a press conference held at IPN, on the occasion of 25th anniversary since the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, Nina Lozinschi, Secretary General of the Gender Equality Platform, said that the existing challenges are related to the contradictory situation of Moldovan women. On the one hand, they are well trained and qualified. On the other hand, the majority are less paid or are practicing less-skilled jobs because they have to take care of family and home.
Nina Lozinschi notes good trends in women's representation in the decision-making system. But, she mentions the lack of mechanism for placing female candidates on eligible places on the lists of political parties.
The phenomenon of violence remains a challenge. There is no multidisciplinary approach to this phenomenon. “If at the legislative and normative level in Moldova we have a well-regulated situation, the education of the population for the change of mentality is lacking. Here is more work to combat gender stereotypes and roles attributed to society”, said the secretary general of the Gender Equality Platform.
Nicoleta Hriplivîi, a Promo-LEX lawyer, mentioned during the same press conference that the document - the Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women - is important not only in terms of the rights it enshrines, but also through the mechanisms it provides. The convention established the Committee for the Defense of Women's Rights. Every four years, the Committee monitors the activity of the Republic of Moldova on the implementation of the Convention at national level. Due to these monitoring, Moldova has succeeded in implementing a set of recommendations and modifying the legal framework so that the woman feels more protected. But there is still work to do in this respect.
An additional protocol of the Convention, which entered into force in 2006 for the Republic of Moldova, establishes the right to submit individual requests to the Committee, which subsequently makes recommendations, not only individual but also general for the State, said Nicoleta Hriplivîi.
Elena Burcă, from the "Casa Mărioarei" Association against Domestic Violence, said that in the first alternative report on the implementation of the Convention, the focus was on the employment of women and on the problem of violence. The recommendations made to the country's government following the report contributed to voting on the Law on ensuring equal opportunities between women and men and the Law on preventing and combating domestic violence: "There are documents that help us implement the Convention faster," says Elena Burcă.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was ratified by the Republic of Moldova on April 28, 1994, but entered into force on July 31, 1994. Valentina Bodrug-Lungu, President of Gender-Center, noted that during this period, there has been progress, but also setbacks. Among the progress, Valentina Bodrug-Lungu mentioned the comprehensive legal framework, the multiple programs for empowering women, but also the development of the security segment.
