The message of the month-long “She is the Power” campaign is to mark International Women’s Day and to celebrate the success, abilities and power of women in Azerbaijan. “The EU is proud to celebrate International Women’s Day under “Team Europe” umbrella with more than 20 Azerbaijani women from various fields who are the “faces” of our campaign. Our aim is to inspire all generations and to initiate a discussion on what makes a woman powerful. Through its policies and programmes the EU aims to ensure women can participate fully in all areas of society and to increase opportunities in education and employment,” said Peter Michalko, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Azerbaijan.

The “faces” of the EU Delegation campaign feature women from the fields of Culture, Education, Sport, Civil Society, Business, Health as well as of mainly male dominated Aviation and Security.

EMPOWERING STORIES

Malahat Alvasova’s honey-like narrative, sweet and tangy like persimmon itself

A refrigerator designed to contain 150 kilos of fruit, a machine to wash fruits, a chamber capable of drying up to three tons of fruits, and nickel-plated tables. But is that setting enough to dry persimmon?

Ilhama Musayeva’s story of inspiration and great delight

She wears a lot of hats during the high season, preparing 1,200 jars of pickled cucumbers and another 1,800 jars of ajika (spicy dip to flavor food), and cooking 40 pieces of pirozhki (hand-sized yeast-leavened buns) per hour.

The honey flavoured story of Nazakat Jamalova

Last summer, dreams finally came true for beekeeper Nazakat Jamalova, a beneficiary of two EU-funded projects and a resident of Hanifa rural settlement in Balakan, an administrative district in the north-western edge of Azerbaijan.

Saadat Dibirova’s story of fortitude as strong as black tea

A resident of Yukhari Tala, a rural settlement in Azerbaijan’s northwestern administrative district of Zagatala, and a beneficiary of an EU initiative, Saadat Dibirova speaks of the women who founded Çinar, the country’s first women’s cooperative.

Italian watch

Aytan Khalilzada, a young fashion designer and RozSev brand creator, underwent a one-month fashion design course at the Instituto di Moda Burgo, a private school of fashion, in Milan last summer, after receiving a mobility grant under the EU4Culture project.

Yegana and Matlab tell a multi-faceted story as diverse as the juicy pomegranate seeds

Yegana Nuriyeva, a beneficiary of the EU funded Support to Transformation and Achievement of Excellence in Pomegranate Value Chain (STEP) Project, is well known as the owner of Nar Vadisi (Pomegranate Valley) tourist facility in Garamaryam, a rural settlement of Goychay, an administrative district in the central part of Azerbaijan.

PAPA DIPLOMA

As a beneficiary and ‘Papa’ diploma holder under the EU-funded project School for dads – a transformation of responsible fatherhood, implemented jointly by UN Women and UN Population Fund (UNFPA), Ravan Jabrayilov, nevertheless, beleives that neither fatherhood lessons nor exams are set to be over.