OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek staff undergoes intensive gender training course

The OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek staff members have undergone a rigorous gender training course conducted by the Kyrgyzstani non-governmental organization Women Support Center, from 19 to 24 August 2018 in Bishkek.

Women Support Center is one of Kyrgyzstan’s leading non-governmental organizations, founded in 1996 by Rozetta Aitmatova, a pioneering gender equality activist in the country.

The Gender School, held for 30 staff members, focused on the gender equality movement and issues in Kyrgyzstan, as well as on the mechanisms to better gender mainstream within the Office’s projects and activities.

The topics covered included: gender stereotypes, gender statistics, gender budgeting, women’s political participation, women’s economic empowerment, gender-based violence, results-oriented management of projects, gender analysis and indicators, Kyrgyzstan’s national action plans in the gender sphere, the study of international documents that support gender equality such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, UNSC resolution 1325 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 

“The Gender School allowed me to profoundly reflect upon the state of gender equality in Kyrgyzstan and helped me to overlay a gender lens across any action I will undertake in the future,” said Kunduz Rysbek, Programme Office Gender Focal Point and National Press and Public Information Officer.

Rimma Sultanova, Gender School Director, said: “Gender roles are very different in Kyrgyzstan and our course aimed at helping the OSCE staff get a deeper understanding of the root causes of these roles, how they affect our institutions and the outcomes of both these institutions and the social constructions they are built upon.”

The Gender School was initiated by Head of Mission Pierre von Arx and is a part of a larger capacity building program for the Programme Office staff.