AZERBAIJAN
BORDERLESS VIOLENCE
Domestic Violence in Foreign
Refugee Families in Azerbaijan
Head of Project: Mehriban Zeynalova
Sociologist: Vafa Saleh
Azerbaijan - The main
purpose of the research on the family relations of the foreign refugee families
is to determine the level of domestic conflicts, to assist to solve them and to
provide the security in the society. The hypotheses which were supposed in the
beginning of the research were proven like these:
·
the
foreign refugee women do not have any rights
·
the
opinions of the women are not considered in the solutions of family
problems
·
the
foreign refugee women often have to face with psychological
violence
·
most of the women depend on
the men economically
·
the
foreign refugee women are not active social-political life, they do not care
their problems
·
the
foreign refugee women have to face physical violence (they are battered,
offended etc.)
·
the
foreign refugee women have not freedom of speech and they can not go where they
want
·
the
foreign refugee women have to face with different kinds of prohibitions and
threatens
·
the
men are against the women to work
·
the
foreign refugee children are not satisfied with their
lives
·
the
foreign refugee children have educational and healthy
problems
According to the
goals of the research these facts were explored:
1.
The
earnings of the foreign refugee families are 50-100 AZN. This amount is equal to
average salary of the most Azerbaijani citizen families.
2.
The
respondents replied “good” to the question on family issues, but deep
comparative analysis demonstrated that this “good” respond was drawn from
customs and traditions, indeed these relations were not so
good.
3.
Most of the women in the
foreign refugee families depended on the husbands economically. The women are
not free in the ruling of a family budget. They have to report for all expenses.
The expenses of a family are under the control of the men.
4.
There are prohibitions against
the women and the children members of a family. It was also explored that these
prohibitions have both economic and public
characteristics.
5.
The
foreign refugee women feel very tension due to their difficult condition and
domestic conflicts.
6.
There is sexual violence
against the women in families. But the women do not evaluate this as violence
they think is right not crime
7.
The
foreign refugee women try to hide physical domestic violence against them.
Sometimes the women think their behaviors cause this violence and it is their
own fault. “The syndrome of guiltiness” is common among the women.
8.
It
was discovered that violence starts from the beginning of a marriage, but
environment has great impact on the dynamic of conflicts.
9.
It
was clarified the great impact of domestic conflicts on the members of a family.
The huge emotional causalities among the women and depressions among the men
were noticed.
10.
Heartache among the women and
blood pressure among the men were noticed.
11.
The
children have mood instability in families where there is violence
12.
These families need economic
support most but along with economic they need medical, advice, psychological
and legal support.
Summary
This research
explored violence against the women and the children which causes the breaking
of these rights:
The below items of
the fourth article of Convention on “The elimination of all forms of
discriminations against women”
·
the
right to live (article A)
·
the
right to self security (Article C)
·
the
right to avoid all forms of discrimination (Article E)
·
the
right to equality, personal freedom and self security, to avoid all forms of
discrimination, danger, inhumanity and/or self-offensive punishment and
attitudes (b, j, e, h items of Article 3)
·
equal right to
work
·
the
right to allocation from state budget for the elimination of all forms violence
against women (h item of Article 4)
According to
Convention on “the elimination of all forms of discriminations against
women”:
·
the
right to avoid all forms discriminations, the equal right with men to
participation in political, social, economic and cultural life (Article 2; 3 and
7)
·
the
equal right of women to property rights and opportunities for its realization,
and also the right of women to sign contracts and to manage property, to stand
in all levels of courts as an equal person (the first item of Article
15)
Convention on “The
protection of Human Rights and Common Freedoms”
·
the
right to marriage (Article 12)
Convention on “The
citizenship of married women”
·
Article 1 and 2
These rights of the
children were broken:
Protocol of
Convention on “The protection of Human Rights and Common
Freedoms”
·
The right to
education
Convention on
Children’s rights
·
the
right of children to get good medical service and healthcare (Article
24)
·
the equal rights of children to education and to
maintain it
Recommendations
1.
In order to
manage to diminish economic tensions among the family members, it would be
useful to conduct educational projects on a family business and its practice
among these people. In these projects/programmes the participation of the women
must be highlighted.
2.
By maintaining
the participation of all family members to conduct information programmes on
human, women and children rights
3.
In order to
reduce the stigma of “self-blaming” among the women to increase the education
level of the women and to conduct information events among the
women
4.
To strengthen
psychological aid among these families; to open psychological support centres
for providing practical assistance. To provide the men and the women as well as
the children to utilize these service.
5.
To organize for
the children the system of school at home, the retired teachers and NGO
volunteers can be used for this purpose.
6.
To widen the
gynecological aid
for the women
THE NOTES of THE
RESEARCHER:
This research
was conducted among diverse the nationalities and the
cultures.
Although the respondents have
same religion they are the representatives of different cultures and traditions.
For example, during the survey among the Chechen families we became a witness
that the Chechen women know more about their rights (than Afghani, Pakistani,
Iranian, Iraqi and Indian) and are more active in social life. They are also
more active in a family life than Afghani and Iraqi women are. At the time they
are violated in a family more than others. They are beaten, offended and face
with physical, psychological and economic violence. It is strange that they do
not agree with this situation and think that this situation can be taken
on.
We became witnesses quite
opposite in the Afghani, Pakistani, Iraqi and Iranian families. Indeed we had
been waiting for the different situation but met the quite different situation.
The Afghani, Iraqi and Pakistani almost do not know their rights, they are quite
passive in social life and their demands are less than the Chechen women are.
But our review proved that these women are violated less than the Chechen are.
Especially, in the Iranian families the attitude towards women is different. In
these families the men are much more tolerate to their wives. This fact was also
indicated by the doctors and psychologist in the hospital where the foreign
refugee women often apply.
The psychologist in the
hospital said the number of the foreign refugee women who apply for
psychological aid is very few. Especially, the Afghani and Iraqi women almost do
not apply for psychological aid. It can be found after a long conversation if
these women face with violence or not. In most cases these women accept violence
against quite usual and normal. We should also mention one point. After the
interviews and the conversation with both the refugees and the doctors it was
found out that the Chechen besides physical violence face economic and
psychological violence more than others do. Almost all the burden of a family
falls on the shoulders of these women (beginning from the financial supply to
bringing the children up).