Azerbaijan, Baku / Тrend corr S. Ilhamgizi / Azerbaijan's Party of Democratic Reforms (PDR) intends to develop a conception on improvement of women's roles in Azerbaijan's social and political life, the Chairman of the party, Asim Mollazadeh, told Trend.
According to him, women in Azerbaijani society are not active enough and they rarely take part in pubic administration. In order to enable Azerbaijan's development as a secular state, and its integration into the Euro-Atlantic space, women's rights should be expanded, leader-women should be enabled to appear, and gender equality should be provided.
"There are attempts to return Azerbaijan back to the middle ages. Forces of Islamic direction appear. In order to prevent that, the State bodies and public organizations should cooperate to extend women's rights and to fortify their positions," Mollazadeh said.
The PDR is undertaking necessary measures and will put forward for public discussion the issue on improvement of women's rights in society, he said. In compliance with the party's plans, by the next parliamentary elections (2010) a half of the candidates nominated by the PDR will be women.
The PDR is a centralized party taking a liberal direction.