YEREVAN — It is a priority for our government to create opportunities for the maximum involvement of women in public administration, law enforcement, security, economic, political, scientific, and other spheres because it is obvious that without the full utilization of this potential, the development opportunities of our country will be significantly reduced. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said in a congratulatory message on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

The message reads as follows:

“I extend my congratulations to each and every one of you on the occasion of March 8, International Women’s Day. When we discuss women, we are referring to the majority of the population of the Republic of Armenia, as 53 percent of its population are women.

And for me, as the Prime Minister of the country, this day is an opportunity to think once again about the full involvement of women’s potential in the development of our country.

From the outset, March 8 was founded in the context of protecting women’s labor, political, educational, and other rights, and this is also the reason for this perception.

It is a priority for our government to create opportunities for the maximum involvement of women in public administration, law enforcement, security, economic, political, scientific, and other spheres, because it is obvious that without the full use of this potential, the development opportunities of our country will be significantly decreased.

Today, we state with pride that many women in Armenia are involved in economic activities and create value with daily creative work and pay taxes. Today, many women are involved in the law enforcement system, serve in the police and the army, and we want their number to increase because it is in the interests of our country.

Many women hold high government posts. It is significant to emphasize that the reason for their positions is not being a woman, but being a good specialist, manager, organizer, and figure.

Women in our country must have access to high-quality education, and we have also adopted the program of 300 Schools and Academic City to address this issue.

But with all this, the demographic problems of our country will deepen if women are not inclined to have more and more children. This is also the reason why we adopted the program 500 kindergartens, which is only the first 500 and will allow many women to avoid the choice of ‘work or have a child.’ For the solution to this problem, we have introduced the institution of paternity leave so that men share the responsibility of childcare more with women. Also, to solve this problem, we have created a number of programs in the field of reproduction, and these policies will continue and deepen.

Dear people, dear compatriots,

Today we pay special tribute to the women who sacrificed their lives for the Motherland, our sisters, mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters of our soldiers who gave their lives for the motherland. The state, only a sovereign, developed, strong, and prosperous state will become a solace for the grief of loss, and we are going that way. Glory to the martyrs and long live the Republic of Armenia.

Happy Women’s Day!”