Elvira Kadyrova, Raviliya Kadyrova, Liliya Zhirnova
On 11 December 2025, in the National Tourist Zone of Awaza of Turkmenistan, the International Conference “The Role of Women in Modern Society: Developing International Cooperation for Sustainable Development” took place. The conference was organized jointly with the United Nations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Charitable Foundation for Assisting Children in Need of Guardianship named after Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
At the plenary session of the conference on the topic “Expanding Multilateral Dialogue and Cooperation as a factor for Strengthening the Role of Women in Political, Economic, and Socio-humanitarian dimensions,” the keynote speech was delivered by Oguljahan Atabaeva, Vice-President for Medical Activities of the Charitable Foundation for Assisting Children in Need of Guardianship named after Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
Opening her speech, she emphasized the main message of the conference: the modern woman is the link that connects family, education, medicine, humanitarian, and social spheres. “Respect for a woman is a duty that every honest person must obey from birth,” Oguljahan Atabaeva quoted the words of the famous Spanish playwright Lope de Vega.
She also recalled the words of the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, from his book “Worship of the Mother – Bowing Before the Shrine”: “All that is beautiful in a person’s life is somehow connected with the mother.”
These eternal values, according to Atabaeva, are today embodied in the state policy of Turkmenistan, aimed at expanding opportunities for women in healthcare, education, social protection, and entrepreneurship.
Oguljahan Atabaeva paid special attention to the activities of the Charitable Foundation named after Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. The Foundation implements large-scale projects for child protection: protecting the health of mothers and children, creating child-friendly schools and hospitals in cooperation with UNICEF, rehabilitating children in specialized centers, and providing humanitarian assistance to children in Türkiye, Ukraine, Palestine, Afghanistan, and other countries.
Speaking about the regional dimension, the Foundation’s Vice-President noted the growing role of the Dialogue of Women of Central Asia. The meeting held on November 25 in Dushanbe showed that women’s leadership is becoming an increasingly tangible factor in strengthening trust and interstate interaction in the region.
Humanitarian Initiatives of Turkmenistan Presented at the Conference in Awaza
Oguljahan Atabaeva presented two international initiatives of Turkmenistan in the humanitarian sphere, in the advancing of which the Turkmen side is ready to work jointly with partners:
The initiative “Every Child Has the Right to Health.” The initiative is aimed at creating a unified pact focused on forming a common space of responsibility for states and international organizations for children’s health, regardless of their place of residence or social status. The pact could include unified standards in the field of pediatric medicine. The initiative emphasizes the need to create child-oriented hospitals, schools, rehabilitation centers, and in the future – an international children’s health database.
The second initiative calls for the creation of an international network of support centers for women and children (so-called “humanitarian hubs”), which could be located in countries facing natural, migratory, or social challenges. Such centers would provide psychological, medical, and legal assistance, create safe educational spaces for children, deliver operational humanitarian aid, and train specialists. A key part of the initiative could be the creation of a unified international coordination platform, uniting the efforts of UNDP, WHO, UNICEF, the UN Women structure, leading foundations, and other organizations.
Concluding her speech, Oguljahan Atabaeva shared an observation from her daily work with children: “Their strength of spirit often surpasses the capabilities of adults. They teach us courage, patience, and purity of thought. They remind us that the task of adults is not to complicate the world, but to cherish and protect it. And it is women who most often fulfill this mission quietly, daily, without pathos, but with enormous inner strength.”
Wide Geographical Coverage
At the plenary session, the following speakers shared their expertise and initiatives, promoted by their respective countries and organizations:
- Tatiana Valovaya, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva.
- Saida Mirziyoeva, Head of the Administration of the President of Uzbekistan
- Leyla Aliyeva, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation
- Selmira Sacramento, President of the National Assembly of Sao Tome and Principe
- Dilrabo Mansuri, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan
- Princess Lindiwe, Minister of Home Affairs of the Kingdom of Eswatini
- Aksoltan Ataeva, Permanent Representative of Turkmenistan to the United Nations
- Nancy Shukri, Minister of Women, Family and Community Development of Malaysia
- Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al-Misnad, Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar.
- Representative of Iran.
- Zhanna Chefranova, First Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation on Social Policy
- Huang Xiaowei, Vice-President and First Member of the Secretariat of the All-China Women’s Federation, as well as Deputy Chair of the National Working Committee on Children and Women under the State Council of China
- Akmaral Alnazarova, Minister of Health of Kazakhstan
- Dogdurkul Kendirbaeva, Minister of Education of Kyrgyzstan
The participation of representatives from Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, China, Russia, and the UN underscores that issues of women’s leadership and gender equality today extend far beyond individual regions and have become one of the key topics on the global agenda.
After the ceremonial opening and the plenary session with the participation of high-level leaders, the forum’s work continued in the format of three parallel thematic panel discussions.
- The first session was dedicated to the topic “Public Administration and the Activities of Public Institutions for the Benefit of Women and Children.”
- The second session focused on “Economic Opportunities for Women.”
- The third session was held under the title “Social Activity of Women in the Fields of Education, Child Rearing, Health Protection, and Ecology.”
All three sessions confirmed the general conclusion: empowering women is not a narrow departmental task, but serves as one of the main drivers of sustainable development in all regions of the world.
Signed Documents
The forum concluded with the signing of a large package of documents that cement the practical partnership between Turkmenistan, UNICEF, and UNFPA:
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Charitable Foundation for Assisting Children in Need of Guardianship named after Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and the UNICEF Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026 between the Mejlis of Turkmenistan and the UNICEF Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026 between the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan and the UNICEF Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026 between the State Committee for Television, Radio Broadcasting, and Cinematography of Turkmenistan and the UNICEF Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026 between the Supreme Court of Turkmenistan and the UNICEF Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026 between the General Prosecutor’s Office of Turkmenistan and the UNICEF Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026 between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkmenistan and the UNICEF Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026 between the Ministry of Defense of Turkmenistan and the UNICEF Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026 between the Institute of State, Law, and Democracy of Turkmenistan and the UNICEF Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026 between the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Turkmenistan and the UNICEF Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026 between the State Agency for Statistics and the UNICEF Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026 between the Office of the Ombudsman of Turkmenistan and the UNICEF Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026-2027 between the Mejlis of Turkmenistan and the UNFPA Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026-2027 between the State Committee for Physical Culture and Sports and the UNFPA Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026-2027 between the Supreme Court of Turkmenistan and the UNFPA Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026-2027 between the Institute of State, Law, and Democracy of Turkmenistan and the UNFPA Representation in Turkmenistan.
- Working Plan for 2026 between the State Agency for Statistics and the UNFPA Representation in Turkmenistan.
///nCa, 11 December 2025
Here are some pictures from the event:
