Vano Siradeghyan’s suggestion to have women in the traffic police system in Armenia years ago, to put it mildly, was accepted unequivocally. While the logic was clear: taking into consideration our national peculiarities, the law-breaking driver would feel uncomfortable to offer a bribe to a woman, and the latter would feel shy to demand a bribe from the driver. This initiative, however, was not developed: women are patrolling in Yerevan nowadays instead, which is a positive phenomenon: the presence of women make men feel like in a “bracing air”.
A number of important appointments have recently been made in government posts. Tatevik Revazyan has been appointed as Chairwoman of the Civil Aviation Committee, Inessa Gabayan as Chairwoman of the Water Committee, Hripsime Grigoryan as Chairman of the State Tourism Committee, Diana Gasparyan as Acting Head of Echmiadzin Community, Lilit Stepanyan as Acting Head of Hrazdan community. If we also count the Labor and Social Affairs Minister Mane Tandilyan and Minister of Culture Lilit Makunts as well as a number of Deputy Ministers, then we will have a pretty significant presence of young women in the governing bodies.
This is not an implementation of some western “gender” standards, but a step towards changing the situation in the state system, first and foremost in the context of the fight against corruption. Women are dominant in the governments and parliaments in northern European countries, where corruption rates are also the lowest. Researchers have found a cause and effect link between these two facts for a long time so far. Women are more cautious, more conscientious, and less likely to strive for becoming rich at any cost. They have other ambitions, self-affirmation through money is not the priority for most of the women.
The problems that especially tourism, the field of civil aviation and the water economy in Armenia’s face, are of course enormous. There are many corrupt in these fields who will not easily surrender. But since there are no such suspicions about the new leaders, the problems are solvable.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
