DUSHANBE, November 28, Asia-Plus - Mobilizing civil society to participate in the development and implementation of governmental policies and strategies is the major topic of the third OSCE-sponsored forum of women’s non-government organizations (NGOs), entitled “Women and Development Issues”, which opened in Dushanbe on Tuesday, November 28.

The two-day forum chaired by Deputy Prime Minister, Khayrinisso Mavlonova, has brought together representatives of Tajik women*s NGOs, government agencies and international community.  The Shadow Report on the implementation of the UN Convention on Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in Tajikistan will be presented during the forum.

Key speakers at the event include Klaus Rasmussen, Acting Head of the OSCE Center in Dushanbe, Khayrinisso Mavlonova, Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan, Sitora Sherova, Head of the Committee on Women and Family Affairs, and Nargis Azizova, UNIFEM Gender and Governance Advisor.

The forum is co-organized with the Tajik Committee for Women and Family Affairs, UNIFEM and the NGO “Gender and Development”.