New York, June 4, 2000: June 3 was a unique day in the history of the United Nations: for the first time, NGOs were accorded a special session of their own. Although they still continue to remain mere observers at the official session, it is certainly a step forward, a definite acknowledgement of the crucial role they play in development. For the 3,000 women representing 1,250 NGOs from all over the world participating in this review of the progress made in the five years since the Beijing conference, it is "no big deal"; what they are waiting for is the day they can organize such a conference and "invite the UN and other governments to attend as observers".

The usually somber, starched and suited UN building was alive with women in colorful, bright national dresses. The sounds of laughter and happy voices speaking many languages filled the conference halls and corridors; conference hall three, where the NGO working session was held, has probably never seen such a vibrant, warm, enthusiastic meeting. Loud cheers and applause greeted the speakers as they reported on the progress or otherwise -- made in their regions.

Based on the information received from various parts of the world, an NGO report has been prepared as an alternative to the official one. Central Asia has been included under the Asia-Pacific region, representing 60% of the world's women. The presentation made at the UN by this group was very interesting and colorful. Using beautiful silk scarves one black, to symbolize the tears and suffering women have to bear today, and a beautiful, multi-hued one to show the joy and promise of the future they conveyed the message that the women who weave this silk fabric should not hide themselves behind it but use it instead as a banner to move forward towards a more equal, better world.

At the end of the lively presentation, a chorus of women's voices spontaneously chanted together: "United we stay in justice, peace and harmony." It was a fitting and moving end to a very heartwarming, lively sharing of common concerns.

The spokeswoman for Central Asia, Elmira Suleimenova of the Azerbaijan Women and Development Center, said in an interview to this writer: "The critical areas of concern in Central Asia remain poverty, unemployment, under-representation in government and parliament and armed conflicts. I am also concerned with the situation in Nagorny Karabakh where the conflict has been on now for 12 years. Among the achievements have been the development of the women's movement and women's organizations. We have also been successful in integrating with the international women's movement."

However, compared to other regions, which had several representatives, Suleimenova was the only one for Central Asia. The main reason for this is a lack of funds but maybe lack of initiative too. As Elmira put it, "If Central Asian NGOs are under-represented in actions like this or not taken seriously by their governments, it is their own fault. We have lived under the Soviet totalitarian regime for so long that it will take some time before we start realizing our potential."

Three women icons

The non governmental organizations in Central Asia became active only five or six years ago and hence their level of skills in advocacy and lobbying is still very poor. In spite of this, three women from the region have been included in the Roll of Honor of women from around the globe who contributed to the development and advancement of women -- Nurgul Janaeva of Kyrgyzstan, Elmira Suleimenova of Azerbaijan and Marfua Tokhtokhojaeva of Uzbekistan.

These three women have been fighting for women's rights in their own countries and internationally. Janaeva and Suleimenova are members of the Steering Committee of the Asia-Pacific Women's Watch, the largest network of women's NGOs in the world, which developed the Asia-Pacific regional report at UNGASS.

Janaeva is also the President of the Forum of Women NGOs of Kyrgyzstan which is an umbrella organization of over 30 WNGOs. The Forum helps advance women's organizations through networking and capacity development support. They organize regular workshops and training sessions on various subjects from human rights to leadership development. Thanks to the Forum's efforts Tajik women-refugees were able to set up their own NGO "Khairinisso". Some would argue this kind of assistance is not practical and useful but such assistance offers women the opportunity to learn about their human rights and receive leadership training, which they would otherwise have no access to. All this helps in empowering and advancing women.

Suleimenova is the President of the Azerbaijan Women and Development Center, an organization involved in research, training and development for women. In addition to its involvement in women's advocacy in the international arena, this NGO is a member of 18 international organizations. It helps women to secure credit to set up businesses. In this contest, the veteran activist proudly mentioned the case of a woman whom they helped to set up a farm. She went on to win an international award for women's initiatives in agriculture. AWDC also manages a reproductive health project, which reaches out to 45,000 women in the country, including those living in remote areas of Azerbaijian.

*Cholpon Akmatova is a member of the Global Women's Media Team (GWMT) for the UN General Assembly Session to Review the Beijing Platform for Action. The team is composed of NGO women and women journalists from Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. The GWMT is coordinated by Isis International-Manila and generously supported by UNIFEM-East and Southeast Asia, UNIFEM-South Asia, Canadian International Development Agency-Southeast Asia Gender Equity Programme, UNDP-Latin America and the Caribbean, UNDP-Mongolia, British High Commission in Vanuatu, Foundation for Sustainable Society, Inc; National Centre for Cooperation in Development (NCOS-Pilipinas), World Council of Churches, and WomenAction.