Date: 29 November 2024
View and Download Report: Turkmenistan – CESCR – Gender Equality– February 2025, PDF
Country: Turkmenistan
Issues: Family Planning, Sexuality Education, Bodily Autonomy, Virginity Testing
Mechanism: UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Report Type: Joint Shadow/Parallel Report by Science for Democracy, International Human Rights Center Loyola Law School and Progres Foundation
The purpose of this parallel report is to assist the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the formulation of the List of Issues during the 77th Pre-Sessional Working Group (10 Feb. 2025 – 28 Feb. 2025), leading to the discussion of the Government of Turkmenistan’s Third Periodic Report on the implementation of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (“CESCR” or “Covenant”). Turkmenistan acceded to the Covenant on 1 May 1997.
Unfortunately, gender inequality is widespread in Turkmenistan. Sexual and reproductive healthcare, specifically resources, data and information, are inadequate or lacking altogether. This is exacerbated by state-controlled media and its failure to disseminate scientific knowledge and evidence-based information. Sexual and reproductive health information is desperately needed for women to have an opportunity to reach their full potential, particularly to ensure health, economic security and legal protections.
This report recommends that change should originate in school curriculums and be reinforced by removing regulations and restrictions that deny women and girls their right to bodily autonomy. Further, we propose that adequate reporting processes for discriminatory virginity testing must be created and utilized, and meaningful family planning initiatives must be implemented. Turkmenistan’s third periodic report, submitted in November 2023, does not reference abortion care, comprehensive sexuality education, virginity testing or family planning. However, we do recognize and commend the attention brought to gender-based violence within and outside the family in the state report.
We respectfully recommend this Honorable Committee include at least one of the following questions in the List of Issues it will prepare for Turkmenistan.
- Please explain what steps Turkmenistan intends to take to repeal the law criminalizing abortion and amending the law to include exceptions for rape and incest.
- Please explain what reporting processes are in place for victims of virginity testing in schools that are confidential and not tied to the police.
- Please explain what, specifically, is included in Turkmenistan’s plan for a CSE curriculum, including the existence of comprehensive, science-based content and implementation plans, resource allocation, and monitoring processes, including teacher training.
- Please explain what steps Turkmenistan intends to take to lower the rates of unintended pregnancies in its jurisdiction.
- Please explain what steps Turkmenistan intends to take to lower the rates of teenage pregnancies in its jurisdiction.
- Please explain what steps Turkmenistan intends to take to disseminate knowledge about sexual and reproductive health and rights to women and girls.
- Please explain what steps Turkmenistan intends to take to increase contraception use.
- Please provide up-to-date data on the number of girls who have undergone virginity testing and what the government did with the data and results from the testing.
