Hijran Huseynova, chairwoman of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs, read out the message.

“Dear women! Dear friends! I cordially greet all the participants and guests of the 5th Women’s Forum dedicated to the centenary of granting suffrage to Azerbaijani women,” Mehriban Aliyeva said in her congratulatory letter. “The forum is taking place during the days which are very significant for Azerbaijan. Our country celebrates the centenary of a great historic event. One hundred years ago, on May 28, 1918, leading political and public figures of our country, adopting the Declaration on the Independence of Azerbaijan announced the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.”

“All the attributes of the statehood - the coat of arms, the flag, the anthem, the national army and the monetary unit - were established in the young republic,” says the letter.

“Such values ​​of our people as love of freedom, dignity, tolerance and respect for women were reflected in the state-building in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. For the first time in the Muslim East, a democratic republic with a multi-national and multi-party parliament was created. Namely then, 100 years ago, a very progressive decision was made ahead of time in the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic - for the first time in the Muslim East, much earlier than in the US and many European countries, women, along with men, received the right to elect and be elected in the independent Azerbaijan,” Mehriban Aliyeva said.

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