Armenia

Armenia Country Gender Assessmentproperty owners. In part, this is based on traditions of registering property in the name ofmale family members and passing it down to male heirs. Also, women’s earning power isless than men’s, limiting their opportunities to independently purchase property such asland, homes, buildings, or vehicles. State land privatization schemes, carried out in the early1990s, awarded land to the head of the household, regardless of gender. In reality, however,“women only gained ownership of land in the absence of a male head of the family.” 9383. Considering a range of valuable assets, aside from land, only a small number ofwomen clearly own property independently. A survey of almost 2,800 women askedrural and urban residents whether they owned certain assets or means of production bythemselves, jointly with others (most often with husband or members of their parentalfamily), or did not own these assets (Table 5). 94 As the figures illustrate, most women areco-owners of some form of property, but even then, “it would be an overstatement to saythat they have adequate economic safeguards.” 9584. Women’s ability to exercise control over assets also determines their level ofeconomic independence. It appears that, on average, when women earn money, theyusually decide freely how the earnings will be spent, but age and marital status may alsobe determining factors. A large majority (85%) of respondents to one survey reported thatthey made decisions about their earnings, and only a small number (10.6%) gave someof their earnings to their partner. 96 A separate survey confirmed that more than half ofwomen decide how they spend money that they earn (either independently—25%; or withtheir husbands or boyfriends—32%), but a considerable number (20.1%) reported thatthey do not participate in decisions about how their earnings will be used. 97 Focus groupTable 5:Women’s Ownership of Property and Other Economic ResourcesType of Propertyor Economic ResourceOwn by Themselves(%)Own with Others(%)Do Not Own(%)Land 9.0 78.2 12.8Animals a 3.2 50.8 46.1Produce/crops 2.8 42.4 54.8Company (urban respondents) 0.8 2.9 96.3Company (rural respondents) 0.1 4.4 95.5House/apartment 12.2 76.0 11.8Large household items b 13.1 78.6 8.3Jewelry 32.9 51.8 15.3Cars 3.0 19.7 77.3aRepresents large and small animals, combined.bLarge household items refer to large appliances and furniture.Source: National Statistical Service of Armenia and UNFPA. 2011. Report on Nation-Wide Survey on Domestic Violenceagainst Women in Armenia. Yerevan.93 Social Institutions and Gender Index. Armenia. http://genderindex.org/country/armenia#_ftn6694 National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia and UNFPA. 2011. Report on Nation-Wide Survey on Domestic Violence againstWomen in Armenia. Yerevan. pp. 72–74.95 Ibid., p. 74.96 Ibid., p. 74.97 A. Dallakyan, and N. Hakobyan. 2007. Domestic Violence and Abuse of Women in Armenia: Report on Nationwide Survey Findings.Yerevan: Women’s Rights Center. p. 75.24