Sahil Aliyev

Sahil Aliyev, a 28 year-old father-to-be joined the Papa School with deeply entrenched patriarchal norms : “At home, at school, at work, we are being taught that men should be masculine. I remember my mother saying that men should have the final word on everything in the family, even if he is not right”. By actively participating in every session, he believes that he gained more insights into the topic he had never discussed before. “I found myself talking about gender, sex and family relationships - topics that I have never openly discussed with strangers. To be honest, now I admit that I was violent towards my ex-girlfriend by limiting her access to some possible opportunities or imposing restrictions on the way she dressed. But I really wasn’t cognizant about this until participating in the Papa School sessions on gender-based violence. I cannot say that I have managed to get rid of all these stereotypes over the course of these past eight weeks, but I can confidently say that I feel sorry for the way I behaved before. And what I’m sure of now is that having been able to reflect on many of these issues, I’ll do my best to treat my current partner with empathy and full respect.” During the eight-week Papa School courses, the trained experts and facilitators delivered a range of sessions on gender-based discrimination and violence related issues in Azerbaijan. Alongside this, the participants were also given a chance to explore the concepts of family planning and reproductive health, intimate partnerships, abortions, femicides, lack of women’s participation and benefits of women’s empowerment.