Four women cycling from Jakarta to Amsterdam to raise awareness of women’s rights stopped by the Azerbaijan Women’s Participation Program office while they were cycling through the country, and met with Chief of Party Ilgar Agasibeyli to discuss Counterpart’s Women’s Participation Program and women’s rights in Azerbaijan.

The women are cycling for 400 days for their foundation, Ride 4 Women’s Rights (R4WR). At each stop, they meet with local women’s rights projects working on family planning, gender equality and education.

“I was very excited to meet with the R4WR Team,” said Ilgar. “What they are doing is unique and they are very enthusiastic about raising awareness of women’s rights around the world.”

The Women’s Participation Program talked with R4WR about what they have been doing to support women in Azerbaijan by raising public awareness and empowering more women to engage in the political process. Ilgar and his team also shared how they are working to develop the capacity of women-focused civil society organizations and government institutions working on women’s issues.

“We had a very productive exchange about the situation of women’s rights in Azerbaijan and what kind of innovative approaches could be used by local women-led NGOs to advocate for women’s rights,” he said.

R4WR discussed their trip with the team, sharing stories of their experiences and women they have met along the way. They also talked about what they’ve been doing to raise awareness about women’s rights on their trip.

Ilgar added, “I believe young women from Azerbaijan could be inspired by this effort and it is my strong wish that both the Women’s Participation Program and R4WR continue to teach and encourage women to push for equality.”

Learn more about the trip and R4WR: http://r4wr.org/.