On September 4, 2015, Arpine Hovhannisyan, a member of the Republican Party of Armenia, was appointed as the Minister of Justice. This appointment was unprecedented, marking the first time a woman was given a high-ranking position outside of education, culture, or social affairs in the Armenian government.
On September 10, 2015, a journalist asked the newly appointed minister as she was leaving the government building: “Is your appointment linked to Hovik Abrahamyan?” Arpine Hovhannisyan responded that she was appointed to that position upon the president’s decision.
Nearly ten years have passed since then, and once again, a woman, Srbuhi Galyan, is serving as the Minister of Justice. During a press conference on January 14, 2025, a journalist asked her about her relationship with the first lady. The underlying question seemed to be whether her appointment was influenced by the first lady, who is the Prime Minister’s wife. The minister responded, “Our relationship is professional; what else could my relationship with the first lady be?”In such cases, it is said that nothing has changed.
Both ten years ago and today, the mentality remains the same: a woman can be appointed to a high-responsibility position only if certain factors are in place, and intelligence, experience, and management skills are definitely not among the most important of these factors.
In a parallel situation to the recent question-and-answer session between justice ministers and journalists a decade ago and Today: a journalist from the opposition media reminds minister Arpine Hovhannisyan “with good intentions”: “Today, one of the international newspapers has named you the most beautiful and youngest minister in the world, born in a small country. Will this have any impact…?”
The journalist does not finish her thoughts or specify the impact she implies, but the minister responds that she believes it won’t have any effect.
On January 14, 2025, a journalist from an opposition media outlet addressed Minister Galyan by referencing the movie “Charlie’s Angels,” commenting, “The public compares the appointment of female leaders in the military and law enforcement sectors to Charlie and his angels solving problems. You have taken on the role of these angels. What angelic work will you accomplish that your male counterparts were unwilling to do?”
Before this question, the minister had discussed the importance of gender equality, emphasizing that professionalism should take precedence over gender when appointing individuals to positions. However, the journalist’s intention was evident when bringing up the movie “Charlie’s Angels” and attempting to compare female officials to angels. “Angels,” “angelic,” but Srbuhi Galyan did not take the bait.
“I consider the topic of Charlie’s Angels closed. It’s a shame that so much emphasis is placed on the official because she is a woman. In the future, I suggest we focus on the work performed by the official rather than on gender. I believe the discussion around gender-related issues should end,” said the minister.
Discussions about women in high-ranking positions gained momentum following Nikol Pashinyan’s recent appointments. The first groundbreaking appointment was made in 2022 when Anna Vardapetyan became the Prosecutor General. In 2024, Arpine Sargsyan was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs. Most recently, on January 8, 2025, Tsovinar Tadevosyan took over as the head of the Penitentiary Service within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Therefore, the “end” mentioned by Srbuhi Galyan can, at best, only be postponed until the next appointment. There are still critical sectors within the executive that remain “untouched by women,” including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense, and the National Security Service.
In Armenia, seven high-ranking positions, including Prosecutor General, Human Rights Defender, Head of the Penitentiary Service, and four ministers, are held by women.after Nikol Pashinyan took office. This change is not only reflected in the numbers but also in the broader roles that women now occupy. Before Pashinyan became Prime Minister, women predominantly held positions in the social sector, such as education, culture, and social security, often serving as heads of departments or deputy ministers. However, under Pashinyan’s leadership, women were appointed to traditionally male-dominated fields—areas that had previously been perceived as suitable only for men.
While many are trying to understand why Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan decided to entrust the leadership of the law enforcement system specifically to women or why he is doing so at such a pace, during a session on January 16, the Prime Minister stated, “Girls are more competitive than boys. Without quotas, EU programs, or feminist movements, boys will be pushed out of the top positions.”