A group of young women – current and expecting mothers – sent a letter to the Armenian President, urging him not to ratify the bill on Benefits for Temporary Disability and not to stimulate a range of dangerous phenomena in Armenia.

“We – current and expecting mothers – are concerned over our and our children’s future with respect to amendments introduced to the bill on Benefits for Temporary Disability. We urge you to take urgent actions for refraining from such a dangerous strategy, which threatens the further growth of our population and will facilitate migration from the country. It should be noted that women have been paid 100% of their salary as a maternity leave, while the bill envisages a benefit of maximum AMD 150,000. We consider these amendments to be a violation of our rights, as under articles 34, 35, 36 and 48 of the RA Constitution, everyone has the right to decent life conditions for himself and his family,” the letter reads.

Members of the initiative group hope that the President will not ratify the bill.