Zaruhi Batoyan ( hy, Զարուհի Բաթոյան; born 29 September 1979), is an Armenian political figure, journalist and disability rights activist, and the former Minister of Labor and Social Affairs in the

Second Pashinyan government The Second Pashinyan government was the executive branch of the government of Armenia from 14 January 2019 to 2 August 2021. Nikol Pashinyan was appointed Prime Minister of Armenia, Prime Minister by President of Armenia, President Armen Sarkissi ...

Biography

Zaruhi Batoyan was born in 1979 in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

. In 2008, she graduated from the Department of Journalism at

Yerevan State University Yerevan State University (YSU; hy, Երևանի Պետական Համալսարան, ԵՊՀ, ''Yerevani Petakan Hamalsaran''), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919 ...

. In 2012, she attended the Women's Institute on Leadership and Disability (WILD) training program offered by Mobility International USA in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

. From 1999 to 2014 she was the Editor-in-Chief of the children's magazine "Sunflower". Since 2007, she was responsible for the protection of the rights of people with disabilities in the NGO "Bridge of Hope". Since 2012, she has been the director of "Zartprint" LLC, which supports the employment of people with disabilities. Between 2013 and 2017, she coordinated the Union of Legal Entities "National Alliance for the Protection of Persons with Disabilities". She is the founding president of "Disability Info" NGO since 2014. As an expert on the rights of persons with disabilities, she worked with the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

, Armenia Caritas, Armenia Mission, Armenian branch of the Philharmonic Mission, Armenian branch of the British organization

OXFAM Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

and other organizations.

Political career

On 30 October 2016, she was elected member of the Board of Civil Society Party. In 2017 she was elected member of the Yerevan Council of Elders for

Way Out Alliance The Way Out Alliance ( hy, «Ելք» դաշինք, ԵԼՔ; ''YELK Dashink, YELQ'') or Yelk Alliance or simply Yelk or Way Out was a liberal political alliance of three political parties in Armenia: Civil Contract, Bright Armenia and the Hanrap ...

. On 11 June 2018 she was appointed Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs until 18 January 2019. According to the decree of the

President of Armenia The president of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Նախագահ, Hayastani Nakhagah) is the head of state and the guarantor of independence and territorial integrity of Armenia elected to a single seven-year term by the National Assembly of Arme ...

Armen Sarkissian, she was appointed Minister of Labor and Social Affairs on 19 January 2019 and took office on 30 January. She is a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

user.

References

External links

@Batoyan on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Batoyan, Zaruhi 1979 births Living people Armenian human rights activists Armenian people with disabilities Government ministers of Armenia Women government ministers of Armenia Politicians with paraplegia Labor and Social Affairs ministers of Armenia Yerevan State University alumni 21st-century Armenian women politicians 21st-century Armenian politicians Politicians from Yerevan Government ministers with disabilities Wheelchair users Activists with disabilities