For the past few years, Natalia has been working as a kindergarten teacher in her hometown of Chișinău. One day, Natalia informed her boss that she was pregnant, and was soon fired without any compensation or maternity allowance. Losing a job is a tragedy for the average citizen of Moldova: it’s hard to find another, especially if you live outside the city.
The costs are even greater for women. Women’s rights activists point to gender inequality amidst Moldova’s on-going economic, political and social crisis — with devastating results. As the UN special rapporteur wrote in a 2014 report on extreme poverty in Moldova: “Women continue to have limited economic opportunities compared with men, despite important recent progress towards equality in education.”
Natalia did achieve some justice later. In a decision from December 2015, Moldova’s council on the prevention and elimination of discrimination stated that this sacking was an act of discrimination, and demanded that the director respect Natalia’s rights.
