Women in Defence Forces Against Stereotypes

“How can a profession or heroism have a gender” - Maka Kurparashvili-Simons, Major, Military doctor

Maka Kurparashvili-Simons, 43, is a doctor at a joint-use airfield. Since childhood, she has heard the people around her say that men and women are not fit for the same professions - women for these, men for those. It was then that she started feeling the need to protest against these stereotypes for the first time. “I never believed in such myths,” Maka says. “What others called ‘manly’ was simply ‘human’ to me. How can a profession or heroism have a gender? Because of this internal need to protest, I combined the two most difficult professions - medicine and military service.”

In 2001, after graduating from the Faculty of Dentistry at Tbilisi State Medical University, Maka started working at the outpatient clinic in Vaziani. It was there at the military base that she saw a woman in uniform for the first time. “I suddenly felt such a strong desire to be in her place that I couldn’t breathe,” she recalls. “Although I knew for sure that it wouldn’t work for my family, that pull was so strong that I managed to quietly find out about everything one would need in order to become a military doctor.”

Around nine months after graduating from university, Maka got a job and started working as a dentist in the First Infantry Brigade. She had a difficult job to do: the two professions of dentistry and military service had to be carefully combined - alongside her other role as a mother, which also required a lot of energy and responsibility - but she has never regretted her decision. “My mother did not want me to choose this profession,” Maka says, “but when I most needed her, she gave me amazing support. Without her, I would have struggled to succeed.”

Since then, she has been very busy with the strict schedule at boot camp, practice at the shooting range, business trips, her many patients and four challenging peacekeeping missions. Major Kurparashvili was sent first to Iraq and then three times to Afghanistan. It was at one of those missions that she met her future husband, Larry Simons.

Maka thinks that in the beginning, when she was just starting out in this job, it was much more difficult to have a military career and move up the ranks, but a lot has changed over time. Her devotion to her favourite profession, though, has remained as strong as ever: “I have been wearing two uniforms for 20 years already, serving two favourite jobs. As time passes, I feel more tangibly what a great honour it is to stand guard for your homeland and to be able to contribute even if only a little - as a doctor and as an officer. I am proud that I was given such a chance.”

It is very difficult to make plans for the future in a military career. Major Kurparashvili is constantly expecting challenges and changes. The only thing she knows for sure is that she will always be there - wherever and whenever her work is needed.

“We have already broken the stereotype that a woman has no place here” – Elene Gorozia, Corporal, Radio operator

“Mom, when I grow up, I will become a soldier just like you,” Elene Gorozia’s 5-year-old son would often say with a special sense of pride. Elene is a radio operator serving in the Signal Platoon of the Georgian National Guard Staff Company. The military environment has been as familiar to her as it has been to her son, because she too grew up with parents in the military field.

“I have been surrounded by people in uniform since my childhood, and I developed a special fascination with this profession,” says Corporal Gorozia. “Then in 2008, when my brother was killed in the August War, I finally decided to continue his work.”

Before mastering this profession, Elene took several courses. Initially, she worked in the Personnel Department and later moved to the Signal Platoon of the Staff Company. “In general, the military sector is not easy, particularly for women,” she remarks. “It is difficult to achieve equality with men. A special love for the profession helped me overcome all these difficulties.”

Along with Elene, there are a number of women in the Defence Forces. “We have already broken the stereotype that a woman has no place here,” she declares. “Everyone should do what they like and what gives them happiness. For me, that’s being in service to my homeland.”

Elene thinks that communication, especially in the military, allows for constant development, so she often participates in field training. She wants to keep expanding her knowledge and growing professionally.

The publication “Women in Service to Georgia” was prepared within the framework of the UN Women project “Accelerating Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Georgia”, generously funded by the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund of the UK Government and the UK Ministry of Defence.