Women in the Defence Forces advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda in Georgia
UN Women, in partnership with the Ministry of Defence of Georgia, has been actively working on gender mainstreaming in the ministry for more than a decade. Among other initiatives, this collaboration involves the appreciation and recognition of the contribution of women in the Georgian Defence Forces. This was the very purpose of the publication “Women in Service to Georgia”, prepared by UN Women in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence. Lieutenant Colonel Tamar Kitiashvili and Lieutenant Colonel Ekaterine Kharashvili are two of the heroes featured in this publication.
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“Women in the military always have to prove their abilities” - Tamar Kitiashvili, Lieutenant-Colonel
Tamar Kitiashvili, 47, is a lawyer by profession. She also holds a PhD in informatics and has been using this knowledge in the Georgian Defence Forces since 2011. “I have always been aware of the obligation that every person has towards his or her own country,” Tamar explains.
“When I was given the opportunity to become part of the Defence Forces due to my profession, it was this sense of duty that helped me make the decision. I wanted to use my knowledge and skills to serve my homeland, try on a military uniform and be among the defenders of my country.”
Tamar’s family tried to convince her that she would not be able to serve in the Defence Forces and that the learning process would be too difficult for her. But for Tamar, hearing different views did not mean blindly believing them. Instead, she went through all the necessary steps to advance her military career: the initial combat course was followed first by the career course for captains and then by the command-staff course, which further fuelled her motivation.
Tamar currently serves as the Senior Officer at the NATO Classified Information Sub-Registry, in the Division of the Regime of Confidentiality Protection and the NATO Classified Information Sub-Registry, within the Administration Department of the General Staff. Lieutenant-Colonel Kitiashvili’s main duty is to obtain NATO-classified information, protect its security and organize the transfer to those responsible for its implementation.
“Unfortunately, women in the military always have to prove their abilities and show that they can maintain a balance between career and family,” Tamar observes. She herself has two children: Nikoloz, a cadet at the Cadets Military Lyceum, and Ioseb, a student at the Academy of Information Technology. By deciding to follow in their mother’s footsteps, they have also showed that Tamar’s career, which is aimed at continuous advancement, is an exemplary path for them as well.
“I have given my military career as much care as I have given to my children“ - Ekaterine Kharashvili, Lieutenant-Colonel
Twenty years ago, when Ekaterine Kharashvili was just starting to work as a translator at the Ministry of Defence of Georgia, she could not have imagined that the military field would fascinate her so much that she would enrol in the National Defence Academy and pursue a career as an officer, let alone successfully serve on a peacekeeping mission.
Ekaterine currently serves as a Lieutenant-Colonel and Deputy Head of the Human Resources Policy Division of the Department of Human Resources, where her main task involves developing medium- and long-term policies for military personnel and coordinating various processes. At the same time, she is a member of the Gender Equality Monitoring Group at the Ministry.
Because of the specificities of military service, gender stereotypes in the Defence Forces are even more striking. The Lieutenant-Colonel says that these widespread misconceptions create additional challenges for women: “From the moment a woman joins the military, as a rule, such phrases as ‘she will run home as many times as her child gets sick’ and ‘her heavy backpack will need to be dragged by men’ get thrown around…. It seems like from the very start, there is already an expectation that women in this field are destined for failure. So, we have to constantly prove our capabilities, make contributions and show that we are not an additional burden to anyone.”
Ekaterine has three children, so she is often asked how she manages to combine family life with her strict military schedule. Although she herself does not see much distinction between the two, this is what she has to say about it: “I have given my military career as much care as I have given to my children, and with its positives and negatives, it is very dear to me. If I were to choose a profession all over again today, I would undoubtedly still choose a career in the military.”
As for her military career goals, Ekaterine’s priority is being as close to her homeland as possible, while also getting continuous professional development. Every little success and step forward in her career adds a lot to her self-confidence. Never stopping, Ekaterine always starts thinking about the next step straightaway. Her achievements always leave her wanting more, and even now, she is striving for a new goal.
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.