Nordic and Baltic ambassadors gain insights about regional initiatives for women’s empowerment

UN Women, together with donors and partners, is implementing a number of important projects in the regions of Georgia to empower women and achieve gender equality. These initiatives have brought a new dimension to the lives of many women, supported the work of local civil society organizations working on women’s rights, and improved the daily lives of not only women but also the villages as a whole.

For many years, UN Women has been supported in this valuable work by the Governments of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, whose funding has played a decisive role in achieving tangible changes. Some of these successes were presented on 6 and 7 May, during which the UN Women Country Representative in Georgia, Kaori Ishikawa; the Norwegian Ambassador to Georgia, Bergljot Hovland; the Swedish Ambassador to Georgia, Anna Lieberg; the Danish Ambassador to Georgia, Anne Toft Sørensen; the Estonian Ambassador to Georgia, Marge Mardisalu-Kahar; and the Lithuanian Ambassador to Georgia, Darius Vitkauskas, visited the regions of Shida Kartli, Imereti and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti. There, they became acquainted with the women’s empowerment initiatives first-hand.

The visit began with a trip to the shelter for victims and survivors of violence against women and domestic violence in Gori. The shelter was opened in 2010 with the support of the Swedish Government and in cooperation with the State Care Agency and has been in continuous operation ever since. Later, the guests visited a local entrepreneur, Nino Tsikaridze. Nino runs a small hotel and restaurant and participates in a project supporting women entrepreneurs, which is funded by the Government of Norway.

On the same day of 6 May, the ambassadors met with women in the village of Sazano in Zestaponi Municipality who are involved in the social mobilization component of a UN Women and TASO Foundation initiative. They introduced the guests to the initiatives of self-help groups, talked about the new knowledge and skills gained with the help of the project, and shared the small business activities that were launched as a result. The women also focused on sharing their existing needs and challenges. The social mobilization initiative in the village of Sazano is funded by the Governments of Denmark and Norway.

“Social mobilization has been a welcome interruption to our daily routine,” said Darina Shavgulidze, a member of the self-help group “Purposeful Housewives” at the meeting. “Those few hours spent together are very precious to us. We have already seen one another’s strength and support. Now we have acquired confidence that we can do a lot of good for the women living in Sazano, and we prove it with our actions.” Darina’s self-help group includes nine local women.

On 7 May, the visit continued with a meeting with local civil society organizations in the city of Zugdidi in the Samegrelo region. Representatives of organizations working on gender equality and women’s empowerment presented the local context and priorities to the ambassadors. The conversation touched on future cooperation and support opportunities. Later, in the village of Rukhi, the ambassadors met with internally displaced women who told the guests their stories and introduced them to their current needs.

On the same day, the ambassadors visited entrepreneur Natia Ghurtskaya in the village of Kakhati. Natia is a participant in the Farmer Field Schools and runs a cow farm. She has undergone training on Italian cheesemaking technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, women’s rights and other important issues within the framework of a project jointly implemented by the Swiss Government, UN Women and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and she is currently continuing her work with her new experience.

Before leaving for the capital, the ambassadors also visited the family guest house “Green House”, which is run by local entrepreneur Tika Didishvili. Tika was one of the participants in the project funded by the Norwegian Government, and now she is mentoring other women entrepreneurs.

The examples of local women’s capabilities, courage and significant, positive changes discovered during the visit proved memorable for the representatives of the diplomatic corps. UN Women continues to collaborate with donors to empower women in Georgia.