For All Women and Girls: Elene Mchedlishvili champions the rights of women and girls with disabilities in Georgia

From searching for purpose to finding her voice

Elene returned to Georgia at the age of 21. As a child, her parents had taken her abroad for medical treatment following a serious injury. When she arrived in Telavi Municipality, she faced a challenging environment but never doubted her ability to realize her potential.

Trained in tourism, she worked briefly in public relations at a local hotel. Yet something was missing.

“I realized it wasn’t my passion,” she recalls. “Then I had to undergo another major surgery, which left me bedridden for a year. But even during that time, I stayed engaged—tutoring children in English and Russian. I loved the interaction, the focus it gave me.”

In 2020, a new opportunity emerged. With USAID support, the Independent Living Program was launched in Georgia, establishing centres in six municipalities to inform, advocate for and serve persons with disabilities - all while employing them and their family members.

When Elene learned that a centre would open in Telavi, she did not hesitate. She enrolled in nine months of intensive training and soon began working at the centre. A year later, she was elected as its chairperson.

Shining a light on invisible needs

The Telavi Independent Living Centre is now a vital resource - advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities, spreading information on services and raising awareness among families and the broader community.

“Our door is always open,” Elene says. “Sometimes people just need to talk, to share their feelings, to feel supported.”

More than 1,000 individuals with disabilities are registered in the centre’s database. Elene and her team work tirelessly to ensure that their needs are recognized and addressed.

“Not long ago, people with disabilities were so invisible that many believed they simply didn’t exist. Visibility remains a challenge,” she explains, “especially for women and girls with disabilities, who face deeper stereotypes and more complex barriers.”

Elene has experienced these stereotypes first-hand. She often notices people’s surprise when they learn that she is both a woman with a disability and a leader.

“It’s hard for many to imagine that a woman with a disability can be accomplished- or in charge,” she says. “That’s because of stigma and low awareness. Sadly, these misperceptions often prevent women from pursuing education and employment. In ethnic minority communities, where knowledge of the Georgian language may be limited, the challenges are even more severe.”

She shares a particularly moving example: “When we conducted outreach in ethnic minority areas, we discovered that some families were hiding children with disabilities - even from their own relatives. These children had no official disability status and couldn’t access education or health care. We met a 16-year-old girl who had never been to school. We helped secure funding for her surgery, and when we found out that she wanted to become a stylist, we supported her training in that profession.”

Driving change through activism

Elene believes that meaningful change must be led by those directly affected. That is why she herself strives to lead by example.

“Persons with disabilities - especially women - must speak for themselves,” she insists. “Due to gender stereotypes, many don’t have that opportunity. When I became active in advocacy, I promised myself that I would become a leader and a decision maker so that the voices of women with disabilities would be heard everywhere - and taken seriously.”

This commitment led her to participate in the Women’s Leadership Academy, a UN Women initiative implemented as part of the project “Women’s Increased Leadership for Democracy in Georgia” (WILD) in partnership with the Eastern European Centre for Multiparty Democracy (EECMD) and funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

“The Academy gave me even more confidence and motivation. It also connected me with other amazing women I plan to work with in the future.”

Thirty years after Beijing: What has changed?

Since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration, significant progress has been made - but Elene insists that it is not enough.

“There are still many barriers. Women with disabilities continue to fight for access to basic rights and face persistent stereotypes. We need to keep pushing forward,” she says.

“It’s hard work. Sometimes it’s discouraging. But in those moments, we have to remind ourselves: Without our engagement, nothing will change.”

For All Women and Girls

“My message to all women and girls is this: Be active. We are the ones who initiate change,” Elene says with conviction.

She plans to pursue a master’s degree in psychology abroad and return to Georgia with new skills - ready to continue building a more inclusive and just society.