In Georgia the men met the new mayor while the women had to make lunch
Yesterday, the newly elected mayor of Marneuli, Timur Abasov, held his first meeting with the people in the center of Kachagi village. The issue that was discussed is extremely important for the villagers – providing the village with water. Yet, at the same time, only the men of the village came to talk to the mayor.
“The women are cooking right now, what is there for them to do here?”
“We have this mentality that women don’t have anything to do in the center of the village, and issues are generally solved without women.”
“Women don’t go to the center of the village. This is our unique culture.”
These were the answers heard by journalists of radio station Marneuli when they asked why no women were present.
The men of Kachagi village’s approach to the gender issue was quite understandable to the new Marneuli mayor:
“Perhaps the women really need to be cooking lunch for their husbands at noon.”
The Ombudsman of Georgia has already commented on the story, calling on the mayor of Marneuli to refrain from sexist comments in the future and to work towards gender equality.
“It is disgusting when the mayor supports the infringement of human rights gender-wise, especially if the mayor has committed to promoting the establishment of equality at the same time,” said the Ombudsman.
According to him, participation of women in social and political life remains one of the country’s major problems. “Such an attitude by an official towards this issue worsens the threat of women being subjected to even greater discrimination on the sole basis of gender in the future,” the Ombudsman stated.
According to the index of gender inequality, in 2017 Georgia ranked 94th out of 144 countries in terms of the participation of women in the political life of the country.
• The municipality of Marneuli is located in the region of Kvemo Kartli. Approximately 83 percent of Marneuli’s population are ethnic Azerbaijanis who are Georgian citizens.
