11 men and 3 women in the gender equality council

Lado Bitchashvili, Shida Kartli

On March 9, the Gori municipality assembly discussed creation of the gender equality council and decided to compose 14-member council, among them 11 men and 3 women.

The assembly member from the United National Movement Irma Ambardnishvili protested the composition of the council and said there is gender misbalance in the equality council. Consequently, it will not implement its purpose. Ambardnishvili requested to annul the resolution adopted on January 12, 2018 base on which the composition of the council was determined. 

“It is ridiculous that gender equality council is composed of 11 men and 3 women. This resolution shall be annulled and the assembly shall repeatedly discuss the composition of the council,” Ambardnishvili said.

Head of the nongovernmental organization Woman and Development Fati Bukhrikidze said the gender equality council is “gender blind”. “There is gender inequality in the council, which shall work on the issues of gender equality. I have an impression that [decision-makers] do not seriously approach this question.”

Specialist on gender issues in the municipal assembly Natia Imnadze said the council composition was approved based on the resolution adopted on January 12 and it meets the requirements of the law on gender equality.

According to the assembly’s resolution, the chairperson of the gender equality council will be the chairperson of the municipal assembly and the members are: two deputy chairpersons of the assembly chair; chairpersons of the commissions and fractions.

There are only two women among above listed senior officials in the local assembly and it caused gender misbalance in the gender equality council.

The member of the ruling party and head of the fraction Conservatives does not exclude that the assembly will again consider the composition of the council and fix the gender misbalance. 

“I think it is possible to solve this problem and we should not create additional problems about it,” Tamar Muralova said.

The third female member of the gender equality council was nominated by the local nongovernmental organizations and it is Lamara Shakulashvili, head of the shelter for the victims of domestic violence. 

“The composition of the council shows that it is necessary to adopt gender quotas in the government as a temporary measure to empower the women that will be automatically impact the composition of the gender equality council,” Lamara Shakulashvili said.

She added that in order to eliminate gender inequality, they plan to participate in the elaboration of the gender sensitive municipal programs and monitoring their implementation. Also, engagement in the budget planning, which will ensure gender equality.