GEO
September 10, 2022
Karine Kachotiani from Vachiani

“I have been trying to bring the problems of local women and children to the attention of decision-makers,” stated Karine Kachotyan, a member of the Akhalkalaki sakrebulo (municipal assembly).

Karine Kachotyan is one of just 45 female majoritarian sakrebulo members in Georgia, making them a small minority among the 664 municipal assembly members across the country.

After her husband died, Karine returned from Armenia with her son to her home village of Vachiani, in the Akhalkalaki municipality. To make ends meet, she started stockbreeding and farming, but following advice from her fellow villagers, she later found work as a cook at a local kindergarten and began to bake on commission.

In 2019, Karine heard about the latest project launched by UN Women and Taso Foundation. She immediately became involved, joining other women from her community as a regular participant in meetings organized by the local self-government.

“Community mobilization gave me self-assurance, helped me develop my skills and gave me the desire to express myself and fight for what I want. I understood that I, too, could contribute to the well-being of my son, my family and my community,” Karine recalls.

Life can be challenging for women in Samtskhe-Javakheti’s high-mountainous villages, with its scarce infrastructure, harsh climate and pervasive stereotypes. As a result, women’s participation in improving community life and advancing positive role models is very important – just as Karine has been doing.

With the project’s support, the 30-year-old Armenian-speaking single mother joined certain training programmes, learnt Georgian, completed a computer course and gained her driver’s license.

As an active leader in her community, Karine was also invited to participate in local elections in 2021. “I decided I would do what was best for my son and me,” she noted. “I accepted the offer and won a seat. Now I am trying to bring the problems of local women and children to the attention of decision-makers.”

Alongside her activity in the sakrebulo, Karine also works as the acting principal of her local kindergarten. She is still focused on self-development, and plans on taking further steps towards advancing her career.

The Social Mobilization Initiative is a part of the UN Women “Women’s Economic Empowerment in the South Caucasus” project, carried out by Taso Foundation, the Kakheti Regional Development Foundation and CARE Caucasus, with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) and the Government of Slovakia.

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