Goals

Problem statement:

Fighting for women’s rights in South Caucasus began almost a century ago. Like many countries throughout the world, female public figures and women’s rights activists in Georgia initiated and organized a wide variety of public awareness campaigns and educational initiatives.

Kato Mikeladze, Ekaterine Gabashvili, Barbare Jorjadze, Notio Lolua, Nino Tkeshelashvili, Lidia Megrelidze and others are just a few examples of these 19th century pioneers. Obviously, they encountered social and political opposition. 100 years later, these challenges persist, especially in public discourse.

An important step to advancing women’s rights is a recognition of the history of the struggle, both the successes and defeats. It is important to know more about those women, their experiences and contributions.

Many of these facts and biographies are documented in their personal archives and diaries and are preserved in the Museum of Georgian Literature and the National Archives of Georgia. The documents are hand-written, sometimes with pencil, and gradually become blurred and worn-out. If these documents disappear, the women’s part of history is also going to disappear.

Proposed Solution:

We will select one of the most significant activists and digitize the archive of her documents. To choose this, we will consult with academics and historians.

We will copy her diaries and written materials in Microsoft Word format, and then prepare these digital documents for online and print publication. The online publication will be uploaded to social media and the printed version will be delivered to libraries, including university libraries and schools in regions: Kutaisi, Akhaltsikhe, Gori, etc.

Presentations about the publication and its background will be held at these universities for interested groups. We will also make bookmarks with a picture of this woman, with her quotes and biographical notes.

Sustainability:

The online/printed publication will be available for every interested person. The personal archive of the chosen activist will be useful for educational and research purposes for historians, students, teachers, civil activists, and general public.

The history of a female public figure, her work and contribution will motivate and encourage today’s social activists for the future.

Equal gender opportunity:

Since history was written mainly by men, and about men’s activities in the public sphere, there is a necessity to uncover the stories of the women throughout the past. The publication of a female public figure’s archives will create/enlarge the not yet written, female part of the history. Consequently, the society would have a more comprehensive and less gender-biased picture of the past.