Along with the central government, local self-government bodies play an important role in the process of achieving gender equality in the country.
“Kvira” was interested in what measures are being taken in Ozurgeti Municipality in this direction and offers you an interview with Giorgi Ghurjumelidze, Deputy Chairman of the Council of the same municipality and a member of the Gender Equality Council.
Mr. Giorgi, how important is the gender direction for municipalities, specifically for Ozurgeti?
Gender issues are one of the priorities for Ozurgeti Municipality. Creating sustainable institutional, legal, and organizational mechanisms to ensure gender equality are the main tasks that need to be implemented with the involvement of local self-government bodies and various sectors of society.
To achieve these goals, a Gender Equality Council was established in Ozurgeti Municipality. I believe that the participation of decision-makers in the council’s work in the municipality emphasizes the importance of the issue. In the same format, with the help of projects implemented by the National Association of Local Authorities and various organizations, we are actively trying to realize the set goals. We have developed and approved the council’s action plan, which should ensure the increase in the effectiveness of the activities of self-government bodies.
Specifically, what measures does Ozurgeti Municipality implement in the direction of gender equality?
The work of Ozurgeti Municipality to support gender equality covers several areas. I consider it one of the important issues to reflect initiatives that contribute to the development of gender policy in the budget formation process.
– The budget reflected an assistance program for victims/potential victims of domestic violence and violence against women;
– An analysis of the programs implemented by the municipality in the field of health and social security was conducted, taking into account gender aspects;
– With the support of a donor organization, we created a women’s room in the municipality administration building, which, as one of the effective tools, will contribute to the implementation of gender policy in the municipality.
To empower women economically, we implement several programs, including supporting/promoting the activities of rural women and a forum for women entrepreneurs.
In this regard, it is worth noting the numerous activities carried out with the support of the National Association of Local Authorities. Among them, the Women Entrepreneurs Business Forum, which was organized by female members of the council, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway, and also within the framework of cooperation between the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia and the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities.
At the event, women entrepreneurs were given the opportunity to receive information about funding and other opportunities from organizations such as “Produce in Georgia”, “Europe Foundation”, Chamber of Commerce, Global Benefit Georgia, Georgian Farmers Association, and others.
This was indeed a good example of how we can implement a project through cooperation, with the support of donor organizations, which aimed to facilitate access to finance for small and medium businesses for women entrepreneurs throughout the Guria region, create a unified network, as well as provide constantly updated information about business financing, regulations, and innovations. Within the framework of the project, trainings were conducted for women entrepreneurs, and small grants were issued with co-financing from all three municipalities of the Guria region.
What plans does the municipality have for the future?
The council, as the body determining municipal policy, also plans to introduce a system of gender expertise for acceptable legal acts, including the budget, in the future.
Raising public awareness and information on women’s rights and gender issues is not limited to one specific program. Conducting an information campaign with the participation of a wide spectrum of society contributes to deepening civic self-awareness and consolidation. Therefore, I believe that in parallel with the implementation of specific projects, the municipality should intensify work in this direction, which will further raise civic awareness and reduce negative consequences in the areas of women’s rights, violence against women and domestic violence, early marriage, rights of persons with disabilities, as well as the rights of the elderly and children, which still remains one of the challenges in our society.
What resources do you use to implement these plans?
As I have already mentioned, the involvement of different sectors of society is important to ensure gender equality, as projects and programs developed through cooperation between self-government bodies and civil organizations are very effective.
I have already mentioned one successful example that we implemented in the direction of women’s economic empowerment, in cooperation with and support from the National Association of Local Authorities. We are cooperating with this organization on another successful project, “Localization of Gender Equality Policy”, which aims to effectively implement national and international obligations in the municipality in terms of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Donor organizations are the additional resource that helps us realize our goals. I will also note that Ozurgeti Municipality has joined the European Charter “On Equality between Women and Men in Local Life”, the full implementation of which will ensure the fulfillment of these set goals at the local level. In general, full consolidation of society around this issue is a guarantee of a positive outcome.