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[sincerelymari]

First gender recognition in Georgia

On March 25 Georgian authorities allowed the first-ever legal gender recognition for a transgender person in the country.

According to Woman’s Initiatives supporting group (WISG), the Civil Registry Service Development Agency officially changed the gender from ‘’male’’ to ‘’female’’ upon request by a trans woman, who also submitted medical certificate of gender reassignment surgery.

‘’I changed my name even before the surgery and that was the main moment for me. Imagine looking like a girl while having a name of a boy.  Most of my trans friends change their names too because this is the maximum that is possible to do without the surgical intervention required by law. It was an amazing moment when I wrote down the name everyone knew me by. It was my personal name and It was the first joy.’’’- says transgender woman.

The CSO noted that there are no legislative or administrative tools for legal gender recognition to date in Georgia, and the recent decision only follows the country practices that have no legal basis.

These practices restrict recognition of trans people who are not willing to undergo specific medical procedures which also goes against international standards, including those developed by European Court of Human Rights.

Lika thinks the fact that the state recognizes the identities of transgender people only after sex reassignment surgery is in itself a big interference in the private space.

It is also significant to mention that unregulated gender recognition process raises unemployment and poverty risks for trans people, encourages their marginalization and makes them even more prone to transphobia-induced crimes and discrimination, CSO warned.

[sincerelymari]

Life With Ballet

This is a story of a girl whose whole life is ballet. Salome Leverashvili is a successful dancer, performing in Holland since 2016. As Salome commemorated her childhood with us, it was her mother who inspired her to become a dancer – ‘’as a young girl I did gymnastics, just like my father, however, it was mom from whom I learned how to dance. Because of my flexibility it was unwise to continue with gymnastics so I decided to dedicate my life to dance and ballet instead.’’

 At the age of fourteen, she danced her first solo role and later through the mediation of her fellow dancer Maia Makhateli, she was accepted for Dutch National Ballet company in 2016. ‘’I think when you choose profession, this is could be Ballet or anything else, you must be fully dedicated to it and I try to have the best results in my profession that I love.’’ To reach her goal Salome exercises maximum 8 hours and minimum 6 hours a day. ‘’I can dance endlessly’’-she says. While Being in Georgia Salome used to perform with the State Ballet of Georgia. ‘’mainly I live in the theatre and have less friends and less fun. I live with ballet life and that is why it’s kind of different. When I used to live in Tbilisi of course I was fully dedicated to it but there were circumstances that obstructed me to be fully involved.’’ Salome says that it was in Amsterdam where she had all conditions to be fully occupied only with ballet. 

In 2016 she won a major award at an annual International Choreographic Contest in Latvia. In 2017 Salome was transferred to the main company in 2017, in the rank of ‘’eleve’’ and quite exceptionally, received promotion in each subsequent year. ‘’I work with abnormal schedule from 10am to 6pm with 45 minutes break but you can miss this break because there is free space at that time and you have a chance to improve yourself even more.’’ 

Salomes striking performances in the Christmas Gala 2020 and her wonderful interpretation of ‘’Sarcasmen ‘’ in the programme Hans Van Manen Variations prompted artistic director Ted Brandsen to promote her, along with her dance partner Timothy van Poucke, to the rank of soloist in March 2021, at the age of 23. Salome says that everything comes with hard work – ‘’when we have performances, I return home at 12 o’clock midnight which means I work 7-8 hours a day.’’ Every performance is a new experience for her. She leads a life different from others, this is Ballerina Life. ‘’The most unforgettable moment is when you are on the scene and audience is applauding, I can not compare this feeling to anything else this is what makes us to overcome all the obstacles.’’ Partnered by Van Poucke, 

Salome has now danced the main roles in Don quixote and Romeo and Juliet with Dutch National Ballet. In 2019, as second cast to principal dancer Makhateli, she danced the title role in Frida by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. Salomes dedication proves that everything is possible as long as you work hard, put all of you into something and decide that there is not anything that is impossible to achieve.

[sincerelymari]

Covid-19 Generation

It’s been a year since the corona virus turned our lives upside down, put a distance between us, taught us new rules, closed our schools and workplaces. A lot of people say that the pandemic has taught us to live in the moment and showed the absurdity of planning for the future. But have you thought about what we will be like when all of this is over? Imagine the day when the virus is defeated, when the pandemic is over and we go back to the ‘’normal’’ life but is this normal really normal? What are we like? The younger generation, the children, sisters and brothers.

How Covid-19 changed the lives of children?

What became clear at the very start of the pandemic was the inequality between children. There are millions of children who can’t access distance education. COVID affects more heavily the future mental health of children. It does not matter where we live the pandemic effects each and every one of us. As the world is struggling with economic problems and trying to minimize the consequences of the pandemic, the risks faced by children are increasing at the same time. So, if governments don’t implement appropriate measures, the potential of this generation may be entirely lost. Because of covid-19 additional 140 million children live in monetary poverty. Pandemic highlighted the fact that billions of people across the globe don’t have the opportunity to wash hands, children die daily due to diseases caused by inadequate water supply, lack of sanitation and poor hygiene.

Closing schools had a negative effect too. Many children receive food, psycho-social support and health services at school. Covid-19 has aggravated existing psycho-social conditions: mental health services for children are delayed. In order to minimize the negative effects of the pandemic, government should ensure all children’s access to education, including elimination of digital inequality ensure access to healthcare and nutrition services, support and take care of mental health of children and young people, ensure elimination of child abuse and gender-based violence, increase access to clean water, sanitation and good hygiene conditions, take action to respond to climate change, tackle the increase in child poverty and improve conditions for everyone, double the efforts to support and protect those children and families who live in conflict zones. Obviously, all of these efforts take time but many children don’t have time.

[sincerelymari]

Migration and Gender

An increasing number of women are migrating independently. Moving abroad offers a range of potential opportunities and challenges, which are impacted by a person’s gender in complex and multifaceted ways. Gender and migration are intersecting factors that mutually affect each other. Migration can have positive and negative effects on migrants depending on their individual characteristics and conditions. Likewise, an individual’s gender influences their experience of migration, including the risks and vulnerabilities involved in their journey.

Migration has the potential to create positive outcomes and contribute to women’s empowerment. It can open opportunities for: higher income, asset ownership, self-esteem, decision making power and new autonomy. On the other hand, gender and migration can intersect to produce negative outcomes, such as multiple forms of discrimination, exploitation, and stigmatization. Migration may also offer women and girls an opportunity to escape situations of gender-based violence in their countries of origin.

let’s talk about Gender based violence which is an umbrella term for harmful act that is perpetrated against a person’s will. It is significant that GBV can be a factor that drives migration from countries of origin. Gender based violence is often perpetrated by family members, gangs and society who forces many women, girls, and LGBTQI individuals to comply their demands. Because of it this people migrate in search of safer living conditions. Migration does not cause GBV. However, during their journey, some migrants face situations where they are more vulnerable to violence. Numerous factors influence a person’s risks and vulnerabilities throughout their migration journey. Alongside gender, a key factor is whether the migration route is safe and regular. Unsafe or irregular migration routes increase the risks of GBV, including human trafficking. Migrant women, girls and LGBTQI individuals are disproportionately targeted by human traffickers. At their destination and for those who return to their countries of origin, other intersecting factors, including a migrants’ financial insecurity, awareness of their legal rights, and language abilities influence their vulnerability to GBV. Gender norms and unequal power relationships are the root causes of GBV against women and girls as well as men and boys and those of diverse gender identities. Perpetrators seek to exploit inequalities in order to exert power, coerce and deceive their victims. Recognizing these causes is central to developing effective interventions. GBV can cause short, medium and long-term physical and mental health consequences for survivors. Understanding how gender intersects with migration and addressing the root causes of GBV will create greater equality and human dignity throughout the region.

[sincerelymari]

                                          Bishop who unites

In 2001 Georgian radical activists with the government support burnt 17000 copies of bible and Malkhaz Songulashvili, bishop of Baptist church, was the one who was able to save one of this copies. ‘’I used to keep it on the altar of our church as a reminder that religious rights were not safeguarded in this country.’’ Malkhaz is Professor of Comparative Religious Studies at Ilia State University as well as Bishop in Tbilisi, Georgia. The church where Malkhaz stays right now was built by German prisoners of war. ‘’This church excited in Georgia for more than 150 years. About 150 years ago they concluded that it was inappropriate for the state and the church to converge, for the state to interfere in matters of the church and for the church to meddle in the state affairs. Thus the Georgian Evangelical Baptist Church was established which is progressive and liberal-minded Christian church.’’ It is well known that religion was suppressed during the soviet time but the Baptist church was very enduring. It did not require buildings or clerics and hierarchy to continue practicing religion. So, those whose church was closed would get together in families and that’s how church was kept alive. In most cases it was thanks to women’s efforts. ‘’In Baptist church there has never been discussing or a disagreement about the appropriateness of allowing woman to be priests and bishops’’-explains Malkhaz Songulashvili. ‘’I am proud of this tiny church in Georgia which has achieved the high ground to acknowledge publicity that we owe our existence to woman.’’            Whenever there is challenges in Georgia, Baptist church tries to respond it in a creative way. One of the great example is 17 May. ‘’On that day we witnessed the level of unseen religious violence before and we knew we had to do something about it.’’ Malkhaz says that by creativity he meant the construction of new apse and the new alter. ‘’we are trying to confront ugliness with beauty.’’ They used same creativity in 1990 when there was attack on Baptist Church and Mlkhaz, in respond of that, built elderly care home which still serves people of different religious beliefs. ‘’we are not trying to make people into one, we are just accepting everyone as they are. It’s not in the church’s aspirations to poach people, it’s the manifestation of the love for god. May it be in its communication with the Muslims, Jews or whoever since human is highest value.’’            So, Highest value for Baptist church is equality among humans. To prove that Malkhaz held a memorial service for a transgender women from Batumi. They marked May 17 and celebrate it as a demonstration of solidarity to the LGBT community. During the COVID-19 Malkhaz Songulashvili sheltered Bangladeshi citizen in his Church. They opened door for everyone who had no home or food because of pandemic.            ‘’The church does not receive anything from the Government’’-says Malkhazi. Baptist church thinks that when Government supports the church, this relationship is always charged with qualities of mutually beneficial political cooperation. For them it is unacceptable when the state interferes in religious life in one way or another. ‘’we know when the state founds the church, church tends to view and recognize the state as its patron to whom it feels accountable, and sometimes the church tends to forget it’s accountable not to state but to god.’’ In the Church every bishop has secular jobs and earns income. Some of them works in education sector, others in medicine or other fields. ‘’as for other donations, we get it from our congregation. We also have friends who donate to other different projects, particularly the elderly home project which our congregation would not be able to sustain without donation.            Between Baptist and Orthodox Christianity there is three main reasons of disagreement. The first thing they don’t agree churches across the globe is women’s role in the church. ‘’we believe that if woman belong in the kitchen, by the same token they also belong at the altar.’’ other differences are matter of gender and sexual equality.            Malkhaz Songulashvili thinks that we should not only say that we love humans. ’’we humans should love each other, of course, and they should love god. However, these words also have to be manifested through your life. You have to practice what you preach as well and from my perspective that’s what it called Christianity.’’

[sincerelymari]

                                       Freedom of religion

Ability to seek the truth about God and live according to our beliefs has been an essential from the beginning of our existence. To choose the right belief for ourselves is basic human right. In other words, its called religious freedom which gives our lives dignity and meaning and enables us to think, act upon and express what we deeply believe. Religious freedom is like the architecture that allows diverse faiths to coexist, it is the right to live our moral convictions freely in public and with room to flourish.

Despite of what was mentioned above, different religions and believers have different point of view. While someone believes that it is right for everyone to express, some will may think that it’s inappropriate. For example, Ketevan Meparishvili who is Christian says that she would never harm anyone because of his or her religion, however, if there is some issue they do not agree then she just won’t support them. ‘’Let’s take baptism that supports LGBT people and me an orthodox Christian for whom It Is unacceptable. While thinking that, I know that this difference is ideological and I have no right nor will to harm anyone.’’

While talking about religious freedom, we have to mention Atheist as well. Concerns around them are mostly stereotypical and dogmatic. From Nikoloz Saralashvili’s point of view Atheist often get mistreated because of their choice and the way of thinking. He says that people often associate atheist activism and activist with tearing things down and trying to remove religion from society in certain ways or tell people why they are wrong, ‘’but in reality they are all people who have joys, loves and passions. Even for me, not believing in god was such a sea change of worldview that it literally changed my life fundamentally. Some people have this idea that atheist must be nihilists who have no purpose but it is ridiculous. It’s just I feel more liberated and that is amazing. We just don’t need god to explain what a great place we are living in and that is all.’’

David, age 23, who is catholic explains how he knows the religion in which he was raised is right for him. ‘’Even after the confirmation I still thought about it, ‘’what about other religions? Are they fake? Why do I think that this one faith is real?’’ and basically, to me, I just get a feeling. I know it’s hard to explain but I just go to church and see the cross and it feels right, I feel presence of god in that place. Despite of that I truly believe that there are a lot of people who feel that their religion, whether it be Islam or Buddhism, is right for them. And I do not see anything wrong with that.

Mama Basili, who is Orthodox priest explains that freedom is the power, rooted in reasons and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on is one’s own responsibility. he thinks that by free will one shapes one’s life. ‘’Same goes in belief’’-says Basili. ‘’In Christianity the most important thing that Jesus Christ wanted us to learn is love of human beings and how can I disagree with that?’’ We have to love each other despite of their religion, I won’t may say that faith of other religions is right but freedom of choice is something we have to respect.’’

‘’Religious consciousness is represented by faith and faith is stimulated by emotion and posits the subject which will satisfy the needs of the inner life’’- Says psychologist Mariam Tchanturia who also explains that religion is something that refers to man’s faith in a power beyond himself whereby he seeks to satisfy emotional needs and gain stability of life. Regarding to human identity and religion Mariami says that humans mind is easily convinced to do and believe things when it is young and fragile. For example, most people choose their religion based on the religion their parent practiced. On itself religion could effects many aspects of our lives depending on how deeply we believe in it; this includes the way we see others, the way we act, and the way we influence those around us. ‘’Our faith in our religion can always be seen in the way we live our lives, nevertheless it does not define who we are. What makes us who we are is our interpretation of it, and choices we make through them.’’

[sincerelymari]

When I was a little girl my mom would always tell me: ‘’if you want to make changes work hard because you have your duty and no one is going to do that instead of you. If you want to achieve something in this life you should know that you have to fight by yourself.’’ While growing up I often thought that this words were too harsh for 6 years old child but at the same time it was stuck in my head and wondered what was the duty that my mom was talking about. Well, once you step in society you will soon realize that this world is not filled with only happy moments that there is people whose voice we refuse to hear while they are begging for help. It’s always easy to close your eyes and act as if nothing is happening around you and that’s when mom’s words hit me again. It was wrong to wait for other to behave in my place. I asked myself: what will you do? Will you sit back and watch? Or you will act. I choose to act. I choose to make changes even if its small. Since mother’s words had an impact on me and the way of thinking I went for a journalism as a future profession since words are the strongest ‘’weapon’’ for my goal. To be honest no one is asking us to be a superwomen or men or to save this world but small things do matter. As Ingeborg Bachmann wrote ‘’if we had the right words, we would need no weapons.’’ And as a future journalist I too will try to find this words.