When knowledge becomes a threat

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Reading Time: 4 minutes

shutterstock_691012267
44
VIEWS

Khatia Akhalaia remembers every detail of the stories schoolgirls told her. About a desperate teenager jumping from a high building because she was pregnant. About teachers telling them to stay at home during their menstruation. About the rumour that AIDS is transmitted through kissing. “For many of the school kids it was the first time somebody told them: It’s normal to be gay or bisexual”, remembers Akhalaia, a feminist activist and experienced gender researcher. She is sitting in an international book shop close to the busy Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi with its fashion shops, touristic restaurants and dozens of EU-flags. Where Tbilissi seems like a European capital, and Georgia like a modern country.

"

Akhalaia works in sexual education especially in the rural areas of Georgia. She was moved and shocked by the lack of knowledge in the class rooms – from girls and boys.  Her Education and Labour Association (E&LA), founded in 2014, aims at empowering women and girls with education – about their bodies, their rights, their possibilities to participate in society. According to Akhalaia  post-soviet Georgia is still an unequal, misogynistic and homophobic country: “During Soviet times women were not seen as independent individuals. We still suffer from this mindset.” A study from 2017 shows that intimate partner violence and early and forced marriage are the most prevalent forms of violence against women in Georgia. Statics reveal that one out of four woman becomes victim of sexual violence once in her life. 14 percent of women marry underage. Akhalaia  believes the numbers are resulting mainly from the lack of sexual education in the school system.

But the present government doesn’t take action to bolster women’s rights. Instead, according to Akhalaia, they pay trolls and bots to comment on E&LA’s sexual education videos published early this year. The content: puberty, anatomy or period, following the Unesco-Standards on appropriate sexual education for children and young adults. An analysis showed that only five percent of the thousands of comments are written by real people. The worse part for the feminist activists, Akhalia is far from being the only victim attacked by bots, is that the state does not prosecute far-right-groups threatening to kill the activists. “One far-right-leader threatened me in a Facebook-Live-Video, recorded immediately after being released by police”, tells Akhalaia. He talked about an upcoming civil war, about his plans to burn down her house and the organisation`s office. Apparently without any fear of punishment. Media reports about Akhalaias videos even lead to a discussion in government. Sopio Kiladze, who chairs the parliaments human rights committee, said that people’s reaction to the videos was only fear. “The videos of E&LA are seen as immoral. But why should knowledge be a threat?”, asks Akhalaia, wondering how to protect herself and her family.

"

Londa Beria and Nana Pantsulaia from the Women’s Fund Georgia, a platform financing feminist initiatives and campaigns, know several cases like Akhalaias. Women who speak out in public would be likelier to become victims of hate speech online. Beria explains: “Female politicians receive much more threats than their male colleagues, for example in videos”. They remember several cases in the past where head or body of a female MP – with the help of montages of images – appear in pornographic videos. This phenomenon is not confined to Georgia. But what is remarkable: The perpetrators go unpunished – only those watching them are penalized. Troll and bot attacks have been normalized, knows Pantsulaia. Many activists couldn’t post anything without attracting hateful comments. Trolls would attack every theme that makes men look weak, for example a female victim of sexual harassment who names her offender in public.

“Groups spurring hatred against female activists are legitimized by church”, says Beka Mindiashvili, founder of the Tolerance and Diversity Institute, which aims at fostering religious freedom and tolerance in the country. He views Ilia II,  the Orthodox Church patriarch, as the strongest soft power in the country, that supports “traditional” values. In this matter the Orthodox Church seems to be the Russian government`s the most reliable partner that interprets sexual education as a part of Western Propaganda. “The Church is the strongest power against every form of equality in our society, including gender equality.” They still use their own morality to control women – like in medieval times, says Mindiashvili.

A remarkable day in the mind of all liberal Georgians seems to be the 17th May 2013. This day far-right-groups along with several clerics attacked LGBT-people who protested against homophobia. A year later the church declared this day as the “Family Holiness Day”, that celebrates traditional values. Every year since a procession with icons and crosses takes place on Rustaveli Avenue, led by priests. Akhalaia and her association aim for the opposite. “We also want to raise awareness of diverse families, establish different role models”, says Akhalaia. To paint a more colourful image of relationships, especially for young adults.

And she notices improvement in her society, observes a small but dynamic feminist movement establishing itself in recent years. Women speak up more often. A change Pantsulia from the Women`s Fund confirms. “For too long violence and sexual harassment have been culturally accepted.” Following the worldwide movement #Metoo women start talking about their suffering, about toxic relationships, inequality in their workplace, violence at home. And her colleague Beria is certain: Social media platforms like Facebook can also be a safe space. “Thousands of Women started a big group to discuss every issue, they never dared speaking about.” Topics range from women’s health and sex to pleasure and pain. “The great thing is: There is no shaming”, says Beria. “People empower others to leave their violent boyfriends, give advice to find a good gynaecologist or sensible psychologist.” They educate one another – and fill the gap the post soviet society created.


Nadja Lissok
Journalist at German newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger Especially for Myth Detector
The article is published within the framework of the project #FIGHTFAKE, which is implemented by MDF in cooperation with its partner organisation Deutsche Gesellschaft e.V.

Topic: Identity
Source

Last News

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Add New Playlist