Georgia: Stop
Gender Discrimination Media Ball –

Gender Media
Caucasus

The NGO GenderMediaCaucasus Journalists’ Association invited
representatives of the media to a Media ball at the Royal District Theatre on
January 12. The event was the conclusive part of a program on sexism in the
Georgian media.

GenderMediaCaucasus, with support from Open Society-Georgia
Foundation, researched the level of discrimination against women in local media
within the project “Journalists against discrimination in mass culture.” The
prime-time broadcasts of the five most popular TV channels were appreciated, and
magazines and advertisements were not ignored. Saba Amirejibi, Paata Kereselidze
and Gogita Chkonia made a social advertisement against sexism, and books were
published based on research regarding sexism in local media. On the media ball
the “winners” of the monitoring were awarded.

“Media influence on the public mind and stereotypes in society
and mass media should support women’s equal rights” said Nino Sukhiashvili “I
can’t say that there is purposeful sexism in Georgian mass media, but
unconscious discrimination of women is felt in our media.”

Sukhiashvili monitored five popular channels in Georgia. For
three months she watched the programs broadcasting in Prime Time (from 8 to 12
p.m.). According to her, no one channel has a gender policy and women are
discriminated in almost all of them. Rustavi 2 was recognized as the most sexist
channel, due to the way that reports are broadcasted in the news bulletin
program Courier covering the facts of incest and rapes.

Tamar Balavadze awarded the representatives of glossy
magazines.

“Our magazines are full by sexist photos,” she said. “Over 1/3
of them are sexist… For example, when our famous singer Jaba Karseladze was
asked when he paid the most for a woman, he answered ‘500 bucks and she was
really good.”

The popular magazine Bomondi was announced the most sexist in
Georgia, and Kakadu was awarded the prize for the most discriminative photo.

A clip of the beer ‘Aluda’ was announced to be the most sexist
advertisement, and the creators were awarded the beer ‘Medluda,’ produced by
GenderMediaCaucasus. However, the association could not find the creators of the
clip and the prize was handed to Paata Kereselidze who was announced a “gender
sensitive operator and director.”

In spite of the fact that the whole event was held in a
relaxing and friendly atmosphere-with humorous scenes, music and dancing-the
event was

dedicated to a quite serious problem. Sexism, discrimination
against people based on their sex, is a global problem.

“The fight against sexism is as necessary as the fight against
drugs and violence and all other forms of discrimination, rubbish and
injustice,” announced Marina Tabukashvili, the coordinator of Open Society
Georgia Fund Women’s program. “Sexism is to use humans, or to appoint a human as
an object. The coalition of various NGOs guards the common fundamental values of
democracy, freedom and national culture. Every human should be treated as what
they are, not as objects, and that is why sexism will be always our opponent.”

Georgian mass media very often ignore these values, and are
overloaded with phrases and photos that discriminate against women. Women appear
as beautiful and convenient things for sale on the bright photos and tv
screens.

“The values offered by popular culture ruin our fundamental
values, including human dignity and culture,” Tabukashvili said. “Popular
culture that is successfully implemented not only in Georgia but worldwide, and
is successfully bought up, counts on a lack of culture and education. The only
way to avoid this is through the education and knowledge of our own culture.”

Women are active in Georgia today, but it is much harder for
them to achieve success than it is for men. In Georgia women are used to being
considered an attachment their husbands.

“This attitude to woman is deeply rooted not only in Georgia
but in all societies,” said Galina Petriashvili, the President of the
Association. “It comes from the time when a woman sat in caves and a man brought
food. But today, when both of us work outside of caves to contribute to keeping
a house, acting as if we are still in caves is not clever.”

Our legislation recognizes the equal rights of both sexes. But
to change the attitude to woman’s role in Georgian society, with its very deep
roots and traditions regarding woman’s role, is not so easy. And the violence
against women continues.

“It’s as if Georgian women are in scissors,” said Petriashvili.
“On the one hand there are more female students in high schools, but at the same
time there is a limit for women in Georgia. We have strong traditions where a
woman should wait for man at home; she is ashamed if she doesn’t get married ‘in
time’. Life pushes women to bazrobas to earn the family’s living and at
the same time our traditions restrain her to be modest and ‘know her place’
within the family and in community.”

GenderMediaCaucasus is one of the most active gender
organizations in Georgia, implementing national and international programs. It
has held and participated in several conferences and monitoring projects to
defend the dignity of women and change the attitude humbling women, particularly
in Georgia. Bright magazines and broadcasting media in their turn continue
luring the auditorium by showing women as beautiful goods offered for sale or as
a weak-willed addition to strong and successful men.

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