The underpasses were recently redecorated after new Mayor of Tbilisi Kakha Kaladze asked a number of street artists to decorate them. They have also been equipped with lighting.
However, the IGF argue that underpasses should be renovated not only to clean them up, but as an informed part of a policy aimed at preventing violence against women.
‘We will not give up the night’, posters at the demonstration read.
One of the protesters’ demands was to urgently equip all underground crossings with lighting, and to make underpasses, and public spaces in general, safer for women.
‘Women need gender-sensitive public spaces in order to be able to move freely in daytime and at night’, their statement read.
Earlier in October, umbrella group the Georgian Women’s Movement presented a petition to Parliament calling for legislation against sexual harassment in public and at workplaces.
On 11 December, the newly-appointed Public Defender, Nino Lomjaria, issued a statement, claiming ‘legislative amendments are necessary to define sexual harassment and come up with procedures to address the issue’.
There are currently no penalties under the law for sexual harassment in Georgia, and it is not defined as discrimination.
Narmin Shahmarzadeh was targeted by hackers who stole personal information and intimate materials, which they then published online. Now, exclusively for OC Media, she writes why she thinks the Azerbaijani authorities are behind the hack, and why sexual blackmail is becoming a more common tactic in Azerbaijan.
My Facebook profile was hacked on 9 March, one day after I participated in the International Women’s Day protest in Baku. Intimate conversations, photos, and voice recordings belonging
Unless feminism in the South Caucasus becomes more inclusive of queer rights and the rights of those who suffer from many other oppressions it will remain utterly impotent to achieve even its own modest aims.
Same-sex relationships have been decriminalised in Azerbaijan and Georgia since 2000 and in Armenia since 2003. This was an important step towards developing queer inclusivity and getting access to the Council of Europe for all three countries. Today, over a decade-and-a-half later, the
A recent speech by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev shows a shift towards a new anti-European conservatism and an attempt to cultivate a new base amongst Azerbaijani youth against the background of dwindling popular support and an ideological vacuum.
A 26 November speech delivered by Aliyev on the occasion of the centenary of Baku State University represents a sharp break from the usual content of his speeches in its ideological content.
Indeed, it may very well inaugurate a new evo
Recent protests in Azerbaijan suggest that, after a long period of stagnation, the nature of protest is changing. However, for a radical transformation of the political landscape to take place, the country’s traditional opposition parties need to reach out and appeal to the more progressive youth movements.
On 19 October, thousands of Azerbaijanis took to the streets of central Baku in the largest protest since 2013. The protest was organised by the National Council of Democratic Forces,
Dozens of women’s rights activists gathered in Tbilisi on 10 December to rally against sexual violence and harassment.
