On November 25, 2016, at 17:00 the photo exhibition by Dina Oganova – “A Girl is Born” will be open at NATO & EU Information Center Exhibition Hall in Tbilisi. The exhibition is organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Georgia Country Office within the frameworks of UN Joint Programme for Gender Equality funded by the Swedish Government and is dedicated to the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
Dina Oganova’s photo exhibition features the families from Tbilisi and Kakheti region, having daughters only. The aim of the project is to raise public awareness on the importance of treating male and female children equally, providing them with equal opportunities for development and empowerment for the benefit of the family, society and the country at large. The author of the project has recorded short quotes by family members to explain why the equal approach is important for harmonious family relations and society development.
The harmful practice of Gender Biased Sex Selection is still a widespread problem in Georgia. Due to such harmful practice more boys are born in Georgia while the number of girls tends to decrease. In order to initiate an evidence-based public discussion and study the trends, UNFPA carried out a survey in 2014 which made apparent that Gender Biased Sex Selection is closely related to the cultural specifics as well as special aspects of life in urban and rural areas. One of the critical factors behind this phenomenon is son preference.
According to statistics, if a family choses to have one child, 46% of the citizens prefer the child to be a boy, the gender is unimportant for 45 per cent and just 9 per cent would like to have a baby girl. Presently the ratio of newborn baby girls to baby boys in Georgia is 100 to 110 on average, while the maximum normal biological level of sex ratio at birth can be 100/106. The skewed sex ratio considerably increases in case of third child or more and reaches 100/140. The estimations established that due to such practice about 25,000 girls had not been born in Georgia from 1990 to 2010.
The practice of gender biased sex selection negatively affects the country’s demographic situation and security. The result of this practice in long run is escalation of violence, economic regress and falling birth rates. For the purpose of stopping this harmful practice it is of paramount importance to first of all acknowledge the problem and start public discussion in order to change the social standards and behaviors leading to the gender biased sex selection.
About Author: Dina Oganova is a Georgian documentary photographer working in Georgia and Ukraine on different long term projects. She has been a laureate of different prestigious awards. Ms. Oganova has received the title of the best woman photographers under the age of 30. Her photo projects include: “I Am Georgia," “My Place,” “Frozen Waves.” Ms. Oganova’s works have been exhibited in Italy, France, USA, Spain and other counters.
