Information as a Precursor of Change 

Teona Tsetskhladze is a mother of three. The youngest of her children is only three months old. Teona together with her youngest child attended a meeting for women organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Liberty Bank in the village of Maradisi in Marneuli Municipality.

Teona says that such meetings are an opportunity for development. The information she and her fellow villagers receive while attending these meetings is important to them. “We learn a lot of useful things here ... we are very pleased to have this opportunity,” she says. 

The meeting Teona attended together with her child, is part of a programme - "Inform, Educate, Empower" - a joint initiative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Georgia Country Office, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Liberty Bank - which is being implemented in the regions of Georgia and aims to empower rural women. 

At the meetings, women are informed by experts on issues such as family planning, prevention of uterine and breast cancer, harmful practices (early marriage, gender-biased sex selection), the role of gender equality in the development of business and agriculture, financial planning and banking services offered by Liberty Bank to rural women involved in agriculture. 

Teona found the information about reproductive health, family planning methods, safe methods of contraception especially important, because, according to her, there are a lot of myths and misinformation around these issues. 

It is extremely important that all women have access to reliable, evidence-based information about reproductive health and rights. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), as the leading UN agency, together with partner organizations, has been actively working in this direction for many years. In 2020, we came up with the idea of reaching rural women, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), organizing visits of experts to villages, and thus promoting awareness of reproductive health, gender equality and harmful practices among rural women. We are pleased that this innovative initiative has been supported by an UNFPA partner - Liberty Bank”, says Lela Bakradze, Head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Georgia Country Office.  

Education for Empowerment 

Naira Bolkvadze, a mother of two, who lives in the village of Maradisi, Marneuli Municipality, is 34 years old. For several years now, she has been actively involved in the greenhouse farming, growing various types of vegetables. Naira says that she has received significant support from agronomists working for the FAO and the EU project. She has learned about and used some modern methods of agricultural crop production and, as a result, the quality of products has been significantly improved.  

FAO supports rural women by sharing best agricultural practices and information. Trainings and farmers’ field schools are often organized for rural women, who show great interest in participating. There are also leaders who share the acquired knowledge with their neighbours and fellow villagers, and as a result, they often come up with interesting ideas. There have been cases when, as a result of such gatherings, women have set up a joint venture or a new farm”, says Mamuka Meskhi, a representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Georgia.

Naira, who has been interested in agriculture since her childhood, got married at an early age years ago, like other girls of her age, as she says. However, she believes that unlike many women, she has been lucky, her marriage is an exception, and her husband and children support her and encourage her to stay engaged in the activities she is fond of. Naira is really busy, because she is one of the authors of all new initiatives in the village of Maradisi and an initiator of women's involvement in public life. As part of such initiatives, women and girls in the village are being informed about gender equality and harmful practices, including the negative consequences of early marriage. 

According to Naira, it is important for women to have access to information about reproductive health, but they are often too busy to take care of themselves.  

I am not an exception in this regard either, but my husband and children often make me visit a doctor. I do know I should take care of my health, but I think I can visit doctors later, but later I find myself as busy as before”, she says.

Naira's children are also interested in agriculture. Her son is taking a course in agronomy at a college while attending school. Her daughter is studying technical engineering, because “she has always been interested in studying and reading books”. 

Empowering Women means Empowering the Country

Meetings aimed at informing and empowering rural women continue to be held in the regions of Georgia at the joint initiative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Liberty Bank. 
The available evidence shows that access to information and services is critical to empowering women and improving their quality of life as well as for achieving gender equality. In this regard, women living in rural areas face a special challenge. 

One of the main directions of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Georgia Country Office and Liberty Bank in 2020 is the empowerment of women.  

Liberty Bank, working together with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Georgia Country Office and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), continues to organize meetings aimed at raising awareness and empowering rural women. Our new strategy - “New Liberty for a New Life”, involves constant support and empowerment of women, along with a number of innovations. One of the most important directions is to offer them affordable services using the largest banking infrastructure of Liberty Bank and to help develop agricultural business in the region”, says Khatuna Chelidze, Deputy Head of the Micro and Small Business Lending Department at Liberty Bank. 

Banking services turned out to be especially interesting for 45-year-old Natela Bolkvadze, a small business owner and entrepreneur from the village of Tbeti in Tsalka District. She and her French partner, with the help of EU funding, make juice from a mixture of apples and various fruit and also produce French cheese. 

Natela Bolkvadze believes that the empowerment of women is the foundation for a stronger village and stronger society in general. “The members of my group are the strongest women. If they are well-informed, I think, they will be involved in all kinds of activities”, she says, referring to the importance of meetings with specialists in various fields. 

Natela Bolkvadze, a mother of five, also notes that attitudes towards early marriage have changed significantly in her village and there have been almost no recent cases of early marriage there; but she believes that in order to eliminate this problem, it is necessary to “establish an appropriate culture, inform and educate women”, because, according to her, the places, where access to appropriate information is limited, are the ones most affected by the practice and consequences of early marriage and other harmful practices.

From Ateni to Tsalka and from Keda to Akhmeta - a series of meetings are being held. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Georgia Country Office, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Liberty Bank plan to reach more women in the future.