Gohar Aghjoian

Activist, psychologist

"Many people in my village think that girls should not study and should not work. Here girls rarely make independent decisions because there is a great deal of public pressure and fewer opportunities for individual development. I also grew up with these norms, in the village of Didi Aragiali, Ninotsminda, in an Armenian-speaking family.

Once, completely by accident, I found myself at a training - I was chosen because I spoke Georgian somewhat well. Now many young Armenians are learning Georgian, although 5-6 years ago it was rare. I was lucky that an amazing teacher at my school helped me learn the language. This training was my first contact with non-formal education. I had never even had contact with people of other nationalities before, because there was not a single Georgian in my village whom I could have a relationship with. These circumstances were stressful for me but I was so fascinated with this format of learning that I decided to get involved in this activity. My family or my community didn’t support this idea but my education was important for my father and he did not object. Since then, I’ve worked with many NGOs, I’ve been involved in many projects, and I try to contribute to solving problems in my community. At the same time, I am studying psychology.

I want to change the attitudes of representatives of my community. I want to convince other girls that if they really want something and fight for it, they can develop and succeed. I want violence against women, the elderly and animals, to be reduced, which is so relevant today... I often go to Ninotsminda and conduct trainings on gender equality, early marriage, reproductive and sexual health or other issues that are problematic for our community.

All these challenges are related to the problem of integration. Armenian youth are now learning Georgian more, participating in public life, and their perceptions have more or less changed for the better, however many still do not believe they will be able to graduate from a university, get a job and develop professionally in Georgia. They don’t believe it because there aren’t many examples of it - my goal is to create such examples. And from a professional point of view, I have one goal - to start an organization in my region and provide free psychological assistance to those who need it."