ODIHR hosts exhibition in Warsaw celebrating prominent women of 19th and 20th-century Georgia

An exhibition of images and biographies of distinguished women of Georgia – painters, artists, writers and public figures – who redefined women’s roles in the 19th and 20th-century Georgian society opened at the headquarters of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) in Warsaw on 11 June 2018.

The exhibition, hosted by ODIHR throughout the week, was organized by the Georgian Embassy in Warsaw as one of the events marking the centennial of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, the first independent Georgian state in modern history, which existed from 1918 to 1921.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when new social and political movements were gaining strength, Georgian women obtained voting rights, were elected to the Founding Congress of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, studied at European universities and actively promoted social, political and civil rights for women.

“We are delighted to host this exhibition, which highlights the important contributions made by these outstanding women to the social, political and cultural development of their country,” said ODIHR Director Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir.

“At the time these women were pioneers in taking their society forward. I am sure their path was not easy, but they overcame the challenges in their way. It would be interesting to know what their expectations were as regards the status of women in our time. Did they anticipate full gender equality by now or would they have foreseen how much work is still ahead of us in achieving the full realization of women’s rights,” said Gísladóttir.

Georgia’s Ambassador to Poland Ilia Darchiashvili, said: “The exhibition is unique and special, as it aims to present to a wider society 50 women of Georgia who have played important roles in the history of the country, in the political development of the state, in almost every field of public life. One hundred years ago, five out of 17 women candidates won seats in the democratically elected parliament of Georgia.”

The materials displayed were collected by the South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation from various museums and family and state archives.