The hall named after the national hero, Maro Makashvili, opened in the Parliament of Georgia.
The symbolic ribbon was cut by the Speaker of the Parliament, Kakha Kuchava, the Chairperson of the Gender Equality Council, Nino Tsilosani, and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden, Ulrik Tideström.
"Maro Makashvili is the first woman to be awarded the title of National Hero, and it is symbolic that we are opening a hall named after her in the Parliament, which will remain for generations," Kakha Kuchava stated during his speech. According to the Speaker of the Parliament, Maro Makashvili, who fought for the independence of Georgia, is a symbol of building a strong country.
"I am sure that when we receive guests here, including our little ones, the younger generations, it will be important for them to learn more not only about Maro Makashvili but also about all the women who played a great role in shaping the statehood of our country.
Whenever we are abroad and talk about gender as well as other issues, we are proud to say that when women were fighting for the right to vote, women in Georgia were already elected to a representative body. This is the history of our country and the greatest pride," said the Speaker of Parliament.
Kakha Kuchava thanked the international partners for their support of the project and the Chairperson of the Gender Equality Council for initiating the project.
According to the Nino Tsilosani, the opening of the Maro Makashvili Hall in the Parliament is one of the steps of a great policy for the empowerment of women.
"Within the Gender Council, we think a lot about gender mainstreaming, and when we thought about it, there was only one hall in the parliament building named after Queen Tamar, and the role of dedicated women heroes in the history of Georgia was not clear in this regard. Maro Makashvili was a national hero who made a special contribution to the history of Georgia's independence.
Many bills will be discussed in this hall, many important decisions will be made, and I know for sure that the spirit of this hall will make us think that the decisions made should be gender-sensitive," noted Nino Tsilosani.
The participants of the event were also addressed by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Sweden to Georgia Ulrik Tideström, the Permanent Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to Georgia Nick Beresford, and the Representative of the United Nations Women in Georgia Kaori Ishikawa.
Lela Akiashvili, the Head of the UNDP Human Rights, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, presented a historical discourse on women's political representation in Georgia.
The participants of the event also heard a public lecture on the topic: the importance of gender equality, the problem of violence against women, and domestic violence and its spread in Georgia.
