an official told BosNewsLife Friday July 23.
Media representatives gathered in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, from July 1 to July 3 for a conference "on the relationship between media and women’s political participation", amid growing demands for more women rights in the post-Communist era.
The conference was the second annual event organized by the GenderMediaCaucasus journalism association and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) – part of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
"Participants from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Estonia discussed ways mass media can support the participation of women in political processes," said Galina Petriashvilli, GenderMediaCaucasus President.
GENDER-SENSITIVE
They also outlined plans for publishing "an international, gender-sensitive Journal," she said.
Human rights groups have expressed concern about the abuse of women and discrimination in the workplace across the former Soviet Union, which some have linked to the collapse of Communist style cradle-to-grave-security which lead to rising alcoholism among the many men who lost their jobs at unprofitable state run companies.
Participants at this month’s meeting also examined the work of CaucAsia, a coalition of journalists in the Caucasus and Central Asia who work on gender research and analysis, a statement said. CaucAsia was founded at the 2003 GenderMediaCaucasus conference.
During the past 12 months, the group has produced an anthology of articles, titled, "Woman and Elections," with contributions from 37 authors in nine different countries, according to organizers.
Editors can reach Galina Petriashvilli at e-mail: Galapet@ip.osgf.ge or Teona Kupunia at e-mail: teona@postmaster.co.uk
